President's Message

Dear DMLA members,At the start of my Presidential term in 2014 there were 3 major goals put into place to move DMLA forward. Now that we are more than half way through the current Executive Committee’s term (5/1/14-5/1/16) it is a good time to share with the membership the accomplishments and continued key initiatives still in the works.3 major goals for DMLA 2014-2016:

1. Increase membership
2. Add value for our members
3. Increase communication

These 3 goals are the most effective ways to build longevity and strengthen our core principles of legal advocacy, networking, and education. After a year of focused efforts and steady implementation, there has been some success and momentum that gives us reason for optimism.Increase membership:Increasing financial resources and expanding involvement is vital to our industry. Changing our name from PACA (Picture Archive Council of America) to DMLA (Digital Media Licensing Association) was the first step to more accurately represent our changing membership and desire to attract related industry segments that are also licensing media.We welcome our new and rejoining members, as well as our new corporate sponsors.New and Rejoining Members, 2014-2015:Returning Members:

• FotoSearch
• Getty Images
• PhotoSpin

Corporate Sponsors:

• Karen D’Silva Creative Services
• Clear Arts
• Digimarc
• Haystack
• Imagewiki

General Members:

• 500px Prime
• Adobe Systems
• Celebrity Footage
• GraphicaArtis
• Hero Images
• Novel Expression
• PhotoAbility
• Stocksy United
• Stock Pot Images
• Vault Archives

Associate Members:

• Eugene Mopsik
• Michael Beasley

International:

• Steven Skilfas Photography
• PressFoto PTE

Our new members and sponsors have joined DMLA under the leadership of Leslie Hughes, CEO of Visual Steam, as DMLA Membership Committee Chair.Over the next 6 months we will be starting an initiative to increase membership in related industries that license content outside of traditional stock photography. We will be making new contacts through licensing conferences, research and developing company lists, and cold calls.Adding Value:Our member’s have different needs today than they did when the trade organization began over 60 years ago, actually, different than the needs from 10 years ago. To address the changing landscape, we are looking at ways to bring the entire licensing community to the table: clients, photographers/filmmakers, and licensors. By getting everyone engaged, we provide new opportunities for our members, expand our membership, and have the ability to communicate needed information to a wider, relevant group. The Annual DMLA Conference -- Please join us at the DMLA Conference October 25-27, 2015 in NJ City. You get all the information here. This is one of the greatest benefits of your association membershipTwo days of DMLA conference presentations will have you up to speed and feeling inspired. You will be hearing directly from many of the innovators and industry experts in technology and marketing, legal, content creation, and sales. Committee Chair, Ellen Boughn, along with the conference committee have been hard at work!  Special thanks to Agency Access for being our major sponsor for our 20th Annual Conference and to Condé Nast, Corbis and Stocksy who have already stepped up as event sponsors!Conference committee:

• Cathy Aron
• Doug Dawirs
• Lynn Eskenazi
• Ellen Herbert
• Paul Melcher
• Nuno Silva
• Sonia Wasco

Annual DMLA Conference Party –What better way to bring everyone from the licensing community together than to celebrate with a party! The 2014 Annual DMLA Conference Party held at The International Center For Photography was well received. This was the first time everyone in the licensing community was invited. The invitations had an extensive mailing list through Agency Access, Visual Connections, ASMP, and DMLA the event was well attended.In 2015, we will continue to make investments in a larger party to bring everyone together. We are excited to announce that the 2015 Annual DMLA Conference Party will be at a brand new venue at the Condé Nast event space on the 34^th floor of the World Trade Center. Please join us for a spectacular view and great company.This year we would like to celebrate at the Annual Party by holding our first DMLA Members Award. Our trade organization can only function with the support of our membership volunteers. It’s a fantastic opportunity to make new business connections, apply skills, and build a resume. We would like to recognize those members who have gone above and beyond to support our industry and trade organization through their volunteer efforts. We will have an award for a Life Time Achievement and 2015 Contributions.Webinars – Our new quarterly webinars reach an expanded audience on a regular basis, providing live discussions as well as a growing archive resource. This tool gives us a way to consistently share educational information throughout the year. To promote this new offering and to reach everyone within our industry the webinars have been made available to members and non-members alike, as well as access to the recordings. We will be re-evaluating access at the end of the year for non-members. The live webinars have averaged 100 attendees per session and 400 downloads to the recordings on Vimeo.Please join us for our next webinar on Sales 9/30/15. More information to follow soon.Access to archived webinars:https://vimeo.com/user34412421/videosIncrease Communication:We have been working on increasing communication to our members as well as and the licensing community at large. We strive to provide frequent and substantive information. Additionally, it requires modernization to more effectively reach a wider audience and present the information in an aesthetically pleasing way.Marketing --Brand Identity: In 2014 our Marketing Committee Chair, Karen D’Silva, has brought great value in her volunteer role by procuring key marketing relationships, along with creative oversight on promotions. In 2014, advertising agency, Biggs&Co became corporate sponsors. They provided, free of charge, an updated brand identity and 2014 conference promotional design in exchange for the promotional benefits as a corporate sponsor.In 2015, Agency Access became corporate sponsors and amazing supporters of our organization. They are currently providing all of the 2015 conference design and marketing services along with access to their client mailing list, reaching 10,000+ recipients.PacaSearch (soon to be DMLAsearch):To be in line with our branding and name changes, PacaSearch, our online searchable database of member’s content, will be getting a name change to DMLASearch and a website facelift. We will be starting a massive rebranding campaign in Q4, 2015. The Agency Access mailing list will be put to good use to promote this service.An email has gone out to all DMLA members requesting visuals for the DMLAsearch homepage. Please contact Cathy Aron if you need more information.Social Media:DMLA is a great outlet to have lively discussions about industry issues, share industry information, and be apart of the community. We encourage you to participate. To make our outreach more timely, consistent, and effective we are working with Riley Cardoza, an NYU English student to be a regular resource for content. She has ‘liked’ and become ‘friends’ with all of our members, affiliates, and corporate sponsors in an effort to share and re-tweet your information. She will also be attending the conference and live tweeting from the event. There is still a lot of work to do. The Executive Committee meets monthly and will have an in-person meeting just before the conference in October. We welcome your feedback and appreciate any support you can provide to help us further achieve our goals.We appreciate all of our member’s participation and financial support that allows our trade organization to thrive as an outlet for important legal advocacy, networking opportunities, and as a leading source for educational information. Make sure to take full advantage of your membership by including staff & co-workers in our communication, being active on the DMLA Facebook group page, and volunteering or sponsoring our events.. We will continue to work hard to expand membership, communication, and add value for our membership. Sincerely,Sarah Fix