ASMP Investigates Mira . . .
Stock Asylum Staff Report
July 13, 2005
It was the last thing John Greim needed.
As the executive director of Mira grappled with the launch of a new web site, another distraction was clearly not welcome.
But, another distraction was exactly what Greim got Wednesday afternoon when Eugene Mopsik, executive director of the American Society of Media Photographers, sent an e-mail to ASMP members asking if anyone has any gripes about Mira, a stock photography distributor operated by the Creative Eye artists' cooperative.
Citing complaints from unnamed sources, Mopsik specifically asked if Mira provides all the financial information photographers desire, if sales are reported in a timely manner, if royalty payments are made in full and in a timely manner, and if Mira responds to requests for information in a timely manner.
Mopsik suggested that Creative Eye "may be in violation of their operating agreements and/or governing documents."
Upon hearing of the communication, Greim sighed and quietly responded, "I think it is kind of a low blow."
Greim admitted that there are problems. He said he has been honest and open about Mira's troubles and claimed the difficulties should be resolved by the end of the summer.
Interestingly, ASMP's investigation comes just two weeks after the photographers' organization anounced its own image portal on behalf of member photographers.
On June 30, ASMP told its members it is entering into an agreement with IPNStock to develop a web-based stock photography portal for the organization. If the deal is completed, ASMP photographers will be able to join for relatively low participation fees.
Mopsik said there is no relationship between ASMP's investigation of Mira and the creation of the new portal. He said ASMP will receive no significant financial benefit from the portal.
The ASMP executive director said he initiated the inquiry into Mira's practices at the request of the ASMP board of directors after receiving complaints from a half-dozen members.
He asserted that this investigation is similar to recent ASMP probes into the practices of other stock distributors like Getty Images and Imagestate.
"There's no good time to do this kind of thing or make this kind of inquiry because it always creates discomfort," Mopsik said. He said checking into complaints by photographers is a part of ASMP's mission.
Greim admitted that Mira is sometimes up to two months late in paying photographers and that it has been two years since Creative Eye published an annual report, as required by the cooperative's by-laws.
He also admitted Mira is currently about two months late paying royalties and added that photographers are owed about $15,000. Greim noted, however, that he is negotiating for the cash and should have it within a month at the latest, possibly sooner.
"We're supposed to pay monthly and I do my best based on the cash flow here," Greim asserted.
Greim also said Mira will publish a full financial report by the end of the summer. He said he put the report on the back burner because of the enormous amount of work involved in operating Mira and, more recently, in launching the new web site. He noted that he personally has cleaned thousands of old scans to make them ready for the new web site.
He said, Mira has been very forthcoming about its situation. He said he and Mira's one paid employee, Kathie Woods, always take time to talk to photographers who call and always answer e-mails from Creative Eye's owner-members.
Greim claimed he talked extensively with ASMP's leadership after receiving an e-mail from the organization expressing concern about Mira's situation. He said he initiated the call after receiving the e-mail two months ago.
Mopsik said ASMP asked for additional financial information, but has not yet received it. He admitted that ASMP has no legal right to demand information from Mira. Though ASMP started Mira in the mid-1990s, it severed ties with the cooperative later in the decade. Mopsik noted that ASMP does have the right to ask members of both organizations to voluntarily submit information.
ASMP's investigation comes just as Mira appears to be entering a new phase that Greim believes will improve the cooperative's financial position considerably.
Mira is forging an agreement with ImageSpan, a new company that plans to market stock photography directly to large stock buyers through internal computer networks in place at those companies.
ImageSpan intends to use Mira content to start its program, which could give a boost to Mira sales. In addition, ImageSpan is helping Mira develop a new, more-sophisticated web site and will host the site when completed ( for full story, click here ).
The ImageSpan agreement offers the first glimmer of real hope for the cooperative that almost went under in the wake of the World Trade Center disaster. Creative Eye was operating with a substantial line of credit until its bank pulled the plug after the terrorist attacks.
The cooperative almost closed, but Greim and a few others pulled it back together and kept it going. Greim, who is not paid, has provided office space and other support ever since.
Mira can be found at : http://www.mira.com
ASMP is at: http://www.asmp.org
