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Shutterstock

From Alfawiki
Shutterstock, Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryStock photography, stock footage, stock music, editing solutions
Founded2002; 24 years ago (2002)
FounderJon Oringer
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jon Oringer (Founder, CEO)
ProductsStock photos, vector graphics, illustrations, video clips, music tracks
Number of employees
700 (2016)
Websitewww.shutterstock.com

Shutterstock, Inc. is a U.S.-based company specializing in stock photography, stock footage, stock music, and editing solutions, with its headquarters located in New York. Established in 2002 by programmer and photographer Jon Oringer, Shutterstock provides access to a collection of roughly 200 million royalty-free stock photos,[1] vector graphics, and illustrations,[2] as well as around 10 million video clips and music tracks available for licensing.[2] Initially operating on a subscription model,[3] the firm introduced à la carte pricing options in 2008.[4] Since 2012, Shutterstock has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.[5][6] In January 2025, Shutterstock revealed plans to merge with Getty Images, forming a dominant entity in the visual content industry.[7]

Founding and Early Development (2003–2011)

American entrepreneur and programmer Jon Oringer founded Shutterstock in 2003, launching an online marketplace for stock imagery. At inception, Oringer uploaded 30,000 of his own photos, offering unlimited downloads through a subscription priced at $49 monthly. As user demand increased, he expanded the platform by recruiting additional contributors. By 2006, Shutterstock positioned itself as the largest subscription-based stock photo agency with a collection of 570,000 images and debuted Shutterstock Footage to enter the motion picture market. The image library grew to 1.8 million by 2007, supported by investment from Insight Venture Partners. In August 2008, the company launched its "On Demand" service featuring à la carte pricing, which eliminated daily download restrictions.

On September 23, 2009, Shutterstock acquired Bigstock, a microstock competitor operating on a credit system, enhancing its competitive stance against Getty’s iStock Photo. By early 2010, Shutterstock’s catalog had expanded to include 11 million royalty-free images. In February 2011, the company entered into a two-year collaboration with the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), strengthening its position within the design community.

Acquisitions and Public Offering (2012–2013)

By April 2012, Shutterstock’s collection had grown to encompass 18 million royalty-free images. The following month saw the launch of Shutterstock Instant via Shutterstock Labs, designed to accelerate image browsing through an interlocking mosaic interface. Also in May 2012, the company filed for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange and completed it on October 17 under the ticker symbol SSTK.

In March 2013, Shutterstock unveiled Spectrum, an advanced tool for image discovery that expanded its offerings to 24 million licensable photos, vectors, and illustrations. That August, Shutterstock partnered with Facebook to integrate its extensive library into Facebook’s Ad Creator platform, granting advertisers direct access to Shutterstock images. At this point, Shutterstock supported twenty languages including Thai, Korean, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, and Japanese.

Offset launch and strategic alliances (2013–2014)

In September 2013, Shutterstock introduced Offset, a platform dedicated to premium curated photography from recognized artists. By the following month, the company was serving 750,000 clients, with European customers making up 30% of that figure. By the end of 2013, Shutterstock's valuation had climbed to $2.5 billion, alongside generating $235 million in revenue.

In March 2014, Shutterstock expanded by acquiring Webdam, a provider specializing in digital asset management software. Two months later, it formed a collaboration with Salesforce to embed its image collection within Salesforce's Social Studio platform. July saw the launch of Palette, a feature allowing users to discover images based on multiple color selections. By September 2014, Shutterstock's video library had grown beyond 2 million clips. Contributor engagement was enhanced through the release of a new application designed for streamlined photo uploading and categorization. The company recorded a 39% revenue increase in 2014, reaching $328 million, and distributed over $83 million to about 80,000 contributors.

Recent progress and expansions (2015–present)

In January 2015, Shutterstock acquired Rex Features—Europe’s largest independent photo press agency—for $33 million, alongside PremiumBeat, a provider of royalty-free music and sound effects, for $32 million. A June partnership with Penske Media Corporation granted Shutterstock exclusive access to PMC’s entertainment and fashion archives, including titles like Variety, Women's Wear Daily, and Deadline, enhancing its market position against Getty Images. Additionally, the company acquired BEImages, another significant independent photo press agency.

By March 2016, Shutterstock's contributor base exceeded 100,000 individuals and offered approximately 70 million images plus 4 million video clips. It secured a three-year distribution agreement in the U.S. with the Associated Press for access to 30 million photos and 2 million videos. The active customer count reached 1.4 million across 150 countries.

In July 2016, Shutterstock collaborated with Google's advertising platforms such as AdSense and Google Ads to enable marketers direct access to its image library and performance analytics via API integration. In October of the same year, it entered into a global distribution agreement with the European Pressphoto Agency.

February 2018 marked Shutterstock’s $15 million investment in ZCool, a China-based creative community platform where ZCool had been its exclusive distributor since 2014. Subsequently, Shutterstock divested Webdam by selling it to Amsterdam’s Bynder for $49.1 million as part of a strategic shift away from digital asset management and later partnered with Tencent Social Ads.

In May 2018, Shutterstock partnered with IBM’s Watson Content Hub CMS to integrate AI-driven content creation tools starting in July.

Beginning June 1, 2020, Shutterstock revamped its contributor compensation model from a fixed minimum payment to a percentage-based system determined annually by contributor ratings. Entry-level payouts were reduced from 25 cents to as low as 10 cents or set at 15% of sales revenue—an adjustment that faced resistance from contributors.

In May 2022, Shutterstock expanded its media offerings by acquiring Pond5 for $210 million, adding more than 30 million video clips along with substantial music and sound effect libraries. That same month it also acquired Splash News, an entertainment news network serving media outlets.

In May 2023, following regulatory mandates in the UK requiring divestment by Meta Platforms, Shutterstock purchased Giphy for $53 million.

July 2023 marked the beginning of a six-year collaboration with OpenAI: Shutterstock provided access to its extensive media archives for training DALL-E AI models while benefiting from generative AI features integrated through Giphy for mobile users.

In May 2024, Shutterstock agreed on a $245 million cash acquisition of Envato, thereby adding approximately 650,000 subscribers and broadening its creative asset catalog; this deal was completed in July.

A merger with Getty Images was announced in January 2025 aiming to establish a leading entity within the visual content industry.

Facilities and staff

Shutterstock's main office is located in New York City. In October 2013, the company established its European headquarters in Berlin, Germany, and by March 2014, it had expanded its presence with additional offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, Denver, London, Montréal, Paris, and San Francisco. After operating for several years from a Wall Street location, Shutterstock moved its New York headquarters to the Empire State Building in March 2014 to shorten employees' commute times. The redesigned workspace eliminates private offices but includes 23 "pop-in rooms" dedicated to meetings.

Founded in 2003 by CEO Jon Oringer, who initially was the only employee, Shutterstock grew to a team of 30 by 2007. In 2010, Thilo Semmelbauer joined as COO, bringing expertise from TheLadders.com and Weight Watchers. By October 2013, the workforce had grown to 295 employees and further expanded to 700 by 2016. In 2014, Fast Company recognized Shutterstock's use of "hackathons" as an innovative intrapreneurial approach to drive business creativity.

To comply with Chinese regulatory requirements, Shutterstock adapted its operations to local censorship laws, a move that led more than 180 employees to formally object through a petition.

Business model

Shutterstock functions as a licensing marketplace serving photographers, designers, illustrators, videographers, and musicians. It manages a vast collection of nearly 200 million royalty-free stock photos, vector graphics, and illustrations. Additionally, the company offers around 10 million video clips and music tracks. Shutterstock was among the first to introduce a subscription-based system for bulk image downloads, setting it apart from the traditional pay-per-image sales model.

Contributors join the platform without charge; their submissions undergo a rigorous editorial review process to ensure quality and compliance. By 2016, acceptance rates required at least one out of every ten submitted images to pass review. Historically, about 20% of applicants gained approval to contribute, with fewer than 60% of their images accepted. Contributors upload their work along with keywords and categories for evaluation before licensing. While photographers retain ownership of their copyrights, they grant Shutterstock comprehensive rights for marketing and licensing without needing approval for each individual transaction.

By March 2015, contributors were uploading roughly 50,000 new images daily. Since Shutterstock’s founding, contributors have collectively earned approximately $250 million in royalties, including $80 million paid out in 2014 alone.

Shutterstock film and music

Shutterstock began offering stock video licensing in February 2006 through subscription or individual clip purchases. By 2014, its Shutterstock Footage library contained about 2 million royalty-free clips. Later on, Shutterstock Music was introduced, enabling contributors to submit original audio content.

Shutterstock apps

The Shutterstock app for iPad was launched in November 2011 and earned a Webby Award in 2012. A universal iOS app followed in 2012 and had been downloaded 650,000 times by 2013; this app later incorporated features such as image downloads and color filtering. An Android application was released in 2013. In September 2014, Shutterstock introduced a contributor app available on both iOS and Android platforms to facilitate image uploads and categorization.

Shutterstock Labs

In 2012, Shutterstock introduced Shutterstock Labs to focus on creating innovative tools. One such development was the Shutterstock Instant feature, inspired by the iPad application, which presented images in a connected mosaic layout to streamline the browsing process. The following year, 2013, saw the launch of Spectrum, a search tool that utilized hexagram data to facilitate searches based on color. In 2014, Palette was introduced, allowing users to incorporate specific colors alongside keywords when searching.

Computer vision

Shutterstock engineered a custom convolutional neural network aimed at improving reverse image search capabilities by examining pixel data instead of relying on metadata. In March 2016, the company unveiled Reverse Image Search, enabling users to locate images through visual similarity factors such as color palettes and overall mood. That same month marked the release of Similar Search and Discovery features designed to enhance user interaction on the platform.

AI Image Generator

Shutterstock offers an online image creation service powered by DALL-E 2, expanding its portfolio with AI-based creative solutions.

Censorship of results in China

To adhere to censorship demands from the Chinese government, Shutterstock developed a region-specific application in 2019. This system limits access to search results containing certain sensitive terms within China, affecting both user experience and market penetration in that territory.

Copyright theft

Beginning in 2020, Shutterstock has been accused of hosting copyrighted works contributed by Wikimedia Commons users without proper authorization or remuneration. Despite being aware of these claims, the company has yet to implement substantial remedial measures, exposing itself to reputational harm and potential legal repercussions.

See also

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cioinsight
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  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named NYT-06-05-07
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named press-release-on-demand
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nyse-release
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named s-1-report
  7. ↑ Getty Images and Shutterstock to Merge, Creating a Premier Visual Content Company
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