Laughing Kids from Hell called Corbis and Getty?

AFTER WE PUBLISHED our shocking report on the Laughing Kids from Hell and their repeated appearances on ads by different companies, several readers contacted us to tell us that the Evil Pair has been now spotted working for Amstrad. And they were right. You can see them below and at this url.

A big thanks then to our readers Paul, Peter, George, and Matthew who spotted them. A reader named Steve was the only one who actually liked the Kids and their Evil Laugh: "Oh Fernando 'laughing kids from hell' are a couple of the cutest poster boys in quite some time..." he wrote.

Another Paul, but this time Paul Sundling voiced his opinions, which I share so I'm reproducing them fully with his permission:

"You really shouldn't be surprised by the common occurrences of the same images. There are only really two major companies that sell most stock images. The two big ones are Getty Images and Corbis (which is largely owned by Microsoft). Is it really any wonder that there is a lack of diversity with only two main sources?

"This proliferation of a small number of choices is exactly the reason why we should be wary about the level of power we give to the large media conglomerates."

There's proof to back Mr. Sundling's fears.

This TechWeb article titled "Image Choices Dwindle To Two: Corbis Or Getty" and dating back four years ago exposed the dangers of this media consolidation in the stock photo marketplace. It said: "Two stock photography behemoths -- Corbis Images and Getty Images Inc. -- are snapping up smaller stock photographic collections faster than a shutter in bright sun. In the process, they're raising questions about the future of the industry that provides canned photographs mainly to book and magazine publishers and advertising agencies."

If you thought that Bill Gates' Corbis and Mark Getty's Getty Images were peacefully co-existing, think again. This other article describes Gates' plans for Corbis, noting that the company has acquired eleven potential competitors since 1995, "Gates has quietly amassed the largest collection of stock photography and fine art images in the world", including "a repository of millions of historical photographs from the 20th century that Corbis keeps in cold storage under a mountain in remote Pennsylvania" the article notes. In the April 2004 article, correctly titled "Image Control", it's pointed out that "Corbis has never made a profit but said its sales reached $140 million in 2003". Another venture subsidized by the Windows and Microsoft Office cash cows, we venture. Following the Microsoft tradition the company is out to crush and destroy its rival Getty. If you think two companies was a bad scenario, think of the outcome when there's just one: Corbis CEO Steve Davis said "We will keep slogging away to take share from Getty and take share from other people -- that's our intent". Given Gates' deep pockets, I'm sure they can and will.

The company also seems to be following the SCO School of Thought approach of "taking everyone to court" to secure their image royalties tax from unsuspecting infringers. So think twice before snapping that girl, man, car, or landscape picture from another web site, assuming it's public domain, and placing it into your web page, you could be treated as a criminal. Corbis tracks and sues whoever they find infringing on their IP rights. Legal action helped Corbis collect $1.6 million last year. No wonder Gates is quoted in the same report saying IP rights "are the lifeblood of our business". Even Amazon.com was sued back in June.

If you thought that things looked ugly so far, there's more: a Hollywood Reporter article published just weeks ago says these companies are moving from stock photos to video as well. We guess then that making a documentary or other historical film using small clips of TV footage is probably going to be if not impossible, extremely expensive, because these companies will eventually own everything that was once aired, and they'll demand you their hefty fees for the right to "re-use" such content.

The article mentions that in the 2003 film "Matrix Reloaded", a wall of monitors displays several horrific historical footage, from the WTC towers burning, to dead bodies at Auschwitz, to Ku Klux Klan members marching. All that footage, all 59 clips according to the report, were licensed by Gates' Corbis Motion, which is already dubbed "the second-biggest player in the stock footage industry". Even seconds-long clips can be licenced for $2,000 greenbacks each, and expect to pay about $15,000 for a 30-second clip.

I think that reader was right when he called the Laughing Lids from Hell just a pair of "cute poster boys". Some other wealthy nerds bearing glasses are much more fear inspiring. Scared already? µ

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