Instacanvas rebrands as Twenty20 to expand into user-generated brand photos and stock images

Instacanvas has rebranded as Twenty20 as it moves beyond selling physical prints of Instagram photos to working with brands on photo challenges and tests a stock photography offering.

After launching in April 2012, Instacanvas quickly shot up to become the world’s largest commercial image catalogue with more than 30 million photos. Today’s rebranding should help the startup take better advantage of that repository.

Brands will now be able to work with Twenty20 to purchase user-generated content and run photo challenges. The stock photography service, which is currently in beta, will allow social media users to monetize their photos by licensing them to advertisers. News outlets will also be able to quickly purchase usage rights for Instagram photos from participating Twenty20 members.

Instagram has already launched the careers of numerous photographers, so Twenty20 may be on to something by bridging the gap between social media and commercial photo services. The majority of photos posted to social media aren’t really worth monetizing, but the viral popularity of Instacanvas’s marketplace certainly proven that lots of users think their snaps are worth selling.

Image credit: Shutterstock / Tyler Olson