Today, Flickr is closing down Marketplace, a photo licensing service that was first introduced back in 2014.
The idea behind the platform was, as with most any stock photography site, to help users get paid by publications and media outlets in need of photographs. But it seems it never panned out the way Flickr had hoped.
“It was our hope to create the right Marketplace for our contributors,” said Flickr in the email. “But based on consistent feedback, we understand there is more work to be done. As a result, we have decided to close the Flickr Marketplace licensing program.”
Flickr says the Marketplace shutdown is effective as of today. For users who are still owed royalties, Flickr notes that they will be paid out, so don’t fear that your money is stuck in limbo.
No one company has solidified its position as the go-to source for stock photography, but it seems as though Flickr is looking to put its focus elsewhere.
Verizon’s impending acquisition of Yahoo will surely shake things up, so it will be interesting to see whether or not Flickr stays around or get spun off entirely as a separate entity once again.
For photographers who do have work hosted on Flickr, it might be wise to start backing it up elsewhere, be it a local or cloud copy, in the event Flickr is to turn to dust down the road. The last thing you want is to lose your work because a photo-sharing site didn’t survive.
