BAPLA FOCUS on 4 October 2018, began with a survey reporting many members licencing greater volumes of images to maintain steady revenue and ended on the word 'disruption' as we looked at how agencies might develop their brands and content.

In between, a fascinating range of speakers addressed key business and creative questions.

The day conference, held once again at the Museum of London, has become a key event for community and enquiry for the image licencing industry.

One panel addressed the thorny issue of open access to the collections of museums and cultural institutions.

Speakers argued the importance of museum directors having the freedom to choose to licence imagery when it is appropriate for the intended usage, the institution’s funding requirements and the cost and expertise of making it available.

The most compelling arguments for the value of museum imagery came from practitioners.

Catherine Troiano described how curators at the V&A provoke thought with displays of their compelling collection.

John Williams demonstrated the depth of experience and months of work that goes into photographing major exhibitions (you can read a transcript of his presentation here).

Steen Dupont dissected the challenge of digitising the Natural History Museum’s vast and diverse collection.

On Brexit, Michael Prior of the Intellectual Property Office introduced the work being done to ensure continuation of the minimum copyright and regulatory standards required to ensure smooth trading after March 2019.

His colleague Megan Heap looked ahead to future trade deals, asking for members’ input on trade with the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Commercial leads from different agencies assessed the state of the industry.

Speakers from Wemark, Copytrack and ImageRights agreed that blockchain has potential to support sales and rights but disagreed as to whether this would replace the current market leaders or give those same players access to new markets (you can download a PDF of the 'Demystifying Blockchain' presentation here).

Wolfgang Wild of retronaut.com, Saskia Boersma of rembrandtswife.com and Patrick Towell of golantmediaventures.com looked 'Beyond Licensing' to give attendees end-of-day inspiration.

They talked about which imagery an agency should lead with, how to create experiences that go beyond the imagery and how organisations’ true resources may be tapped by changing what we do day-to-day.

To find out further details you can download a PDF programme here.

Many thanks to our sponsors

Picture credit: Welcome to BAPLA FOCUS 2018 ©BAPLA