Do you remember when we told you this summer that Exclusivity was getting sweeter? We promised Silver Exclusives would be invited to contribute to Getty Images and starting on November 20, the door will be opening for our Silvers.

Silvers will be joining Gold and Diamond iStock Exclusive contributors in the hard-earned next step of their creative career paths with Getty Images, the leading creator and distributor of premium digital content.

If you are already a Silver Exclusive, when you wake up on November 20 and click on “Upload,” you will see the option to “Upload to Getty Images” under Exclusivity. Simply follow the link to request a Getty Images contract.

So if you’re not Exclusive yet, but you’re interested in higher royalties, know that there’s a whole world of opportunities awaiting such a leap of artistic faith.

To celebrate the opening of our new European headquarters in Berlin, we've decided to host an iStockalypse in the Berlin bureau from January 8-11, 2009. Berlin is unique compared to many other cities in the world. Up until 1989 when the Wall came down, it was a city of doubles: two political systems, two transit systems, two plumbing systems, two vastly different art scenes. The Über 'lypse in Berlin will explore a burgeoning city reunited in art, politics and progress.

The Über 'lypse needs 50 special agent Exclusive photographers who perform well under contradictory pressures. Double agents must enjoy the power and prowess of West Berlin, the city's political epicenter while delivering passionate performances in the punk and graffiti-obsessed boroughs of East Berlin.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to capture other special agents in treacherous acts throughout this wild city. Remember: trust no one, not even your flash or fancy lenses to deliver what only your artistic instincts can reveal.

The good people at We Media give out their annual Game Changers award to 'people, projects, ideas and organizations leading change and inspiring a better world through media.' iStockphoto is on the 2009 shortlist, under the 'Business Model' category. Great news!

So now we need all of you to head to the We Media site and vote for us. Just find iStockphoto on the 2009 Finalists list, and click 'Rate this nominee'. You'll have to leave your name and an email address (which won't be published). Then give us a rating and leave a comment.

The results will be announced at the We Media Miami 2009 Global Forum, from Feb 24-26.

If you are a contributor who has opted your files in to be sold in Subscription plans and if you adjusted the opt-in check box after September 24, your files were not being sold to subscribers due to a logic error in our code. This bug has been fixed so everything is back to normal.
Here's what you'll need to do if you are a contributor. Especially if you altered the Subscription preferences of your files since September 24, we recommend that you:
a) Look in your Control Panel to see if your opt-in box is checked.
&
b) Un-check your opt-in box and then check it again, just to be on the safe side.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact contributor relations at artists@istockphoto.com or submit a ticket at http://www.istockphoto.com/contact_ticket.php

Thanks for your patience!

As many of you know by now, this morning Getty Images announced their intent to buy Jupiterimages for $96 Million. As is customary in such transactions, regulatory approval will take a few months.

We'll keep you posted as we can discuss more.