Shutterstock Acquires Pond5 – What Does This Mean for Filmmakers?

Acquisition

by Digby HoganMay 19^th, 2022

We all know Shutterstock as the “place to get stock footage, photos, and more from”. Over the years many players have joined this competitive field and so has Pond5 with their extensive library. Now the two greats are coming together as Shutterstock acquires Pond5 to share their experience and share the goal of changing the world of stock media and content.

Shutterstock acquires Pond5 with a market stealing purchase (in my opinion) grabbing the competing stock media giant Pond5 for a $210 million cash deal. This acquisition solidifies Shutterstock’s position as a leading destination for video and music content suited to creative professionals, production companies, and enterprises alike.

Pond5’s content is nothing to shy away from (and Shutterstock grabbed it with both hands!). Their content can be viewed across creative landscapes to the tune of Netflix, Disney and the BBC. This integration of Pond5’s clips will add immense value to Shutterstock Studios customers for short form and long form creation.

What makes this a good partnership?

Since its digital birth in 2006, Pond5 have grown into a massive contributor network, coming in at 115,000 active contributors across 180 countries! Between these contributors they upload more than 2.5 million assets each month, that’s an eye-watering amount of content!

Jon Oringer, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Shutterstock had this to say:

The acquisition of Pond5 provides immense value for our global customer base, with unparalleled access to one of the largest collections of editorial and commercial video content in the world. Our contributors will also benefit from having their work showcased on Pond5’s platform, expanding their portfolio to new customers.

Jon Oringer, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Shutterstock

Tom Crary, CEO at Pond5, added:

“We could not be more thrilled to join forces with Shutterstock to lead the video and music space. Our combined editorial offerings will be a competitive force in the market, and offer additional choice to customers with highly exclusive editorial video content.”

Tom Crary, CEO at Pond5

Shutterstock – the new “Stock Media” Godfather?

With a move like this, even Al Pacino would be impressed as this purchase sets them apart from the rest. Working with its growing community of now over 2 million contributors, Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images each week, and currently has more than 405 million images and more than 25 million video clips available to its users.

Headquartered in New York City, Shutterstock has real estate windows overlooking streets across the world and customers in more than 150 countries. The Company now owning Pond5, the world’s largest video marketplace, also boasts the following in their inventory:

1. TurboSquid, the world’s largest 3D content marketplace, 
2. PicMonkey, a leading online graphic design and image editing platform;
3. Offset, a high-end image collection;
4. Shutterstock Studios, an end-to-end custom creative shop;
5. PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library;
6. Shutterstock Editorial, a premier source of editorial images and videos for the world’s media; 
7. Amper Music, an AI-driven music platform; and Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media offering.

The future of creativity and content

As Shutterstock acquires Pond5 it’s safe to say this move allows for huge growth within the stock media space. As they say “with great power comes great responsibility”, so Shutterstock needs to use this power wisely, continue to innovate, and provide the best solutions for their customers.

On a personal note, I’m very interested to see how other players like Artlist.io & Artrid.io (check our coverage here) who offer a very affordable, annual subscription solution will combat the Shutterstocks of the world. Competition is vital to innovation and continued success within an industry as a whole, so as much as purchasing your competition is a good thing, a little bit of rivalry surely doesn’t hurt!

Let us know in the comments below what you currently use for your stock media needs. What do you think the biggest issue to be solved in this space is? We would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.