DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

500px sold to Visual China Group, the “Getty of China”

Feb 26, 2018 by Dunja Djudjic 19 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Today, 500px has announced that they got fully acquired by Visual China Group (VCG), also known as the “Getty Images of China.” VCG was 500px’s lead investor in 2015, but as of today, they own 100% of the company’s shares.

Back in October 2015, the collaboration with VCG got 500px under fire. The company launched a Chinese counterpart of the website, 500px.me. The content they posted on 500px would automatically appear on the Chinese counterpart with no opt out. The users protested so hard, that it took only two days for 500px to remove the Chinese sister website entirely. The company admitted that it was a mistake not to be open to the users, and their Community Engagement Manager issued an apology. Later on, they relaunched 500px.me as a beta, and it required the users’ consent for publishing their work.

Ever since it was created in 2009, 500px has grown to the number of 13 million members. In the official announcement of the acquisition, the company explains their goals of selling the website to VCG. There’s a plan to roll out some new features this year, such as improved statistics, private messaging and sub-communities for photographers. 500px also points out that this acquisition will help users have a greater reach.  According to TechCrunch, both companies will also offer AI and blockchain technologies to their members.

As TechCrunch writes, VCG is currently the world’s third-largest visual content provider. Back in 2016, they also acquired Corbis. There is no word on the sale price of 500px, at least not officially. Off the record, a report claims that 500px was sold for $17 million.

Judging from the comments, many users are unhappy with the acquisition. Just like in 2015, some of them have deleted their accounts, and some claim they plan to do it. As it seems, these 500px members are worried because China is not really famous for protecting copyright.

As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never quite liked 500px anyway (I wrote about it here).  I think I should delete my account regardless of VCG’s acquisition, as I almost never use it. But I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. Will this make you delete your account? Or you believe it will open the door for a wider audience and more possibilities?

[via PetaPixel, TechCrunch]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Bill Gates sells image licensing company Corbis to Visual Group China 500px Marketplace shuts down, Getty Images will soon take over 500px and Google Chromecast exclusive interview with 500px500px & Google Chromecast Partnership – Exclusive Interview With 500px Photographer banned from 500px because 500px don’t know what light painting is

Filed Under: news Tagged With: 500px, Acquisition, Visual China Group

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Samsung Galaxy S9 is the first smartphone that lets you change aperture
How Apple makes you cry in three minutes, using only an iPhone X »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • Tourists fight over a photo spot at famous Pedra do Telégrafo
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max: First impressions
  • Blackmagic’s new app turns your iPhone into a cinema camera (kinda)
  • Nikon announces Zf shortage (Surprise!)
  • Finally! Sennheiser EW-DP SKP plug-on transmitter offers 32-bit float recording

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy