VII Photo has confirmed that its Network of non-member photographers will close down in October 2011, three years and a half after it was launched. The dissolution will mean that all photographers currently with VII Network will have to re-apply for membership comes September.

"It's a logical continuation of where VII has come from," says managing director Stephen Mayes in an exclusive interview with BJP. "When VII first initiated the Network, which was at the start of 2008, it wasn't known at that stage how it would play out, how would the photographers integrate into VII. All of this has been extremely positive, and we've been delighted by the photographic performances, but also the energy and contribution the Network has brought."

However, faced with the fact that clients were, at times, confused by the different sections of the agency - VII runs VII Photo, VII Network and VII Mentor - "combined with the fact that, to some extent, it's unnecessary for the world to know who is an owner and who isn't an owner, we've decided to level it all off," says Mayes, "so that, as far as clients are concerned, everyone that is in VII is part of the agency and they will benefit from the same level of service."

The move, which will affect photographers Lynsey Addario, Jocelyn Bain Hogg, Eric Bouvet, Andrea Bruce, Stefano De Luigi, Jessica Dimmock, Tivadar Domaniczky, Adam Ferguson, Ziyah Gafic, Ashley Gilbertson, Benedicte Kurzen, Seamus Murphy, Maciek Nabrdalik, Tomas van Houtryve, Donald Weber and Venetia Dearden, has been in the making for the past couple of years, says Mayes. "But it became serious at the last members' meeting in November 2010. At that meeting, the decision was made to integrate the two aspects of the agency, and we spent the last few months considering the practicalities of how we would do it and how we would structure it."

Come September, the current Network photographers will be asked to re-apply for membership submitting their portfolios and proposals. The VII Photo members - Marcus Bleasdale, Ron Haviv, Ed Kashi, Gary Knight, Antonin Kratochvil, Joachim Ladefoged, Christopher Morris, James Nachtwey, Franco Pagetti, Stephanie Sinclair, John Stanmeyer as well as the Estate of Alexandra Boulat - will then evaluate their submissions and vote to welcome them, or not, within the agency.

Mayes admits that not all Network photographers will gain membership, while some "might choose not to apply to join us," he adds. "The photographers themselves need to assess what the value is to them. How much they want to contribute? If it's worth it or not."

Because, as a result of the agency's new structure, VII will start to charge a mandatory fee on its members' revenues. Currently, VII Photo takes a 60% commission on the Network photographers' sales - including assignments negotiated by VII. However, if a Network member secure his or her own assignments, he or she is exempt from the agency's fee. "The key difference," says Mayes, "is that we'll be adopting what has become a fairly common thing among other agencies: we'll be looking for a percentage of all of our members' income and revenues they generate as a photographer."

Uncertainty
He adds: "We'll keep that as a small percentage. We don't want to be onerous, but there's a value to VII and assuming the photographer submit their portfolios, they're subscribing to that value. So we want a financial participation." Asked whether this fee could reach the 10%-mark, Mayes acquiesced. Of course, that fee will be charged in addition to the 60% taken on all resales and the 35% from all assignments arranged or managed by the agency. "It's a way of making sure there's a commitment from the members," says Mayes. "By making that financial contribution, it sends a message that the photographers are there for the agency. It's a way of securing that commitment."

Of course, the agency is aware of the likely impact this restructuring will have on its contributors. "We recognise that it's a slightly uncomfortable moment for a lot of the Network photographers because on the one hand there is a very bright promise, and on the other hand, of course, there's personal uncertainty," says Mayes. "But, it just made sense to have a formal process to allow the Network photographers themselves to consider their position, what they want to contribute and how they want to participate. And then also for VII, as an agency, to review that and to figure out how to move forward."

And until the Network photographers submit their applications for full membership, "it'll be business as usual," says Mayes. "We have agreement with all of the Network photographers, and these agreements continue until September."

However, even under its new structure, VII will continue to operate as a two-tier system in which members will be divided between owners and non-owners - currently, all 11 VII Photo members have invested in the agency. As a result, they share "potential benefits such as annual dividends, as well as the risks," says Mayes. "But, for our clients, there won't be that distinction. The plan is to offer the same services to all of our photographers."

One of the reasons that VII Photo chose to retain this distinction is to streamline its decision process. "It's very common that if you have too many decision-makers, it can freeze progress," says Mayes. And while the owning-members will continue to hold voting power, the agency will invite all of its photographers at its annual general meetings. "We want to hear from them," Mayes tells BJP. "We want to hear their ideas and contributions."

BJP has also been told that non-Network members will also be able to apply for membership in September. "We'll be inviting portfolios from the wider community of photographers," says Mayes. "We'll be posting that invitation on the VII website in the early summer - there will be a process outlined on how to apply. While that opportunity exists, we don't anticipate to take on many, if any," he adds. "But it would be foolish for us not to consider options from elsewhere."

For more information, visit www.viiphoto.com.

Correction: This article was updated on Monday 13 June at 11pm to clarify the fee structure in place at VII Photo. While the article mentioned that VII Photo takes a 60% commission on all resales and assignments managed by the agency, VII Photo actually takes a 35% commission on assignments. The 60% commission is only charged for resales.