I’m just trying to get my head round VII’s new business model
Written by duckrabbitCorrect me if I’m wrong. I’m just pulling this off BJP.
If you want to join VII you will pay them around 10% of all your photography income irrespective whether the work is through VII or not?
That 10% (or so) buys you the luxury of having them sell your pictures, for which they’ll keep 6o% (seems a lot)?
But if they send you on assignment they’ll only keep 35%(seems fair) and of course they’ll be no pressure on VII to prioritize the shareholder members for assignments? I would if it was me.
Realistically for the VII network photographers this is a case of you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Bit bizarre being asking to submit a portfolio though … you’d think they’d know the work of the photographers they invited to join the network.
Do you think they’ll have a scoring sheet?
Author — duckrabbit
duckrabbit is a production company formed by radio producer/journalist Benjamin Chesterton and photographer David White. We specialize in digital storytelling.
Discussion (7 Comments)
I do not quite understand your question. We live (luckily or unluckily) in a capitalistic world. More over no one forces you to apply. This their business model which I believe that comes from the fact that after careful consideration, this is the working deal for them, if they are to maintain a healthy agency. Now it is up to the individual photographer. if someone is the bloody amazing talent, it needs no intermediaries to sell/promote his job. On the other hand you can be a bloody amazing photographer like the ones already in VII who feel that this is a good deal.
May be we should stop trying to get our head around new business models and concentrating on our photography….
‘This is the deal working for them’.
Is it Nekatarios?
You don’t think its worth thinking about and questioning photography business models? I don’t think there’s any lack of good photography …
Any idea if the current and/or original members are under same agreement?
It is Nektarios 🙂 Well it worths questioning business models but also depends how and why you are questioning them. Let’s not forget that VII above all is a business. What is profitable and acceptable to VII, only VII can say. When someone questions the photographers’ contribution in the way you did I do not understand it. You either wanna be part of it or not. There are the rules, they rules and they do not seem to be negotiable. The rest is purely philosophical and to be honest without any importance. Who said that there is lack of good photography?
Hi Nektarios.
Trust me I don’t think anyone can forget VII is a business.
If VII isn’t working very well in its current set up then as one of the world’s leading photography agencies you’d be daft, if you’re interested in the business side of photography, not to examine and ask questions of the model. Especially, as you might have noticed, their managing director gave so much detail in an interview to the press (good for him).
Of course VII can take whatever percentage they like, but when that’s made public people will have to have an opinion on whether those percentages are fair or not.
It has to be “fair” for whom? For VII is seems it is fair, that is why they are running it… Do people have opinions about everything? I guess you have heard what they say about opinions, … everyone has one… but who cares at the end of the day…
To my knowledge only two people had the courage to walk away from an iconic agency because the business model did not suit them… It happens that there are not many photographers like those two…
Actually I’m sure the people at VII would like to take less, but they can’t make that work. Either that or their greedy and stupid and I’m sure that’s not the case.
Again I find it a bit odd that you seem to be suggesting the percentage of which an agency takes is some kind of obscure point …
Who ‘cares’? Well I thought that would be obvious. Everyone who stands to gain or lose from the changing economics in the industry.