Pond5 Adds Millions of Photos and Vectors, Becomes One-Stop Marketplace for Stock Media

NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (SXSW) -- Pond5, the world's premier marketplace for stock media and one of the best-kept secrets among media producers, today announced the addition of over 5 million stock photos and vector illustrations to its collection, which also includes the Web's largest selection of royalty-free stock video footage, as well as a full range of sound effects, production music tracks, and After Effects motion graphics templates.  With the addition of still images, Pond5 has emerged as the most comprehensive Web-based stock media resource for creative content producers of all stripes.

Pond5 was founded to empower media makers by providing the Web's fastest, friendliest and fairest marketplace for stock media.  The company has a unique, artist-friendly business model whereby artists set the prices for their work and receive half of each sale – a significantly higher percentage than traditional players in the stock media industry who pay artists as low as 15 percent on sales.  Pond5's unique media marketplace model has proven wildly successful, resulting in a fast-growing collection of professional quality stock content at what are generally the lowest prices available, along with a thriving community of artists from around the world, many of whom make their living producing stock media.

"We are in the midst of a radical shift in the way media is produced, distributed and consumed," says Tom Bennett, Pond5's co-founder and CEO.  "More media, and of increasingly higher quality, is being made by more people all the time.  It's an explosion of creativity, and we are building Pond5 to be the go-to resource for the stock media that fuels that creativity."  

The addition of images, says Bennett, was a natural extension for the company, whose growth to date has been driven primarily by rapid adoption among motion content creators producing for television, film and Web, as well as audio producers and software/video game makers.  

"Media creators are increasingly leaving their silos, making content using multiple media types, and distributing it across multiple distribution channels," notes Bennett.  "Judging from the number of our customers who have requested stock images, there's a clear need for an integrated, one-stop stock media solution that combines audio, images and video."

Stock Media for All

Accessible prices, a fast interface and an amazing range of stock media have attracted content producers in all areas.  Pond5 stock media has been seen and heard in programming on virtually every major television outlet, including ABC, NBC, PBS, Fox, Discovery, BBC, The History Channel, and others.  It's been used in productions ranging from feature films by Dreamworks, to skits in "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show," to a diverse "long tail" of media productions, including corporate and non-profit training/promo pieces, wedding videos, art projects, museum installations, digital billboards, educational content, architectural/site-based work and myriad others.  Photos and vector illustrations now open the door to an even more diverse array of media productions, including print.

Since its launch in 2006, Pond5 has seen accelerating growth, more than doubling its collection size, number of artists, transactions and revenue each year.  The company, which raised a small angel round in 2007 with investors — including Scott Kurnit (founder, About.com), Gideon Gartner (founder, Gartner, Inc.) and David S. Rose (Chairman, New York Angels) — subscribes to a philosophy of efficiency, artist-friendliness, and a focus on product and the customer.  While offering artist royalties that are among the highest in the industry, Pond5 attained break-even within months of its financing, and has maintained profitability ever since, demonstrating that artist-friendliness is a sustainable proposition.  The site currently has more than 60,000 stock media buyers and sellers, who download thousands of video clips, music and other media files a day.

Why Do Media Makers Love Pond5?

• Prices are the lowest in the industry, making fresh, professional-quality stock media accessible to a rapidly expanding pool of creative content producers.
• An incredible selection of millions of curated stock footage clips, photos, vectors, After Effects projects, music and sound effects.
• Instant preview, purchase and download: Media makers can find what they need fast, and get back to work.
• All media is licensed "royalty free."  License once, use it worldwide, in all media, forever.

Why Do Artists Love Pond5?

• Open, easy-to-use marketplace to sell pro-quality stock media.
• Set your own prices, earn 50 percent. The best deal in the industry.  
• Non-excusive contract — artists retain full rights to their work.

Pond5 @ SXSW: $100,000 Stock Media Giveaway, Plus Beer!  

Pond5 will be on the ground at SXSW 2011 in Austin, Texas, with a trade show booth at Stand 919-1018, from March 14-17.  Delicious FREE BEER will be served daily at the booth starting at 3 p.m.  More importantly, the Pond5 crew will be roaming the conference and streets of Austin, giving away $100,000 worth of stock media coupons, which can be used to purchase all media on the site. As with all its credit giveaway promotions, Pond5 pays its artists their full royalties for all stock media purchases using the coupons.  To receive 10% of all Pond5 purchases, now through April 30, enter code: SXSW5.

About Pond5 

Pond5, the World's Stock Media Marketplace™, is a community-driven marketplace for media makers.  It features the web's largest collection of royalty-free stock footage (over 500,000 video clips), as well as millions of stock photos, vector illustrations, music tracks, sound effects, and After Effects motion graphics templates.  All media on Pond5 is instantly downloadable, and licensed under a simple royalty-free license.  Prices, which are set by contributors, range from $1 and up.  Pond5 was launched in 2006 and is based in New York City.

To learn more about Pond5, visit http://www.pond5.com/, or become a fan on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pond5.

SOURCE Pond5