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Don’t Let Big Platforms Take Control: The Value of Local Real Estate Photography Partnerships
Stand up for your listings and your community—don’t hand over control of your property images to big platforms. Choose Showcase Photographers to keep ownership in your hands, where it belongs. Best price, quality, and availability—Showcase Photographers, your local media partners.
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Why Real Estate Agents Should Rethink Big Platform Photography: The Case for Local, Independent Media Partners
In an era of digital transformation, real estate agents have an abundance of tools at their disposal. Among these tools are photography platforms that provide listings with high-quality visuals at competitive rates, often facilitated through large-scale platforms such as Aryeo, owned by Zillow. However, while these platforms may offer some convenience, the hidden costs of using them can have significant implications for real estate agents and their clients. This article is not intended to imply any wrongdoing by Aryeo, Zillow, or other large platforms. Instead, it’s here to help agents and brokers understand the potential impact on their rights, relationships, and reputation when entrusting third-party platforms with their media.
Understanding Aryeo’s Licensing Terms and Zillow’s Integration
Aryeo’s licensing agreement grants Zillow, as its parent company, significant rights over the photos and media uploaded to their platform. According to Aryeo’s Terms of Service, agents retain ownership of their media but must grant Aryeo a “worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and transferable license.” This license permits Aryeo—and potentially Zillow—to use, reproduce, display, and distribute the media in connection with its business. The key takeaway? Although agents and brokerages technically maintain ownership, the licensing rights granted to Aryeo and Zillow allow these companies to use and promote the media as they see fit. In practice, this could mean images of a sold property remain online, even if the new homeowner objects or asks the agent to remove them. Once an image is on Zillow’s platform, agents have little recourse to manage or control how or where it’s displayed.
Real-World Consequences: Loss of Control Over Listings
Imagine a scenario where a homeowner requests that listing photos be removed after their purchase has closed. Perhaps the new owner is privacy-conscious, or maybe they prefer not to have internal photos of their home displayed indefinitely. When photos are hosted on platforms like Zillow through Aryeo, agents may find they lack the power to fulfill such a request. In this case, the inability to comply may not only lead to tension between the agent and the client but could also create ill will toward the agent, who appears unable—or unwilling—to meet their client’s request. In another scenario, consider a situation where Zillow secures a listing from a new agent. Due to the broad license granted by Aryeo, Zillow could use the original listing media from a different agent to market the new listing, effectively “recycling” images to suit its own purposes. For the original agent, this means that photos they commissioned for one listing may now be used in ways that they did not intend, further diluting their control and brand presence. These scenarios underscore the risk of ceding control to third-party platforms. Not only can it impact an agent’s relationship with clients, but it also raises questions about the integrity of listings and the unique value agents bring to the table.
The Dilemma for Local Photographers on Aryeo’s Platform
With Zillow’s acquisition of Aryeo, independent photographers who use the Aryeo platform now face a dilemma. Although they work as independent agents, Aryeo’s terms effectively force them to hand over broad licensing rights to Zillow. This licensing arrangement creates a conflict between the nature of their independent work and the policies set by Aryeo, limiting the photographers’ ability to guarantee exclusive rights to agents and potentially undermining the value of local photographers for real estate professionals.
The Importance of Supporting Local, Independent Media Partners
Local photographers and independent media partners, such as Showcase Photographers, offer an alternative that aligns with an agent’s values of ownership, autonomy, and client-centered service. Choosing a local partner helps keep licensing and distribution rights within the community, where agents have direct access to the creators of their media. Independent photographers don’t pass along control to a third party, allowing agents to meet client requests swiftly and effectively. Moreover, as agents themselves often operate as small business owners, supporting local photographers promotes the health of the local economy and reinforces the collaborative relationship between local businesses. Agents and photographers work together as partners, each vested in the success of the other. Showcase Photographers, for example, remain unaffiliated with Aryeo and Zillow, providing agents with a true local partnership free from restrictive licensing terms.
Empower Your Listings and Your Business: Choose Showcase Photographers
By choosing a local partner, agents can avoid restrictive licensing agreements and retain the power to manage their media according to the needs of their clients. Showcase Photographers, for example, provides real estate agents with high-quality photos, a commitment to client control, and an understanding of the local market. With competitive pricing, outstanding quality, and unmatched availability, Showcase Photographers delivers on the promise of a responsive, client-centered experience. In an industry where agents go above and beyond to meet the needs of clients, choosing a media partner that aligns with that mission is crucial. Retain control over your listings, protect your professional reputation, and keep media rights local with Showcase Photographers—your trusted media partner.
Final Thoughts
For real estate agents whose photographers currently use the Aryeo platform, there may still be options to retain control over their media rights. By coordinating with their photographer to handle media outside of Aryeo’s system—such as delivering photos directly rather than uploading them to Aryeo/Zillow’s platform—agents may preserve their media’s autonomy and avoid transferring additional licensing rights. Open conversations with your photographer can help ensure that your listings’ visuals remain truly yours, serving your interests first and foremost.
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