Freelancers can upload their work to Globizzle.com free of charge. The site will take a 10 per cent cut of the sale price when content is sold for a fee determined by the freelancer.
Users can also set the terms under which their content is sold, such as exclusive or non-exclusive licences.
"In our research, we have identified that many freelancers are disenchanted by a lack of opportunity. Generally, relationships between freelancers and their customers are local, and many have advised that they would happily accept an opportunity to create a marketplace in which their work could be promoted, viewed, and ultimately sold, to media editors around the world," says co-founder Georgina Thorn, who has worked as a freelance media fashion writer, in a statement to Journalism.co.uk.
"At the same time, many of the major media organisations have been very open about their own challenges regarding their sourcing of media content. Many media companies are using either their own high cost in-house journalists, their own 'local' freelancers and/or wholesale media suppliers such as Reuters. The key issues are that they have the challenges of high cost and in many cases, lack of variety, to differentiate themselves from competitors."
The site particularly wants to make use of archived and previously unsold material from freelancers, which it believes can still have value to potential buyers.
The venture is currently in beta, but is targetting English-language markets in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and India. The site is also planning to create new features for editors seeking content, such as feature to make request to freelance members of the site.
"Our management has had enormous interest from key media companies who all have the same message - get the quality, newsworthy content online and we will provide the demand," says Thorn.
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