Correct translation would be (roughly):

"The future lies - beside photos - in stock video and stock audio, and the importance of stock photos will continually decline"

Correct translation would be (roughly):

"The future lies - beside photos - in stock video and stock audio, and the importance of stock photos will continually decline"

So the word "stock" translated into "floor to floor"?  Or was it the beside?

Good points and interesting reading. Thanks for the help.

I think he's saying that video and audio will be the new markets for expansion and there would be less demand for still photos. Technology makes moving pictures with sound, more viable for creative projects on the web or for electronic devices.

Much of the information and news market is now electronic. I don't find anything surprising in his views, any more than when B&W photos were replaced with color in most print media. The cost came down, the competition went up and the market demanded it to attract costomers.

However, print media will still need stock photos. Newspapers and print media are once again (there was a big decline in the 70's and 80's) downsizing or disappearing. So the conclusion is there will still be a need, but less than currently as better technology replaces the old.

 

I guess the problem with the automatic translation comes from missing disambiguation 
"Stock"-photographie is originally an English term, but - as many English words - is used in German as well. But "Stock" in German also translates to floor (like the second floor in a building - in German "zweiter Stock").

And I wouldn't interpret that as "Future is negative", but more as "relatively speaking, sales of video and audio will grow a lot stronger than sales of photos".

And I do appreciate the help, it cleared up the translation. I just thought the floor was funny.

I agree with the second part, as you see it. The growth will be in video and audio. Any drop in print media will reduce the demand for stock, but the increase in use of less expensive shots should help balance that, as users try to economize. Stagnation of stock photo sales may be what we'll see, instead of a negative trend.