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The Web-based photo marketing and archiving service Digital Railroad has aggregated the images available in its individual member archives into a single channel with the launch of its Marketplace public beta. Photo buyers can register for free with the site and customize a "portable workspace" that provides access to both the Marketplace and individual archives of members. Digital Railroad's Marketplace currently hosts more than a million images, with a membership composed of individual photographers and more than 50 photo agencies.
Image pricing and licensing options provided by Marketplace include territory publishing for international buyers, customizable licensing that allows members to enter specific use information, and an Express Licensing option that follows the PLUS (Picture Licensing Universal System) Coalition's standard. Digital Railroad also supports negotiated pricing with an international sales team, and pays members a 2 percent referral fee when another photographer's image is referred to a buyer through an individual archive.
Buyers can search Marketplace for images by photographer, keyword, location, caption, licensing type, date range, release status, location, image size, orientation, and rating. Digital Railroad's new community rating system aims to improve search results by allowing photographers, agencies, and buyers to rate photographs, then combining ratings with search terms and other metrics to order search results. Buyers who wish to review particular types of images as they are added to Marketplace can set up keyword-defined RSS feeds.
Digital Railroad's corporate Web site has also been revamped, and includes two new blogs -- "Marketplace" and "Member Showcase" -- that highlight the work of member photographers.
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