Getty Images Is Turning Its Huge Library of Photographs Into NFTs

Getty Images is partnering with NFT marketplace Candy Digital to develop NFT collections derived from its repository, including never-before-seen analog photographs

Getty Images, one of the largest suppliers of stock images and editorial photographs, is getting into NFTs. The British-American firm recently announced that it has entered a multi-year partnership with NFT marketplace Candy Digital, with the purpose to develop a diverse portfolio of NFT collections derived from Getty Images' extensive library of photographs.

Getty Images' repository features more than 465 million images, including over 135 million analog images from its photographic archive, not to mention more than 30 million new digital assets that it adds every year. In announcing the partnership, Getty Images said that many of the analog photos have actually never been seen before by the general public, and contain rare images from legendary photographers spanning over the last 170 years. With this partnership, Getty Images is planning to provide the opportunity for people to view and collect those works for the very first time.

The initial NFT collections from Getty Images are planned to arrive exclusively on Candy in the coming months. The NFTs will be minted on Palm, which is an Ethereum side-chain that claims to consume 99% less energy than Ethereum's main network. Getty's marketplace on Candy will support primary and secondary market transactions and purchases using either crypto payments or traditional credit cards.

For Getty Images, the decision to jump on the NFT bandwagon is based on the company's intention to tap into a new market and customer base. The fast-growing global audience of NFT collectors may certainly be one of the deciding factors for Getty Images, adding to the fact that photography NFTs themselves have already carved a niche separate from the more widely known PFP NFT projects.

As for Candy Digital, this partnership marks its first foray into the world of arts and culture. Prior to this, Candy's NFT portfolio mainly revolves around the world of sports, with big sporting names like Major League Baseball, NASCAR, and WWE serving as its official partners in content production.

Source: Decrypt.