EyeEm moves beyond photos with video support
EyeEm is moving beyond photography and into videography, following in the footsteps of Instagram and other apps that have long supported the medium. The company launched its videography early creator program, which enables its 20 million users to post 5 to 40-second clips and monetize their work. As with photos, EyeEm will share revenue in a 50/50 split.
After years of establishing itself as a photo service for creators — including moving from being a social app to launching a marketplace to sell work and making it easier to discover content — EyeEm is now hoping it can create the same magic with video. Previously, the video service was only available to a select few creators focused on aerial, urban, travel, food, or nature videos, but today it is opening up to the masses.
“We are always striving to empower our community to express themselves through the most innovative tools,” said EyeEm chief executive Florian Meissner. “This is just the beginning, and we hope to add additional formats very soon that match the growing demand for moving and immersive media in today’s content marketing industry.”
Videos created and uploaded through the app are eligible for distribution through the EyeEm marketplace, with a similar revenue percentage split between creators and the company. While EyeEm has a web upload tool to suggest tags for photos, it’s using image recognition to process content to make it more easily identifiable and discoverable.
EyeEm states that it’s looking for videos between 5 and 40 seconds in length with a horizontal aspect ratio of 16:9 and a minimum 720p (HD-ready) resolution. Files uploaded should be in a .mov or .mp4 format. The company further stipulates that creators grant it non-exclusive rights to distribute their work and that it not matter if videos are edited. EyeEm cautions that any videos submitted to its marketplace must have the necessary releases.
With video support, EyeEm is looking to become the Getty Images for user-generated content, where brands can purchase photos, and now videos, from non-professionals. So if you have an awesome drone shot, a skateboarding stunt, fall foliage, a 360-degree view, or anything else you think might have commercial value, EyeEm is interested in seeing it and wants to help you make money from your work.