WireImage Dips A Toe Into Commercial Stock September 22, 2005 By Daryl Lang Photo District News WireImage, a picture service known for dishing up celebrity and sports images to editorial clients, has quietly launched a new commercial stock photography web site. Called WireImage Creative, the new service is now distributing four royalty-free image libraries and is negotiating to offer several more, says Holger Laufenberg, vice president for WireImage Creative and Stock. The company added a new "Creative" tab to its web site this week and plans to formally announce the new service in the coming days. Laufenberg says WireImage - which is owned by MediaVast - hopes to capitalize on the popularity of its web site, which is already a well-known destination for editorial clients. "It seemed that WireImage.com was the natural vehicle to distribute third-party content," Laufenberg says. As part of its Creative service, WireImage is also offering its own new rights-managed stock library (conveniently called WireImage Stock) and an assignment agency called WincReps. The four third-party image libraries offered are SuperStock's Purestock, Image Source, Design Pics and Blend Images. The new Creative service is especially noteworthy for SuperStock, based in Jacksonville, Fla., which is trying to expand the reach of its Purestock RF collections. SuperStock is marketing Purestock as a lower-priced brand, hoping to fill a niche in a crowded market, says Susan O'Brien, vice president of global channel and product management. Purestock recently tripled the number of images it offers, from 2,000 to 6,000, and it plans to launch three more collections next year. The company has signed on with more than 100 distributors internationally, including a deal earlier this month with NewsCom, a partnership of Knight Ridder and Tribue Media Services. As part of its expansion plans, SuperStock is also seeking photographers who shoot lifestyle and business images. SuperStock has created a recruitment web site for photographers at www.superstock.com/expose. © 2005 VNU eMedia Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission of Photo District News.