The New Millenium Marketplace
by Rocky Kneten

I was listening to a sports talk program on the radio recently, and theme music for NBC's broadcasts of NBA games became the topic. In radio and TV, I believe this is called "bumper music;" it fades up and out when the program breaks for commercials. For those of you follow sports, you know that NBC obtained the rights to the major TV package for NBA games from CBS about ten years ago. Well, muscian/performer John Tesh became aware of that fact and reasoned to himself that NBC would need new music for their telecasts (note to self: good entrepreneurship!). He had a flash of inspiration and jotted his new melody down. Later, he polished it up and created a demo tape that he submitted to the producers. They liked it, and Tesh got the job. Before I go further, I know you're already saying, "John Tesh is an established star with a track record. Big Deal." As the discussion continued, it was revealed that Tesh felt that there is a prejudice against him in the industry, so he submitted the demo under a created name. Now here's the Big Deal: Tesh has let go that he gets "six figures" a year for the music. That, times ten years, is no less than SEVEN figures. John Tesh is definitely living in a bigger house and driving newer cars than me!

I've been thinking lately about our collective futures as photographers. I get the feeling that the days are dwindling where we will be answering the phone and writing down assignment dates on our calendars for weeks/months in advance. Royalty-free images, the ease of desktop retouching, and the huge consolidation of stock into two massive vendors are just a few influences shaping our current marketplace. In order to survive in this new millennium, I feel that we will have to see ourselves as creators and managers of intellectual properties. Tesh gets that, and is certainly reaping the rewards. How many times have you heard a photographer say, "That image is of no value to me; I just let the client have it?" Well, that corporate client will get contacted by many trade magazines hoping to get a picture of their latest widget-thingamajig, and many of those magazines have a budget for photos. How many publishers will "partner" their content with consolidators such as Getty, forcing photographers to compete against their own work in the resale marketplace? How many books, special issues, posters, and such from publishers will feature images from 9-11 that will bring no extra income to those who created the images toiling away under work-for-hire conditions? As far as the value of intellectual properties in the new millennium, Getty, Corbis, the big media companies, and many corporations "get it." Will photographers ever?

Let me now remind you of a couple of things happening locally. Our Push Pin Socials are a great place to meet and socialize after work and become a "colleague" instead of "competitor". Our ASMP Houston Forum for Photographers is up and running, and it's a great place to get a technical question answered, buy and sell equipment and check for the latest announcements. Webmaster Bruce Senior will be adding even more features soon, and it's quick and easy to get registered. So, see you soon in person and on-line.