How Storyblocks benefits from 'middle mover' advantage to win in stock media

Startup tropes tell us that first-mover advantage is (was?) everything in business. Those that came and conquered first, and established brand authority are the companies that won market share. But the democratization of tech – via the affordability-through-commoditization of development and cloud costs, changed the landscape and allowed longstanding market leaders to be unseated faster. And with the introduction of multi-modal generative AI, that pace is accelerating again in favor of innovators over legacy models. But sometimes, neither the early nor the late mover benefits most.

Storyblocks is a stock media platform that empowers creators and businesses to produce high-quality content at scale. Its library includes top-quality video, audio, and imagery from over 700 global artists and creators. The company recently announced a renewed partnership for 2025 and beyond with the top video editing platforms like Magix, Pictory.ai, Prezi, Descript, and WeVideo.

Legacy struggles: Synonymous with traditional stock imagery is Getty Images, which has been in a battle against AI for over a year. Getty is seeking $1.7 billion from a lawsuit against Stability AI over copyrighted photos that were used to train Stability's generative image models. Staggering sum aside, even if Getty wins, they still face the existential threat of new technology that is improving daily.

More lawsuits: Elsewhere in the industry, other AI-native tools like Midjourney and DeviantArt face similar suits that may threaten their existence. Open-source players will likely survive, but profit-focused companies will need to correct course to shield themselves from future liability.

The middle movers: Storyblocks splits the middle, having been around long enough to solidify its presence, early enough to be rooted in digital-only, but stable enough to stay safe in an AI-crazed product era. It offers customers the peace of mind of comprehensive licensing and the flexibility of unlimited downloads in a landscape where creating without limits is expected.

Following the broader shift: Speaking about the core value of the product, Storyblocks CEO TJ Leonard says, "Video allows us to create a powerful, scalable human connection that simply can't be replicated through other mediums... While micro-trends on social media come and go, the broader shift toward video-first content has transformed how we need to approach marketing and creative strategy." Ensuring a safe and scalable path for creators to unlock the potential of that strategy is more important now than ever.