Getty Images and 500px announce exclusive global distribution partnership

New relationship unlocks tens of millions of new photos for licensing from the 500px network

NEW YORK, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Getty Images, a world leader in visual communications, and 500px, the world’s leading social network for photographers, today announced an exclusive distribution partnership that will enable Getty Images customers to access the unique premium royalty-free content from 500px. As a result, the existing Getty Images collection of over 300 million images will expand to include 500px’s growing photographic community content.

Under the terms of the agreement, 500px will continue to represent its photographers, while Getty Images will have exclusive global distribution rights. Visual China Group (“VCG”) will continue to be the exclusive distribution partner inside of China. The partnership follows VCG’s acquisition of 500px, a Toronto-based social network, which represents 13 million professional and hobbyist photographers from over 195 countries and regions.

“As we incorporate the best of 500px into Getty Images, our customers will gain access to a diverse range of images,” said Craig Peters, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Getty Images. “Getty Images is proud to represent 500px’s renowned global community which produces high quality content and we look forward to giving customers around the world access to this incredible content.”

Aneta Filiciak, VP of Strategic Development, 500px, said “We’re excited to build on 500px’s brand heritage and strengthen our focus on the premium market through Getty Images’ world leading distribution capabilities. This is an important step in expanding the reach and sales of our contributors’ content to a broader customer base and represents a significant opportunity for the company and our global photographer community.”

This new partnership cements Getty Images’ position as a world leader in visual media, provides boosted access to high-quality and authentic content, in addition to presenting a wealth of opportunities for future collaboration with a world-leading community sourcing platform.

The 500px collection, will include several million images over the coming months, and new imagery will be added continually. The collection spans across a multitude of subjects including landscapes, portraiture, lifestyle, travel and conceptual photography. 500px content will be available on the Getty Images website from July 1st, 2018.

About Getty Images:

Getty Images is the most trusted and esteemed source of visual content in the world, with over 300 million assets including photos, videos, and music, available through its industry-leading sites www.gettyimages.com and www.istockphoto.com. The Getty Images website serves creative, business and media customers in almost 200 countries and is the first-place people turn to discover, purchase and share powerful visual content from the world’s best photographers and videographers. Getty Images works with over 240,000 contributors and hundreds of image partners to provide comprehensive coverage of more than 130,000 news, sport and entertainment events, impactful creative imagery to communicate any commercial concept and the world’s deepest digital archive of historic photography.

Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of still and moving imagery in communication and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life.  For company news and announcements, visit our Press Room, and for the stories and inspiration behind our content, visit Stories & Trends. Find Getty Images on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Tumblr, or download the Getty Images app where you can explore, save and share the world’s best imagery.

About 500px

500px is the world’s leading social network for photographers, founded in 2009 and based in Toronto. With more than 13 million professional and hobbyist photographers from over 195 countries, the 500px community has shared over 120 million high-quality images since its inception. 500px was recently named one of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50, and has worked with esteemed global brands including Google, Airbnb, Sony and Lonely Planet.

Visit: https://500px.com to learn more. Find 500px on, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest, or download the 500px app on iOS or Android to join the world’s leading social network of photographers.

About VCG

Visual China Group, a public company in China (stock code 000681), is among the top image licensing companies in the world. It is the go-to choice for creative and media professionals in China, and an award-winning leader in copyright protection. Beginning with its strategic investment in 500px in 2015 and the acquisition of Corbis in 2016, VCG, together with its global strategic partner, aims to develop a global photography ecosystem focusing on visual content creation and monetization to better serve photographers, as well as creative and media professionals around the world.