FAIRFAX MEDIA is pushing to increase its share of the syndication market with a new unit to sell pictures, video and stories from its archives and current material to others, including those who want to publish their own websites but lack sufficient material.
The move comes as the dominant global photography agency, Getty Images, begins to push Fairfax photo sales overseas, as part of an effort by Fairfax to increase revenue beyond its own print and online publications.
Its new syndication website is live from today, and aims to increase revenue from material already published by making it easier for companies to buy material for their own websites, publications and intranets.
It combines the existing consumer-oriented Fairfax Photos, and reproduction of newspaper front pages, with a new offering for commercial licences for material from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, the Sunday newspapers in both major cities, photographs from The Australian Financial Review, and material from its rural and niche publications.
The general manager of Fairfax Syndication, Wendell Williams, said syndication was becoming increasingly important to publishers. Unlike a wire service such as AAP, he said, the Fairfax service was focused not only on breaking news but also on offering features and ''depth of content'' both on current news and material from its archives.
Fairfax is encouraging those web publishers to pay to use material legally - rather than take it for free but in breach of copyright - by including a button on original stories on Fairfax websites that takes people to the Copyright Clearance Centre's Rights Link site to buy a licence to reuse it.
Fairfax says it is spending more on automated methods to check for breaches of copyright, and is looking at ways to make available its archive of more than 11 million images created in its 180-year history.
