Vimeo moves into the stock video business

6 Sep 2018

Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud. Image: Stephen McCarthy/Collision Conf/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Vimeo creates a new market for creative filmmakers.

Online video platform Vimeo has expanded into the stock footage space with a new platform called Vimeo Stock.

Revealed at the HubSpot Inbound 2018 conference in Boston, CEO Anjali Sud said that the platform is a response to a real need from creatives, filmmakers and video storytellers.

‘We have the opportunity to disrupt the stock industry. We are blessed with one of the largest creative communities – why not rally them?’
– ANJALI SUD

“With Vimeo Stock, you will be able to easily search and license footage, get access to exclusive content from our creative community.

“Half the content will be from creators who have never sold stock footage before.”

Reeling them in

It is understood that stock contributors will be able to keep up to 70pc of the revenue from their licensed clip, compared with the industry average of only 35pc. Paid members will be able to get an automatic 20pc saving on content.

The platform has also exclusively partnered with filmmaking collective Story & Heart, animator Hannah Jacobs and adventure and travel filmmaker Raphael Rogers.

Sud told Inbound 2018 that the inspiration for the platform for stock videos came from Derick Rhodes, the company’s senior director in charge of creator programmes. A prolific filmmaker in his own right, Rhodes was addressing a scaling challenge and the need to access high-quality stock footage while managing costs, and so he suggested the idea to build Vimeo Stock.

“He made a business pitch and, in addition to his job, he led a small stealth team to build Vimeo Stock and that’s what they did,” said Sud.

“We have the opportunity to disrupt the stock industry. We are blessed with one of the largest creative communities – why not rally them?”

It is estimated that more than 240m people watch content on Vimeo’s platform every month, with 800,000 people tapping into its tools for creators.

The stock footage space is already dominated by players such as Getty and Shutterstock. However, Vimeo believes it has a certain cachet among creative, and plans to consolidate its position as a go-to resource for quality stock clips.

Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud. Image: Stephen McCarthy/Collision Conf/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com