Getty-Shutterstock Merger Faces UK Scrutiny: What Photographers Need to Know

The UK’s competition regulator just threw a wrench into one of the biggest deals in stock photography history — and if you’re a photographer who licenses images, you need to pay attention.

On February 19, 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released its interim report on the proposed Getty Images-Shutterstock merger, flagging serious concerns about what the deal could mean for editorial content supply in the UK. While the regulator gave a tentative green light on the broader global stock imagery market, the editorial side — press photos, sports coverage, celebrity events — is a different story.

Here’s what’s happening, why it matters for photographers, and what you should actually do about it.

What the CMA Actually Found

The CMA’s interim report is nuanced. The regulator examined two distinct markets:

• Global stock content: No significant concerns. The CMA noted that generative AI tools can now produce convincing stock imagery, and competitors like Adobe Stock and Canva provide meaningful alternatives.
• UK editorial content: Preliminary concerns raised. Combining Getty and Shutterstock would create a dominant force in press, sports, and celebrity photography — content that AI simply cannot replicate.

“Editorial images — which cover everything from red carpet and celebrity images to pictures and videos of sports or major breaking news events — are used by media outlets, publishers and filmmakers to bring stories to life for UK audiences,” said Margot Daly, chair of the CMA’s independent investigation panel. “Any loss of competition could be strongly felt by these customers.”

This distinction is critical. The CMA is essentially saying: generic stock photos have alternatives, but real-world editorial photography does not.

The Merger Timeline: How We Got Here

This deal has been a long time coming. Here’s the key timeline:

• January 2025: Getty Images announces a $3.7 billion acquisition of Shutterstock, proposing to merge two of the largest visual media companies in the world.
• Mid-2025: Regulatory reviews begin across multiple jurisdictions — the UK (CMA), the US (Department of Justice), and the EU.
• October 2025: The CMA escalates to an in-depth Phase 2 investigation, rejecting initial remedies proposed by Getty and Shutterstock.
• February 19, 2026: CMA releases interim report with provisional concerns about UK editorial content.
• March 12, 2026: Deadline for Getty and Shutterstock to respond to interim findings.
• April 19, 2026: CMA’s statutory deadline for a final decision.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice is conducting its own parallel review of the transaction. Getty and Shutterstock say they remain “engaged” with US regulators, though no formal findings have been published yet.

What a Combined Getty-Shutterstock Would Control

To understand why regulators are concerned, consider what these two companies represent together:

• Getty Images is the dominant player in editorial photography — press events, sports, entertainment, and breaking news. Major news outlets worldwide rely on Getty’s editorial wire service.
• Shutterstock is one of the largest commercial stock photography platforms, with over 400 million images and a massive contributor base.
• Together, they would control a significant share of both editorial and commercial stock photography — giving them enormous leverage over pricing, licensing terms, and contributor payouts.

For editorial content specifically, there are very few alternatives. You can’t AI-generate a photo of last night’s Premier League match or a breaking news event. That’s real photography, captured by real photographers — and Getty already dominates that space.

How This Affects Photographers

Whether this merger goes through, gets blocked, or gets approved with conditions, it has real implications for working photographers. Here’s what’s at stake:

Pricing Power Shifts to the Platform

When two major buyers of photography merge, they gain more pricing power over contributors. Fewer competing platforms means less incentive to offer competitive royalty rates. If you’re currently selling stock photos through both Getty and Shutterstock, a merger could mean dealing with a single entity that sets the terms.

Contributor Earnings Could Decline

Stock photography contributor earnings have already been declining for years. Shutterstock’s controversial 2020 earnings restructure — which reset contributor levels and slashed payouts — is still fresh in many photographers’ minds. A merged entity with less competitive pressure could accelerate this downward trend.

Exclusivity Pressure

A larger, more dominant platform could push harder for exclusive licensing agreements. If one company controls the lion’s share of both editorial and commercial stock, photographers may face increasing pressure to go exclusive — limiting their ability to earn across multiple platforms.

Licensing Terms Could Get Worse

With less competition, there’s less incentive to offer photographer-friendly licensing terms. This could affect everything from rights-managed pricing to how contributor content is used in AI training datasets — a topic that’s already contentious across the photography and entertainment industries.

The AI Complication

Interestingly, the CMA itself acknowledged that generative AI is already a competitive factor in the stock imagery market. This is a double-edged sword for photographers. AI may weaken the case for blocking the merger (since AI provides “competition”), but it simultaneously threatens photographer livelihoods by devaluing human-created stock content.

The fact that a government regulator is treating AI as a legitimate market competitor to human photographers should be a wake-up call for the entire industry.

What Photographers Should Do Now

Regardless of how this merger plays out, the writing is on the wall: consolidation in the stock photography industry is happening, and photographers need to adapt. Here’s a practical action plan:

1. Diversify Your Platforms

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you’re exclusively on Getty or Shutterstock, start uploading to other platforms immediately. The best stock photo sites for photographers in 2026 include:

• Adobe Stock — Tight integration with Creative Cloud means strong demand from designers and agencies.
• Alamy — Known for higher royalty rates (up to 50%) and a photographer-friendly approach.
• 500px — Strong community with licensing opportunities through its partnership with Getty (ironic, but still a separate submission channel).
• iStock — Getty-owned, but operates somewhat independently for contributor submissions.

2. Explore Direct Licensing

The best way to insulate yourself from platform consolidation is to cut out the middleman. Direct licensing — selling usage rights directly to clients — lets you set your own prices and keep 100% of the revenue.

Tools like PhotoShelter, Pixieset, and SmugMug make it easy to set up a professional licensing storefront. It takes more work to find buyers, but the margins are dramatically better.

3. Build Your Own Portfolio Website

Your website is the one platform no corporation can take away from you. A professional portfolio site serves as your business card, your licensing hub, and your insurance policy against industry consolidation.

Whether you use WordPress, Squarespace, SmugMug, or a custom solution, having your own web presence is non-negotiable in 2026. With rising equipment costs, maximizing your revenue per image matters more than ever.

4. Review Your Existing Contracts

If you have contributor agreements with Getty or Shutterstock, read them carefully. Pay attention to:

• Exclusivity clauses and their terms
• How your images can be used for AI training
• What happens to your content if the merger goes through
• Royalty rate guarantees (or lack thereof)

5. Stay Informed and Engaged

The CMA has invited public responses to its interim report by March 12, 2026. If you’re a UK-based photographer affected by this merger, you can submit your views directly to [email protected]. Your voice matters — regulators need to hear from the people who actually create the content these companies profit from.

The Bigger Picture

This merger is part of a broader trend of consolidation in the creative industry. Getty tried to merge with Corbis years ago. Adobe acquired Fotolia and built Adobe Stock. Canva has been aggressively expanding its stock content offerings. The industry keeps getting more concentrated.

At the same time, AI-generated imagery is flooding the market, driving down the perceived value of stock photography. The CMA explicitly cited AI as a reason it’s less concerned about the merger’s impact on generic stock content — essentially saying “AI provides competition” for commercial stock images.

That should concern every photographer. It means regulators are already treating AI-generated images as substitutes for human photography in certain market segments. The editorial space — where real photographers capture real events — is one of the few areas where human creators still have an undeniable advantage.

Which makes the CMA’s concern about editorial content all the more significant. If even this protected niche faces competitive harm from the merger, it signals just how much power the combined entity would wield.

What Happens Next

The ball is now in Getty and Shutterstock’s court. They have until March 12, 2026 to respond to the CMA’s provisional findings. Both companies have pushed back against the editorial content concerns and are expected to propose new remedies.

The CMA’s final decision is due by April 19, 2026. Possible outcomes include:

• Approval with conditions: The merger goes through, but Getty-Shutterstock must divest certain editorial operations or agree to behavioral remedies.
• Blocked in the UK: The CMA could prohibit the merger from taking effect in the UK market, though this is less likely.
• Unconditional approval: Unlikely given the provisional findings, but possible if the companies offer compelling rebuttals.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice continues its parallel review, and any EU regulatory action could further complicate the timeline. Despite all the regulatory uncertainty, stock markets have been modestly optimistic — Getty shares rose about 2% and Shutterstock edged up 0.9% after the CMA’s report.

The Bottom Line

Whether the Getty-Shutterstock merger goes through or not, the message for photographers is clear: don’t rely on any single platform for your livelihood. The stock photography industry is consolidating, AI is changing the competitive landscape, and the photographers who thrive will be the ones who diversify their income streams and take control of their own distribution.

The CMA’s intervention is actually good news — it shows that regulators are paying attention to how this deal could affect content creators. But regulatory protection alone isn’t a business strategy. Start building your independence now.

Featured image: Photo by Ambre Estève on Unsplash.