Microstock Photo Agencies

By vikvik

  • Microsoft founder Bill Gates forms Interactive Home Systems(predecessor of Corbis)

    the company was personally founded by Bill Gates in 1989.
    The initial concept was to catalogue, index and acquire further image collections which would be used in the future when the digital technology would become more advanced

  • Corbis

    The Bettmann Archive is acquired by Corbis, dramatically increasing the company's visual content collection. Later in 1996 exclusive rights to 40,000 Ansel Adams photographs are obtained

  • Corbis on the Internet

  • Getty Images emerge

    Getty Communications at the time, merged with PhotoDisc, Inc. to form Getty Images

  • Digital Stock Corp. and Westlight are acquired by Corbis

    This greatly increases the content available to professional customers

  • iStockphoto emerges

    Bruce Livingstone, pioneer of microstock photography created iStockphoto

  • Corbis buys Sygma

    France-based Sygma is acquired, adding 40 million images to Corbis's content

  • iStockphoto sold to Getty Images

    Livingstone sells iStockphoto to Getty Images for US $50 million

  • Jupiterimages acquires StockXpert and Stock.xchng

  • Getty Images buys Jupiterimages for US$96 million

  • Getty Images buys flickr

    Some user’s images are sought for sale

  • Shutterstock purchases BigStockPhoto

  • StockXpert.com is closed down by new owner Getty Images and traffic redirected to iStockphoto

  • Getty Images announces the launch of subscription-based site ThinkStockPhotos.com

  • Dreamstime celebrate their 10 millionth image