Microstock Photography Forum - General > General Stock Discussion
Please explain the hate towards Getty Images
hochmann:
Hi!
I'm a new poster here but relax: I'm not trolling or anything.
I want to ask a question because I've seen all the hate posted by people, way more than I would think would be normal, for Getty Images. I've been a contributor with them for about 5 years and have a portfolio of over 2000 photographs there.
Very recently I also started uploading to Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Depositphotos, 123RF, iStockphoto, and Dreamstime, so I'm a newbie as far as microstock is concerned but not so much in regular stock. I've been selling very little as of yet with Shutterstock and Adobe Stock being the best (although I've NEVER seen pickiest reviewers - or reviewer bots- as in AS).
So, my question is this: why all the hate towards Getty Images? Yes, I know that they give 20% as a commission while a bunch of other companies start at 35% and many of them go above 50%. But the thing is that in Getty you're getting 20% of photographs sold for $100 or $1000 instead of 50% of 1 dollar.
Is it that so many of you are already at the level of selling 1000 or 5000 or 10,000 photographs a month in the other ones? I JUST started a couple of months ago with all the other agencies non-exlusively and only have anywhere from 100 to 500 photographs in any of them, so I obviously don't know what it's like to sell anywhere near that number, but please help me understand.
If there is the chance of getting to that kind of level that quickly with a bunch of other agencies making a higher percentage of images selling for a dollar or so but of selling hundreds or thousands a month... that would make me consider things in a different light.
I would not take down my photographs from Getty Images or stop uploading to them because I am thankful of everything I've done there, and also for the fact that I've had a pretty great experience with contributor relations and reviews. But I would start focusing more time weekly on micro stock photographs and videos than I've done in the past four months and consider joining many other agencies as well as subscribing to StockSubmitter to make things more streamlined.
I'm not looking for a fight, just substantiated points of view.
Thank you to any and all who answer.
Regards,
Sergio
niktol:
got my popcorn ready...
angelawaye:
I've got the soda ready!
Clair Voyant:
I think the hate stems from early on in the microstock game. An "us versus them" or "micro versus trad" mentality and the misinformed belief that it is/was a closed shop. You have to understand that in the "trad" way of life you had to actually know what you were doing to even be accepted, not that different from being accepted to the current day Stocksy. Stocksy (an agency I have no interest in) currently is in effect as closed as the "trads" were. In a nutshell you had to submit your best images and you went through a rigorous screening process and you either made the grade or you did not. Speed up the truck and the introduction of microstock and a whole new breed of generally speaking hobby photographers who knew little if anything about the stock industry, a very low threshold of entry and a rather rapid pace of technology and you now suddenly have a new generation of entitled spoiled kids who know more than the "old school" photographers ever knew about the stock industry. Voila the hate of anything Getty is born.
Also to add fuel to the fire, Getty has traditionally sh!t on the photographers it represents and has little if any respect for the producers of content and continues to do so.
For the most part it is a blend of ignorance from people who have little working knowledge of the industry and the abuse from an agency towards photographers who do have a strong working knowledge of the industry. A perfect storm.
The hate you see towards Getty stems from fabricated misinformation and to a large extent self inflicted by the continual abuse towards their content providers.
hochmann:
--- Quote from: Clair Voyant on November 03, 2017, 08:41 ---The hate you see towards Getty stems from fabricated misinformation and to a large extent self inflicted by the continual abuse towards their content providers.
--- End quote ---
Thank you for your reply! While I cannot say anything bad about the treatment they've given me (quite the opposite, actually), I understand the rest very well, then.
What about the fact of the earnings? Are people selling thousands upon thousands of images on the other sites that Getty Images pales in comparison even though the prices and payouts are higher (although the percentage is lower)?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version