Trade Guilds and Associations

Submitted by Syv Ritch on 1. May 2008 - 23:00

There are many trade associations. Their job is keep the status quo as of before, when "the times were good and easy".

The Author's Guild official policy was/is still to be against:

  • Libraries
  • Photocopy machines
  • Adobe Acrobat and PDF files
  • The Amazon's Kindle
  • ...

The RIAA, the Recording Industry Association of America is/was against:

  • Tapes
  • VHS
  • CDs/DVDs
  • File sharing
  • iTunes

There are dozens of photographers associations/guilds that take the position: "technology is destroying us, destroying our member's income and making out members' life more difficult". They don't look after the public, they don't look after the industry, they only look after their members. Not the public, only their members.

I'm not a member of any of these associations/guilds. Digital has made my life easier, computers have enhanced my business. I don't need any of these organizations, I'm not selling photos! I sell memories, hope and service. I have my customers and am constantly looking for new customers. Change is good, we will have to adapt.

The best recent example is when Time magazine used a $30 stock photo for their 27-Apr-2009 front page. Everybody pilloried them and the photographer for playing by the rules. Time is supposed to pay $3,000 for a photo shoot their front page and shouldn't be allowed to use stock. Robert Lam, the part-time photographer from Los Angeles, is supposed to have killed the profession of being photographers by allowing his stock photo being purchased by somebody at Time Warner. Isn't what stock is about?