Troubled Times for French Agency Eyedea Presse

The photojournalism division of French photo agency Eyedea, which includes what's left of the long-declining Gamma agency, is planning to take legal action this week that could lead to a reorganization, their CEO says.

Eyedea licenses news, celebrity and creative stock images under several brands: Eyedea Presse (Gamma), Eyedea Illustration (Keystone, Rapho, Hoa- Qui, Explorer, Stills) and Eyedea Exclusive. Some of these names are among the oldest brands in photography; Keystone was founded in 1927, Rapho in 1933. Formerly called Groupe Hachette Filipacchi Photos, the agencies were sold to an investment firm called Green Recovery in early 2007.

Editorial photo agencies are struggling to keep sales up as their customers cut budgets in response to a decline in advertising revenue. In an e-mail today, CEO Stéphane Ledoux said Eyedea is confronting the same issues as the overall photo industry.

“In order to anticipate these changes, Eyedea Presse will consider, with the support of its employees, starting a legal process on the 28th of July that could result in a reorganization within Eyedea Presse,” Ledoux wrote. “Presently Eyedea Presse is not structurally adapted to respond to the upheavals of the photo market. We are aware that changes are necessary but we still strongly believe in the future of photography and will definitely be one of the actors in a transformed photo industry.”

Gamma's troubles go back at least a decade. Gamma, which was founded in 1967 and once included a stable of award-winning photojournalists, was slow to adapt to online licensing. The agency faced new competition from international agencies including Corbis (which acquired French competitor Sygma in 1999) and Getty Images. Gamma closed scaled back its New York office in 2002. In 2003 PDN reported that Gamma photographers were complaining about not getting paid on time.

Update, July 28: Reuters, reporting from Paris, says Gamma staffers were told today the agency cannot pay its bills.

Comments

[Stephanie Mole]

Those who worked at the Gamma office in New York until the beginning of 2007, when it actually closed, salute your tremendous journalistic talents!!