I really don't see how the google deal can be described as a "traditional payment model".  It seems to be a unique deal.
And if they get rid of the "crowd sourced contributors" then they lose all of iStock and chunks of TS and Photos.com. Our work isn't theirs. They can't dump us and keep the images.

My knowledge of the industry is minimal...

... And I don't believe Jonathan Klein is a fool.

Well, I'd hope that my knowledge of the industry is considerably less than 'minimal' ... and I do believe that Klein is a fool. A very big one. I wouldn't employ him to run my bath, let alone my business.

It was under JK's leadership that Getty's share price plummeted to the level that Getty's stock holders were more than happy to sell out cheaply to H&F (and were recommended to do so by JK). We all know what happened next.

Having bought Istock in 2006, for a fraction of it's true worth, Klein seems determined to run Istock's value back down to the $50M he paid for it. He's getting there ... quite quickly too.

Maybe you can tell me what Klein has achieved over the last 5 years or so?

I really don't see how the google deal can be described as a "traditional payment model".  It seems to be a unique deal.
And if they get rid of the "crowd sourced contributors" then they lose all of iStock and chunks of TS and Photos.com. Our work isn't theirs. They can't dump us and keep the images.

As I said earlier I'm certainly no authority, so I stand to be corrected. Didn't Getty once sell CDs full of images? Seems to me the Google deal is a somewhat updated version of that, which is what I was referring to as 'traditional payment model'. Or one of them.

All of this is intentional, I told you why!
They bought customers, not us or our images, its time to shut down iStock!
Their main fear is runaway of customers to other agencies during the shutdown process...
Customers are only and true value of their acquisition several years ago!

P.S.

That is reason why Stockfresh won't be sold as Stockxpert! Never again!
There is not such part of market any more on this world...
Positions are occupied, there is only a struggle and bribery, but it takes money...

Christina, all that growth you are taking about happened under Bruce leadership. Although he sold istock to Getty in 2006 he stayed as CEO for another three years. He took advantage of many things getty had to offer - the established cv and ability to sell in 12 languages. Offices and sales team around the globe. He started two international language forums to support the expansion and attract more localized content, he and his team pushed workshops and shooting events around the globe.

Bruce is the man who made sure istock was a well oiled running business machine and so was Kelly Thompson who took over after him. He was not the most talented in the forums but he understood how the business dynamics on istock worked, how this very modern company with this new business model of admins who are also media producers and buyers, the community, the pro shooters, he understood how it all worked together.

But it seems getty hq didn't really bother to learn how this extremy valuable asset works. Their corporate tactics are just inappropriate for a 21 st century company like istock.

Bruce, Kelly and the whole istock team and community were the ones that built it.

Getty HQ looks determined to bring it crashing down.

Eta: I don't remember Jonathan Klein ever venturing into the forums or attempting to connect with the movers and shakers of the marketplace he owns.

It's like being the owner of a huge, huge mall. Even if you have a manager running it for you, wouldn't you sometimes walk into the place, talk to the different shop owners, just sit in a cafe watching the crowds to get a feeling for the mood and the vibes of the place?

And do you think you could get the same assessment how your investment is being run by watching the security footage from another country?

Nobody is expexcting him or the owners to get into the details. Just let the marketplace know that there is an owner there that looks into things and takes care the marketplace is well looked after.

"crowd sourcing"?? That is how the company gets images. How else?? All exclusives??? Where do that get the exclusives from?? Lack of image diversity and quality will surely be a major problem for them. Other agencies have increased standards. Istock seems to be falling big time.

Istock will go down until it's a compete mess and then Bruce (who invested his millions) will fly back in and buy it up again at pennies on the dollar and lead it to supremacy again!

It worked for Apple/Jobs.