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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: luissantos84 on April 27, 2012, 22:26

Title: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 27, 2012, 22:26
No not a camera. Something I have been working on for 2 years! :)
(15 hours ago on FB)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: tab62 on April 27, 2012, 23:02
You will attend his boot camp   ::)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 27, 2012, 23:05
You will attend his boot camp   ::)

thats a quote from Yuri Arcurs at FB, he said it, not me
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on April 28, 2012, 00:30
I'm guess selling just his own work direct, or a new agency or similar
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gemmy12 on April 28, 2012, 00:50
I'm guess selling just his own work direct, or a new agency or similar
yeah. Probably his own agency. :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 28, 2012, 01:28
I'm guess selling just his own work direct, or a new agency or similar
yeah. Probably his own agency. :)

That would be interesting. Most sites would kick you out if you tried to set up in competition with them. But perhaps Yuri could convince them that they can't live without him.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: grp_photo on April 28, 2012, 01:46
Looking forward for the 10% commission  ;D
But honestly I don't think it will his own agency, and btw do have a own agency is nothing big I have one too (and not a ktools one).
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on April 28, 2012, 03:16
Looking forward for the 10% commission  ;D
But honestly I don't think it will his own agency, and btw do have a own agency is nothing big I have one too (and not a ktools one).
There are a lot of things that are "nothing big" but it doesn't stop the people promoting them making out they are the most innovative and important thing in the world. There's a whole industry based on it. It's called marketing.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sharpshot on April 28, 2012, 04:22
Could it be the TV show he was trying to get?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sheridan on April 28, 2012, 04:51
Big for whom?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on April 28, 2012, 04:53
I'm guess selling just his own work direct, or a new agency or similar
yeah. Probably his own agency. :)

That would be interesting. Most sites would kick you out if you tried to set up in competition with them. But perhaps Yuri could convince them that they can't live without him.
Maybe not an agency, but maybe selling his own files from his own site.
Which for him would (seem to me to) make a lot of sense, and I don't understand why he hasn't been doing it for years.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on April 28, 2012, 06:47
He's getting a puppy?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lagereek on April 28, 2012, 07:17
Yes indeed,  he is going into partnership with me!  we plan to become the worlds first digital billionaries,  apart from Gates, that is.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: CarlssonInc on April 28, 2012, 07:46
He's retiring...shutting down...living of the income from already produced images for decades and as well as the cut he's taking from the "trainees" from the training programme? Or he is just opening up his own shop, keeping 100% of the royalties.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: noodle on April 28, 2012, 07:50
who cares?
Its something that wont mean anything to you nor I, probably something only big to Yuri - so I really dont see what the hooplahs alll about
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on April 28, 2012, 07:58
I'm guess selling just his own work direct, or a new agency or similar

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cathyslife on April 28, 2012, 08:45
who cares?
Its something that wont mean anything to you nor I, probably something only big to Yuri - so I really dont see what the hooplahs alll about

Exactly.

Quote
There are a lot of things that are "nothing big" but it doesn't stop the people promoting them making out they are the most innovative and important thing in the world. There's a whole industry based on it. It's called marketing.

Exactly.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 28, 2012, 09:12
He's getting a puppy?

Big mistake!  I got one in December and I hardly get any work done anymore ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Pixart on April 28, 2012, 09:31
He's getting a puppy?

Big mistake!  I got one in December and I hardly get any work done anymore ;D

I dare you to make him as famous as your husband.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gemmy12 on April 28, 2012, 09:37
He's getting a puppy?

Big mistake!  I got one in December and I hardly get any work done anymore ;D

I dare you to make him as famous as your husband.
lol Congrats for new puppy Lisa. Howz he/she growing. I am also planning to get one soon but could not decide which one probably GSD or great dane but what ever i bring he will surely bemain  hero of my photos :-D (sorry for being off topic) :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: imageegami on April 28, 2012, 09:38
Yuri buys out Getty and introduces fair trade to all their Sites...  and they all lived happily ever after ... :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 28, 2012, 10:03
I'm guess selling just his own work direct, or a new agency or similar
yeah. Probably his own agency. :)

That would be interesting. Most sites would kick you out if you tried to set up in competition with them. But perhaps Yuri could convince them that they can't live without him.

sure it ain´t an agency, the max will be his own store, we could never take IS and top agencies customers that fast..
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 28, 2012, 10:20

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 28, 2012, 12:59
He's getting a puppy?


Big mistake!  I got one in December and I hardly get any work done anymore ;D


I dare you to make him as famous as your husband.

lol Congrats for new puppy Lisa. Howz he/she growing. I am also planning to get one soon but could not decide which one probably GSD or great dane but what ever i bring he will surely bemain  hero of my photos :-D (sorry for being off topic) :)


LOL!  The dog is not nearly as cooperative as my hubby.  Haven't shot her for stock at all yet.  She is a rescue mutt that just turned two (so not literally a puppy).  We are all completely in love with her.  Here's a snapshot:
(http://www.pbase.com/image/142957854/original.jpg)

(sorry for the side trip, now back to speculating about Yuri ;) )
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on April 28, 2012, 16:15

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 28, 2012, 16:26

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.

You don't seriously think he did it out of love for photography, do you? He saw a business opportunity and exploited it with unparalleled brilliance. His achievements are outstanding but they are primarily the achievements of a businessman.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on April 28, 2012, 16:50

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.



You don't seriously think he did it out of love for photography, do you? He saw a business opportunity and exploited it with unparalleled brilliance. His achievements are outstanding but they are primarily the achievements of a businessman.

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Kone on April 28, 2012, 17:44
He is getting married
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 28, 2012, 17:48

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

None of us can possibly know what's in someone else's head, but speaking for myself, producing around 7k microstock images over 7 years has definitely all but killed my "enjoyment" of photography.  And Yuri's produced probably 10 times that in the same space of time.  I would be very surprised if he has the same love of photography that he started with.  

His portfolio reflects a very workmanlike formula as well - more of an assembly line than an individualized labor of love.  I don't think anyone could possibly shoot that volume of repetitive business concepts, medical concepts, and cliches that stock demands, tens of thousands of times, and retain that initial passion for the art of photography.  Not in any way putting him down.  His success is to be admired, and it has certainly been emulated and envied.  IMO his portfolio says "business genius" more than "artistic genius".  

(BTW, not claiming I am some big artist either.  I shoot for business too, on a much smaller scale)  
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 28, 2012, 17:48
He is getting married

That's great!  Wishing him all the best :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Kone on April 28, 2012, 17:56
He is getting married

That's great!  Wishing him all the best :)

Sorry Lisa, i am just kidding.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on April 28, 2012, 18:06

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

None of us can possibly know what's in someone else's head, but speaking for myself, producing around 7k microstock images over 7 years has definitely all but killed my "enjoyment" of photography.  And Yuri's produced probably 10 times that in the same space of time.  I would be very surprised if he has the same love of photography that he started with.  

His portfolio reflects a very workmanlike formula as well - more of an assembly line than an individualized labor of love.  I don't think anyone could possibly shoot that volume of repetitive business concepts, medical concepts, and cliches that stock demands, tens of thousands of times, and retain that initial passion for the art of photography.  Not in any way putting him down.  His success is to be admired, and it has certainly been emulated and envied.  IMO his portfolio says "business genius" more than "artistic genius".  

(BTW, not claiming I am some big artist either.  I shoot for business too, on a much smaller scale)  

Probably so, Lisa, but the point I was making by my original comments was that he went after it and my hat is off to him.  Why? Because he took a product for which he was participating (MS) and was in it with a point and shoot.  He "liked" (I will refrain from love, here) it enough to take it to a level that moved him from a point and shooter to a hard core producer.  The reality is that you, Paul can justify whatever you want but you have to put it into perspective....let's take, oh, Ron Howard from Happy Days.  Do you think he has no love for his productions? It's a job, he is good at it and he started out knowing nothing but child acting.  As soon as he got the "itch" he has is now one of the most successful producers in the world. And it is indeed a business for which I am certain he also sees it that way.  I doubt he does it solely for the business.

Just my opinion, of course.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 28, 2012, 18:06
He is getting married

That's great!  Wishing him all the best :)

Sorry Lisa, i am just kidding.

Ooops!  I'm gullible, I guess :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 28, 2012, 18:22

Probably so, Lisa, but the point I was making by my original comments was that he went after it and my hat is off to him.  Why? Because he took a product for which he was participating (MS) and was in it with a point and shoot.  He "liked" (I will refrain from love, here) it enough to take it to a level that moved him from a point and shooter to a hard core producer.  The reality is that you, Paul can justify whatever you want but you have to put it into perspective....let's take, oh, Ron Howard from Happy Days.  Do you think he has no love for his productions? It's a job, he is good at it and he started out knowing nothing but child acting.  As soon as he got the "itch" he has is now one of the most successful producers in the world. And it is indeed a business for which I am certain he also sees it that way.  I doubt he does it solely for the business.

Just my opinion, of course.

I love Ron Howard movies.  Of course, he has directed and or produced dozens of movies (couldn't find an exact number), not tens of thousands of them. ;) 

I probably shouldn't have jumped into what appears to have turned into a personal exchange between you and Baldrick.  

I think most folks in microstock who have been with it from early on started out as point-and-shooters, didn't they?  Yuri has certainly left the rest of us in the dust.  No doubt about it.  He's a massive success, and deserves props for getting there.  

Without putting you down or negating your opinion, I tend to agree with Baldrick that what has made him so successful is not that he loved photography any more than the rest did, but that he had exceptional business skills (and work ethic).  
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on April 28, 2012, 18:49

Probably so, Lisa, but the point I was making by my original comments was that he went after it and my hat is off to him.  Why? Because he took a product for which he was participating (MS) and was in it with a point and shoot.  He "liked" (I will refrain from love, here) it enough to take it to a level that moved him from a point and shooter to a hard core producer.  The reality is that you, Paul can justify whatever you want but you have to put it into perspective....let's take, oh, Ron Howard from Happy Days.  Do you think he has no love for his productions? It's a job, he is good at it and he started out knowing nothing but child acting.  As soon as he got the "itch" he has is now one of the most successful producers in the world. And it is indeed a business for which I am certain he also sees it that way.  I doubt he does it solely for the business.

Just my opinion, of course.

I probably shouldn't have jumped into what appears to have turned into a personal exchange between you and Baldrick.  

We're just exchanging opinions. He is a good dude and I respect his viewpoints.  No harm in that.  Appreciate your input, too.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: janecat on April 28, 2012, 19:14
 :-\ ummm I am confused, what will happen 3rd of May for Yuri Arcurs???? getting married, gettina a puppy, getting a TV show, start a new microstock agency?    Anyway I think his success is awesome and I could only aspire to become as talented as he is as a photographer and as a business person.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: jamirae on April 28, 2012, 20:39
:-\ ummm I am confused, what will happen 3rd of May for Yuri Arcurs???? getting married, gettina a puppy, getting a TV show, start a new microstock agency?    Anyway I think his success is awesome and I could only aspire to become as talented as he is as a photographer and as a business person.


no one knows.  It's all speculation based on a post that Yuri put on his facebook page. 
http://www.facebook.com/yuriarcurs (http://www.facebook.com/yuriarcurs)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Kone on April 28, 2012, 21:10
I know now, he is getting Canon PowerShot G12 ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gillian vann on April 28, 2012, 21:51
He's getting a puppy?

Big mistake!  I got one in December and I hardly get any work done anymore ;D

lol, same here. We naively presumed our older dogs would train the new puppy into instant good behaviour.... nope! and he doesn't sit still long enough to photograph, what good is he?!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Anyka on April 29, 2012, 00:39
I'm sure Yuri is thoroughly enjoying reading these pages, and the facebook pages filled with guessing and speculations  :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 29, 2012, 01:44

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No, of course he doesn't hate it. He clearly revels in what he's doing, but look what he's got - money, power, fame, adulation, a following.... dammit, he's so revered he only has to say "I'll do something on May 3" and everyone goes weak at the knees! And he has deliberately created all that because he likes it and it serves his interests. Compare that with Andres Rodriguez who doesn't go out of his way to market himself.

I'm absolutely certain Yuri wouldn't give up his business if he won 10 million. He could almost certainly shut up shop today, sell everything and have $10m from his continuing sales - if he hasn't already go that in the bank. But what would he do then ... become a "where are they now" forgotten celebrity?

I guess the difference between you and me is that I am much more cynical about people's motives for things.

The reason I posted in the first place is that I really don't understand why you cared enough to want Yuri to be even more successful, rich and famous than he already is. He strikes me as being a bit of a false god.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 29, 2012, 02:49
He's good at marketing. I often see him getting stick in this forum. However, I've never seen anything he's said or done that's offended me, and I think that the criticism he gets is often undeserved. I once asked him if could quote him in a blog post I did, the quote was potentially contentious (the agency in question probably wouldn't like it), it was a direct reference to how low commissions are these days. I appreciated that he put himself on the line to an extent, to say what he said in the first place and allow me to quote him.   
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Tabimura on April 29, 2012, 03:17
No - I think Jesper, the most downloaded man in the world is getting married.
Yuri must be his best man.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 29, 2012, 04:18
No - I think Jesper, the most downloaded man in the world is getting married.
Yuri must be his best man.

I wonder if the wedding tog will be able to get them to sign model releases  ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on April 29, 2012, 04:38
He's good at marketing. I often see him getting stick in this forum. However, I've never seen anything he's said or done that's offended me, and I think that the criticism he gets is often undeserved. I once asked him if could quote him in a blog post I did, the quote was potentially contentious (the agency in question probably wouldn't like it), it was a direct reference to how low commissions are these days. I appreciated that he put himself on the line to an extent, to say what he said in the first place and allow me to quote him.   
Honestly I don't think he does get a lot of stick, what happens here is we tend to try and analyse things from the perspective of being industry insiders. This usually involves questioning motives and so on. For my part it isn't that I think ill of him or anything at all like that, I have the utmost respect for his skill as a business man and as a stock photographer. It's just that when you are looking at things from the perceptive of also being contributors you don't take marketing at face value, but try to look further into what is going on, which of course the person doing the marketing would rather you didn't do, the whole point of marketing is that you are trying to propagandize your product and show it in a certain light. Nothing wrong with what he is doing or what we are doing by discussing and speculating as far as I'm concerned.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 29, 2012, 04:49
I thought the purpose of marketing was to get noticed, which he does with a vengeance. I doubt if he is bothered too much about what we say as long as we keep talking about him.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 29, 2012, 05:09
Honestly I don't think he does get a lot of stick..

I was referring to what BT said in reply No. 40. Yes it's an analysis too. The guy is famous, he is so largely because of the way he is. Famous people are so because of the way they are as well as what they do. It works for him. He found a formula and he sticks to it. Good on him, I say. Anyway, as BT says we're 'talking about him', and analysis and stick goes with the position. The agency DP constantly got stick, but it never stopped them growing. It's if the talk stops then those that are successful would really start worrying.   
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on April 29, 2012, 07:11
This kind of hype bores the pants off me... but for those who are desperate to know, it's only a few days to wait, so why speculate?
 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Tabimura on April 29, 2012, 07:15
No - I think Jesper, the most downloaded man in the world is getting married.
Yuri must be his best man.

I wonder if the wedding tog will be able to get them to sign model releases  ;D

I thought Fernando will be the wedding tog, since Jesper wants an original and very well produced set of photos  ;)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cathyslife on April 29, 2012, 08:01
Without putting you down or negating your opinion, I tend to agree with Baldrick that what has made him so successful is not that he loved photography any more than the rest did, but that he had exceptional business skills (and work ethic).  

And money.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 29, 2012, 11:23
been having some issues regarding sleeping because of this annoucement, seriously Yuri make it for tomorrow  ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on April 29, 2012, 11:51
:D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on April 29, 2012, 12:59
His site is down, just tried to use the keyworder
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: jm on April 29, 2012, 13:15
Most awaited events of beginning of 2012:
1. iPad 3
2. Nikon D800
3. Yuri's going to announce something
4. Adobe CS6
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on April 29, 2012, 13:22
 :D :D :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Ed on April 29, 2012, 13:27
He is engaged to be married...maybe there's a mini-Yuri on the way?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 29, 2012, 13:38
He is engaged to be married...maybe there's a mini-Yuri on the way?

Something he's "been working on for 2 years"?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 29, 2012, 14:11
He is engaged to be married...maybe there's a mini-Yuri on the way?

Something he's "been working on for 2 years"?

It takes more than the usual gestation time to breed a Miniyuri.
The only question I have is this: will he give birth out of his thigh, like Zeus, or will he delegate that job to an apprentice?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 29, 2012, 14:19
He is engaged to be married...maybe there's a mini-Yuri on the way?

Something he's "been working on for 2 years"?

It takes more than the usual gestation time to breed a Miniyuri.
The only question I have is this: will he give birth out of his thigh, like Zeus, or will he delegate that job to an apprentice?

LMAO this is going OT as usual :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on April 29, 2012, 14:27
 :D

...forget what I said earlier... the speculation just gets more and more creative!  Love it.  :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: jm on April 29, 2012, 14:29
This thread reminds me of Life of Brian
[shortened and remixed] :-)
….No, tell us, Master, we were here first. Show us another miracle! Master, your people have walked many miles to be with you, they are weary and have not eaten. ..
..Y.A: It's not my fault they haven't eaten! Now,  f. off!
How shall we  f. off, oh Lord?
Y.A.: Oh, just go away! Leave me alone!..
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 29, 2012, 14:34
just for the record I will announce something on the 2 of May  8)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gbalex on April 29, 2012, 15:19
just for the record I will announce something on the 2 of May  8)

LOL... let me guess, you had a best month ever on SS, DT, FT & IS!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: eyecandy on April 29, 2012, 16:42
I hope he's getting married! :D They are so CUTE together!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 29, 2012, 16:43
just for the record I will announce something on the 2 of May  8)

That's exciting, but who are you? Oh I remember now, ur the most downloaded tog at AYCS and you once got thrown out of an ms site for saying sales were dead not as good as you hoped for.  :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 29, 2012, 17:04
just for the record I will announce something on the 2 of May  8)

That's exciting, but who are you? Oh I remember now, ur the most downloaded tog at AYCS and you once got thrown out of an ms site for saying sales were dead not as good as you hoped for.  :D

ahhah  spot on!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on April 29, 2012, 17:20

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No, of course he doesn't hate it. He clearly revels in what he's doing, but look what he's got - money, power, fame, adulation, a following.... dammit, he's so revered he only has to say "I'll do something on May 3" and everyone goes weak at the knees! And he has deliberately created all that because he likes it and it serves his interests. Compare that with Andres Rodriguez who doesn't go out of his way to market himself.

I'm absolutely certain Yuri wouldn't give up his business if he won 10 million. He could almost certainly shut up shop today, sell everything and have $10m from his continuing sales - if he hasn't already go that in the bank. But what would he do then ... become a "where are they now" forgotten celebrity?

I guess the difference between you and me is that I am much more cynical about people's motives for things.

The reason I posted in the first place is that I really don't understand why you cared enough to want Yuri to be even more successful, rich and famous than he already is. He strikes me as being a bit of a false god.

Paul,

I don't care personally.  I just happen to admire and have respect for people who take something that amounts to a hobby and is able to convert it into a product like he did.  I am not anyway near calling him a God, just a guy who took the ball and ran with it and won.  That's all.  I get the feeling that you don't appreciate a person who is willing to give cudos to peers now and then.  When you are in the industry I am in and are a frequent speaker at travel expositions you learn to appreciate hard work, effort, growth and then be humble on top of that and express your congrats to others.  You just sound jealous to me.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: travelstock on April 29, 2012, 20:12
He's finally going exclusive - that is big news!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 29, 2012, 20:16
He's finally going exclusive - that is big news!

can be that too, would be great news for tons of indies but honestly will he give it all that easy?? only DT takes 6 months.. he said that is working on it for 2 years..
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 29, 2012, 20:21

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No, of course he doesn't hate it. He clearly revels in what he's doing, but look what he's got - money, power, fame, adulation, a following.... dammit, he's so revered he only has to say "I'll do something on May 3" and everyone goes weak at the knees! And he has deliberately created all that because he likes it and it serves his interests. Compare that with Andres Rodriguez who doesn't go out of his way to market himself.

I'm absolutely certain Yuri wouldn't give up his business if he won 10 million. He could almost certainly shut up shop today, sell everything and have $10m from his continuing sales - if he hasn't already go that in the bank. But what would he do then ... become a "where are they now" forgotten celebrity?

I guess the difference between you and me is that I am much more cynical about people's motives for things.

The reason I posted in the first place is that I really don't understand why you cared enough to want Yuri to be even more successful, rich and famous than he already is. He strikes me as being a bit of a false god.

Paul,

I don't care personally.  I just happen to admire and have respect for people who take something that amounts to a hobby and is able to convert it into a product like he did.  I am not anyway near calling him a God, just a guy who took the ball and ran with it and won.  That's all.  I get the feeling that you don't appreciate a person who is willing to give cudos to peers now and then.  When you are in the industry I am in and are a frequent speaker at travel expositions you learn to appreciate hard work, effort, growth and then be humble on top of that and express your congrats to others.  You just sound jealous to me.

and you are?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on April 29, 2012, 20:54
I'm going with an amusement park island full of dinosaurs...

Yurissac Park?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Toon Vectors on April 29, 2012, 21:04
I'm going with an amusement park island full of dinosaurs...

Yurissac Park?

Seems like that would be an extravagantly expensive setup just for a photo shoot, but surely the resulting images will sell well.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on April 29, 2012, 21:38
I just happen to admire and have respect for people who take something that amounts to a hobby

That's sort of a bit odd way of looking at it.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 29, 2012, 22:18
You just sound jealous to me.

I understand why you would think that but I'm actually just cynical and have an inbuilt aversion to personality cults.

(PS: If you want to know the photographer whose talent I am jealous of, it's Salgado.}
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rinderart on April 29, 2012, 22:48
You just sound jealous to me.

I understand why you would think that but I'm actually just cynical and have an inbuilt aversion to personality cults.

(PS: If you want to know the photographer whose talent I am jealous of, it's Salgado.}

Agree 1000%.. Other than that ...you guys crack me up every time I come here.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: djpadavona on April 30, 2012, 05:02
He is engaged to be married...maybe there's a mini-Yuri on the way?

Something he's "been working on for 2 years"?

It takes more than the usual gestation time to breed a Miniyuri.
The only question I have is this: will he give birth out of his thigh, like Zeus, or will he delegate that job to an apprentice?

Okay, that made me laugh really hard.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Red Dove on April 30, 2012, 05:31
I understand from reliable sources in the food industry that Yuri will be launching his own recipe salad dressing.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 07:08
I understand from reliable sources in the food industry that Yuri will be launching his own recipe salad dressing.

hope it has arugula!!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 30, 2012, 07:43
Was Yuri talking about free images a couple of years back?  Could he be launching his own free image site? 

God, I hope not!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 08:44
Was Yuri talking about free images a couple of years back?  Could he be launching his own free image site? 

God, I hope not!

remember that one too..
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on April 30, 2012, 08:54
His website has been down for the last couple of days so maybe that is connected. I find his calculator tool very useful for projecting end-of-month earnings but it has not been available since Friday.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: leaf on April 30, 2012, 14:36
Here is an article in a danish newspaper talking about Yuri and his plans for April 3. It is his own personal agency

http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk (http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 30, 2012, 14:45
Here is an article in a danish newspaper talking about Yuri and his plans for April 3. It is his own personal agency

[url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url] ([url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url])

Oh well, we still have Luis's announcement to look forward to.  :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: jm on April 30, 2012, 14:50
Here is an article in a danish newspaper talking about Yuri and his plans for April 3. It is his own personal agency

[url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url] ([url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url])

Oh well, we still have Luis's announcement to look forward to.  :D


I guess that he's going to start uploading to 100th agency. :-)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gbalex on April 30, 2012, 14:52
Good for Yuri, the sites have become too greedy!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: MatHayward on April 30, 2012, 15:24
I'm sure there is an easy way to translate this article but I can't figure it out.  Anyone have a translated version?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 15:26
Here is an article in a danish newspaper talking about Yuri and his plans for April 3. It is his own personal agency

[url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url] ([url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url])

Oh well, we still have Luis's announcement to look forward to.  :D


I guess that he's going to start uploading to 100th agency. :-)


I am sure they will "pay" more than iStock
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: traveler1116 on April 30, 2012, 15:36
I'm sure there is an easy way to translate this article but I can't figure it out.  Anyone have a translated version?
Copy and paste it into google translate.

Yuri Archurs. Feel your name. He sells an image every 8 Second. That makes him the world's best selling photographer. And Danish.

Now he is launching his own company that will sell directly to customers.

His models are among the most downloaded faces in the world and Aarhus Jacob Yuri Wackerhausen, known worldwide as Yuri Arcurs is more than 4 million images sold every year the world's best selling archival photographer at all online photo agencies that sell pictures.

What is back in 2003 started as a hobby has become a well established international company with a turnover of 30 million Danish kroner, and today about 100 people worldwide employed by Yuri Arcurs.

He sells an image every 8 second round the clock! The images are used for everything from international advertising campaigns, websites, newspapers, business cards for powerpoints and trade shows. Everywhere there is a need for images.

The third May culminates more than two years of intensive work and more than 3.4 million dollars investment in the launch of an online platform PeopleImages.com. Yuri does away with the traditional business model in the photo industry, which has always been photographers ahængige by a third party distributor. The major known billedargenturer in industry, Getty Images and Shutterstock, over the years has squeezed royalty levels down to 15-20%. Now we eliminate the middleman and cater directly to the user.

This week, the man in Denmark Good morning - and you can read our interview with the man himself right here.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 30, 2012, 15:41
I'm sure there is an easy way to translate this article but I can't figure it out.  Anyone have a translated version?
Copy and paste it into google translate.

Or view the web page in Chrome and it translates for you.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 30, 2012, 15:55
Thank you for the translation.  Congrats to Yuri.  It's a big undertaking, but he is better positioned than anyone else to do it and succeed. 

I wonder what this will mean for his portfolios on the micros.  Will he leave them there?  Or will he sell exclusively through his own site?  Will be interesting to see how this affects the industry as a whole...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on April 30, 2012, 16:01
Here is an article in a danish newspaper talking about Yuri and his plans for April 3. It is his own personal agency

[url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url] ([url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url])


Congrats to him. I assumed this is what it was. It will be interesting to see what price points he picks and the details.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on April 30, 2012, 16:14
3.4 million dollars investment? Wow he really knows how to spend money:) My investment in my own site was 250 dollars:)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on April 30, 2012, 16:20
Thank you for the translation.  Congrats to Yuri.  It's a big undertaking, but he is better positioned than anyone else to do it and succeed. 

I wonder what this will mean for his portfolios on the micros.  Will he leave them there?  Or will he sell exclusively through his own site?  Will be interesting to see how this affects the industry as a whole...

Yeah, I  too wonder what's the impact is going to be. He has reputation and means to advertise and promote his site, I am sure it will be a viable business. That should make agencies think more carefully when making decisions to screw people over...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 16:21
Thank you for the translation.  Congrats to Yuri.  It's a big undertaking, but he is better positioned than anyone else to do it and succeed. 

I wonder what this will mean for his portfolios on the micros.  Will he leave them there?  Or will he sell exclusively through his own site?  Will be interesting to see how this affects the industry as a whole...

I don't understand anything about SEO but I personally find really hard for him to compete against iStock or Shutterstock or Fotolia or Dreamstime.. the true is that all of these companies have not been around for that long but for sure he won´t rule the world on the 3 of May but who knows.. it does look interesting and shows how courageous he is.. but if not him who else?

2.5 Millions of EUR! thats looks like a lot even thinking of his earnings, 4 Million pictures sold per year, how much have he invested? 3 months income? (4$ RPD)

will it pay off? * sure!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 30, 2012, 16:27
On the subject of "squeezed royalty levels", have a look at a post Andres posted on his fb page.

fb.me/1Kp4tOSgb (http://fb.me/1Kp4tOSgb)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on April 30, 2012, 16:38
3,4 million?  Sounds like he seriously overpaid.  On the RPD note, I imagine most of his 8 second dls are from SS or other sub plans, so it ain't as grand as you might think.

100 employees?  It all sounds like major 'promotion' talk.  There are plenty of people with their own site.  I doubt it will make much difference to anything, except he'll keep a few more dollars.  Buyers don't switch sources for a smaller selection.

Eta: on my iPhone, doesn't even seem to be a working site yet.  No splash page, nothing but a login page with non-working buttons and menu bars that go off screen when zooming in.  Maybe something different will come online.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on April 30, 2012, 16:46
Buyers may switch sites if the prices are better and if he takes his files off the other sites.
Why would you expect a working site? It's only April 30th.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cathyslife on April 30, 2012, 16:46
Here is an article in a danish newspaper talking about Yuri and his plans for April 3. It is his own personal agency

[url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url] ([url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url])


Yeah, that's my guess. He's been talking about that for about 2 years.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Ed on April 30, 2012, 16:47
3,4 million?  Sounds like he seriously overpaid.  On the RPD note, I imagine most of his 8 second dls are from SS or other sub plans, so it ain't as grand as you might think.

100 employees?  It all sounds like major 'promotion' talk.  There are plenty of people with their own site.  I doubt it will make much difference to anything, except he'll keep a few more dollars.  Buyers don't switch sources for a smaller selection.

Eta: on my iPhone, doesn't even seem to be a working site yet.  No splash page, nothing but a login page with non-working buttons and menu bars that go off screen when zooming in.  Maybe something different will come online.


I think 100 employees are reasonable...it sounds like this will be an exclusive agency.  All of those folks he trained in his "contest" not too long ago...I'm willing to bet the winners are going to be shooting for his brand.

Good for him.

Speaking of which...anyone else notice Alamy's announcement today?

http://www.alamy.com/pressrelease/releases/archive/2012/04/30/151.aspx (http://www.alamy.com/pressrelease/releases/archive/2012/04/30/151.aspx)

From the sounds of it...the trends are changing (and have been) - buyers appear to be getting tired of that "microstock" type look.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on April 30, 2012, 16:50
So all this amounts to is that he is doing direct sales from his own website? Or am I missing something?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 16:56
3,4 million?  Sounds like he seriously overpaid.  On the RPD note, I imagine most of his 8 second dls are from SS or other sub plans, so it ain't as grand as you might think.

100 employees?  It all sounds like major 'promotion' talk.  There are plenty of people with their own site.  I doubt it will make much difference to anything, except he'll keep a few more dollars.  Buyers don't switch sources for a smaller selection.


sure but we need to see FT, DT and IS sales which I am sure is way way way above the 1$.. and why do I say that?

myself having close to 1$ RPD at FT and getting 25%.. he is getting 43% and we are talking about around 40% of his portfolio at 3C which means 3x more income..

again the volume at SS must be a lot more.. which might lower the RPD.. some contributors report here around 75 cents.. we don´t know his EL ratio too

just browsed his website and found one link that is online, looks pretty nice, looks like a store!
http://peopleimages.com/models (http://peopleimages.com/models)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on April 30, 2012, 17:01
3,4 million?  Sounds like he seriously overpaid.  On the RPD note, I imagine most of his 8 second dls are from SS or other sub plans, so it ain't as grand as you might think.

100 employees?  It all sounds like major 'promotion' talk.  There are plenty of people with their own site.  I doubt it will make much difference to anything, except he'll keep a few more dollars.  Buyers don't switch sources for a smaller selection.

I'd assume that amongst his '100 employees' are the starry-eyed apprentices that he has taken on to produce stock images in bulk. Now we know why he has done so and also what the money has been spent on. A real 'image factory'.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Yuri_Arcurs on April 30, 2012, 17:04
Ok. It leaked. Danish Media is posting it on the front page of online tabloids currently and we are already getting bombarded. It's midnight, so hmmm.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on April 30, 2012, 17:12
You're only being bombarded by us, no worries :).
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on April 30, 2012, 17:18
http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk (http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 17:21
[url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url] ([url]http://www.bt.dk/digital/verdens-bedstsaelgende-fotograf-er-dansk[/url])


it was posted a few hours ago, where have you been? laundry? ;D

(actually only 1 hour ago)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on April 30, 2012, 17:23

Speaking of which...anyone else notice Alamy's announcement today?

[url]http://www.alamy.com/pressrelease/releases/archive/2012/04/30/151.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.alamy.com/pressrelease/releases/archive/2012/04/30/151.aspx[/url])

From the sounds of it...the trends are changing (and have been) - buyers appear to be getting tired of that "microstock" type look.


I've seldom seen 'that microstock look' in adverts in the UK. Or even American-type perfectionism other than in adverts for US cosmetic products being sold over here.
On the other hand, is it really UK Everyday for an apparently naked man and woman to be sitting, apparently at work, in an otherwise empty office? (Alamy example).
If so, I'm clearly living in a different reality.  :-\
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on April 30, 2012, 17:26
... where have you been? laundry? ;D ...
Touche.  :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 17:29
... where have you been? laundry? ;D ...
Touche.  :D

thank god I am at my gf place, I only do the dishes lol she is now getting pissed because I don´t leave this topic, just said to her: tonight I won´t sleep too much stuff going on!!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: WarrenPrice on April 30, 2012, 17:38

Speaking of which...anyone else notice Alamy's announcement today?

[url]http://www.alamy.com/pressrelease/releases/archive/2012/04/30/151.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.alamy.com/pressrelease/releases/archive/2012/04/30/151.aspx[/url])

From the sounds of it...the trends are changing (and have been) - buyers appear to be getting tired of that "microstock" type look.


I've seldom seen 'that microstock look' in adverts in the UK. Or even American-type perfectionism other than in adverts for US cosmetic products being sold over here.
On the other hand, is it really UK Everyday for an apparently naked man and woman to be sitting, apparently at work, in an otherwise empty office? (Alamy example).
If so, I'm clearly living in a different reality.  :-\


This ...
we do not make editorial judgments, nothing is rejected providing the quality is acceptable – we let the customer choose the pictures they want. Often the choices are refreshingly surprising.

was interesting.  What a Novel Idea.   ;D :o
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sharpshot on April 30, 2012, 18:09
A new site? So when can we start uploading :)  Good luck Yuri, hope it's a big success.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on April 30, 2012, 18:16
A new site? So when can we start uploading :)  Good luck Yuri, hope it's a big success.


Who says you get to?

BTW, for 3.4 million, they should be sure to add some index.htm files in there: http://peopleimages.com/images/ (http://peopleimages.com/images/) and do some error checking: http://peopleimages.com/about (http://peopleimages.com/about) .

A credit based system?

(http://peopleimages.com/images/prices/type_credits.png)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: WarrenPrice on April 30, 2012, 18:19
Wonder how much the little spat with Serban had to do with this?   ??? :P
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 18:19
http://peopleimages.com/images/banners/ask_yuri.png (http://peopleimages.com/images/banners/ask_yuri.png)

breeding time  ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on April 30, 2012, 18:25

just browsed his website and found one link that is online, looks pretty nice, looks like a store!
[url]http://peopleimages.com/models[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/models[/url])

Looks like a dating agency - especially when you have to sign in to see 'more of this model'. (Presumably that won't be required when the site goes live on Thursday.)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 18:26

just browsed his website and found one link that is online, looks pretty nice, looks like a store!
[url]http://peopleimages.com/models[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/models[/url])

Looks like a dating agency.


some cool license options too

http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/ (http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on April 30, 2012, 18:31
A new site? So when can we start uploading :)  Good luck Yuri, hope it's a big success.


Who says you get to?

BTW, for 3.4 million, they should be sure to add some index.htm files in there: [url]http://peopleimages.com/images/[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/images/[/url]) and do some error checking: [url]http://peopleimages.com/about[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/about[/url]) .

A credit based system?

([url]http://peopleimages.com/images/prices/type_credits.png[/url])

I'm sure he has room for a few more employees. Maybe you should apply.  ;)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on April 30, 2012, 18:32
[url]http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/[/url])


So, we've got micro price, premium price, collections, and something IS was going to do a few years ago, and never got around to.  Short term exclusive license for images with no sales:
(http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/time_period.png)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on April 30, 2012, 18:33

just browsed his website and found one link that is online, looks pretty nice, looks like a store!
[url]http://peopleimages.com/models[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/models[/url])

Looks like a dating agency.


some cool license options too

[url]http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/images/tooltips/[/url])


If you say so, but it's an odd way to present them  ;) :P
(http://www.lizworld.com/lic.jpg)
I guess the site's undergoing live testing; pity he released the URI before the testing was complete.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on April 30, 2012, 18:38
Wow, Yuri's site gets dissected days before the official launch.

I saw the requirements for the coders a while back on his personal web site. I'm sure they got paid handsomely but even I know that any sub-folders should be protected with an index or htaccess file...

Unless this is part of some viral marketing...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 18:40
ahah sorry Sue I am hardcore lol
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on April 30, 2012, 18:45
Wow, Yuri's site gets dissected days before the official launch.
Given his budget, we should get more than a pizza for the user testing.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 18:47
Wow, Yuri's site gets dissected days before the official launch.
Given his budget, we should get more than a pizza for the user testing.

you will do that! a car boot full of presents ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 30, 2012, 18:50
All I can say is congratulations, and I hope it is a success! 

If Yuri is successful with this, it could get the agencies to sit up and take notice, and perhaps (gasp) start treating their remaining contributors better.  Yeah, I know, perhaps a bit too optimistic :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 18:53
XXL for 55$ (PI) vs XXL for 25$ (IS)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on April 30, 2012, 18:56
PI will probably rank third by tomorrow over here ------------------------------------------------------->

(not too far fetched IMO if PM as an active agency ranks ridiculously high...)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on April 30, 2012, 20:34
3.4 million dollars investment? Wow he really knows how to spend money:) My investment in my own site was 250 dollars:)

Somewhere there's a web programmer with 3.35 million dollars in his bank account.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: noodle on April 30, 2012, 20:48
IF.. Yuri decides to open up his site for downloads from the general public - who of you would sign up and what would you like to see Yuri offer thats different from all the MS sites?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: eyecandy on April 30, 2012, 22:03
3.4 million dollars investment? Wow he really knows how to spend money:) My investment in my own site was 250 dollars:)

Somewhere there's a web programmer with 3.35 million dollars in his bank account.

WOW! That's insane! Sure it's not Danish money...? :s Would make a lot more sense......
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on April 30, 2012, 22:08
3.4 million dollars investment? Wow he really knows how to spend money:) My investment in my own site was 250 dollars:)

Somewhere there's a web programmer with 3.35 million dollars in his bank account.

Heeeee....:-)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on April 30, 2012, 22:21
IF.. Yuri decides to open up his site for downloads from the general public - who of you would sign up and what would you like to see Yuri offer thats different from all the MS sites?

I don't get the feeling that this site would be open for submissions from most micro contributors.  More likely just for Yuri and his apprentices. 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: RacePhoto on April 30, 2012, 23:34
IF.. Yuri decides to open up his site for downloads from the general public - who of you would sign up and what would you like to see Yuri offer thats different from all the MS sites?


I don't get the feeling that this site would be open for submissions from most micro contributors.  More likely just for Yuri and his apprentices. 


That's sure what it looks like right now. I didn't want the free credits for opening an account so I guess it's the same old me... wait and see.  :)

http://peopleimages.com/ (http://peopleimages.com/)

Populated with a nice pretty front page. Shades of blue and grey theme.

Retouching
12/hr
Custom retouching
We can edit all images if needed.
Time-exclusivity
160/mo
Exclusive Rights
Get exclusive rights for as low as c160.
26 Credits
$ 25
Minimum Package
Get 4% bonus with this credit package.
220 Credits
$ 200
Large Package
Get 10% bonus with this credit package.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: eyecandy on May 01, 2012, 00:02
Is it just me or is it live now?!??  :o  :o
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: travelstock on May 01, 2012, 00:55
Maybe the 3.5M includes the shoot costs for creating images that aren't available elsewhere?

I like the "Late Extended License": "Got your Image Illegally? Get a license now"
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cobalt on May 01, 2012, 03:02
Very interesting! Good luck Yuri, you have good ideas and know how to execute them.

If he treats his artists well and generates sales this could be a really positive influence in this market.

Will you take video?? ;)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: CarlssonInc on May 01, 2012, 03:27
The site looks really nice and seems to work really well. I'm sure he will do well, but to do great I think the real big challenge is marketing, getting enough traction etc. Sure as hell must be nice to keep 100% royalties though!

Good luck Yuri!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: leaf on May 01, 2012, 03:31
3.4 million dollars investment? Wow he really knows how to spend money:) My investment in my own site was 250 dollars:)

Somewhere there's a web programmer with 3.35 million dollars in his bank account.

WOW! That's insane! Sure it's not Danish money...? :s Would make a lot more sense......

Yeah, the article says 3.5 M danish kroner.. which is 624K USD
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: leaf on May 01, 2012, 03:33
All I can say is congratulations, and I hope it is a success! 

If Yuri is successful with this, it could get the agencies to sit up and take notice, and perhaps (gasp) start treating their remaining contributors better.  Yeah, I know, perhaps a bit too optimistic :)

Yes, we can certainly hope!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on May 01, 2012, 04:26
It would certainly be a wonderful thing if the agencies would consider viability for the creatives in their calculations, and reward us accordingly to help us all keep producing... but I don't hold out much hope for that.

Congrats on your site Yuri, I hope it works really well for you and that it turns out to be a positive, and not a negative for the rest of us.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 01, 2012, 04:36
All I can say is congratulations, and I hope it is a success! 

If Yuri is successful with this, it could get the agencies to sit up and take notice, and perhaps (gasp) start treating their remaining contributors better.  Yeah, I know, perhaps a bit too optimistic :)

Yes, we can certainly hope!

I can't see it making them do anything at all. All Yuri has done is make a site to sell his photos directly (note the "cutting out the middleman" line in the press release, that does not mean "becoming a middleman", for all those who dream of selling on his website).

All of us already have the option of establishing our own websites to sell directly - you could get a photo-sales website, tools and a merchant account for credit card trades today if you wanted to, just sign up at Photoshelter - so why haven't the agencies already taken notice? Simply because it doesn't matter to them. I doubt if there is another artist who has sufficient content and resources to be able to do this.

Remember the reason we use agencies? Because we can delegate all the marketing and technical support to them, and the reason for doing that is because we couldn't do it successfully ourselves. Yuri is different because he is already a self-marketing machine, he already has a staff working for him who are able to produce and process huge numbers of images and he has the financial resources to sink the price of a very nice house into trying to outflank the agencies - and presumably more cash up his sleeve to support marketing and wages while he establishes his site.

As long as the extra earnings from cutting out the middleman cover the running costs and interest on investment, he can't lose, as long as none of the major agencies retaliate by dropping him or pushing him to the back of their search.

There is one major flaw in his project: he is essentially only supplying a single genre (people/business/lifestyle) and a single look.  Anybody who wants both lifestyle and a travel location - say India - can either get the whole package at one traditional agency or they can go to Yuri's site to buy a lifestyle picture, then go to a micro to get the India shot. I reckon most buyers would prefer one-stop shopping and that will limit his potential success.

 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sharpshot on May 01, 2012, 04:41
A new site? So when can we start uploading :)  Good luck Yuri, hope it's a big success.


Who says you get to?

BTW, for 3.4 million, they should be sure to add some index.htm files in there: [url]http://peopleimages.com/images/[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/images/[/url]) and do some error checking: [url]http://peopleimages.com/about[/url] ([url]http://peopleimages.com/about[/url]) .

A credit based system?

([url]http://peopleimages.com/images/prices/type_credits.png[/url])

I was joking about uploading, hence the :)  I don't have people photos and I presume Yuri isn't going to open this up to everyone.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sharpshot on May 01, 2012, 04:52
All I can say is congratulations, and I hope it is a success! 

If Yuri is successful with this, it could get the agencies to sit up and take notice, and perhaps (gasp) start treating their remaining contributors better.  Yeah, I know, perhaps a bit too optimistic :)
I can see them using this as an excuse for yet another commission cut.  How else can they compete with a new site full of photos by Yuri ::)  I don't believe any of their previous reasons for commission cuts, they're just doing it because they know they can get away with it.  Losing a lot of sales to Yuri might hurt but they could fix that by punishing the rest of us.  The big sites still have too much control over most of us, I think they might take notice if lots of us get our own sites and have a combined search and payment system but that might never happen.  Buyers might be interested in sites from the microstock factories but the vast majority of us aren't likely to make a good income from our own sites.  I hope that can change in the future but it needs a lot of collaboration or someone to come up with a viable alternative to the current sites.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on May 01, 2012, 06:34
I like the "Late Extended License": "Got your Image Illegally? Get a license now"


I doubt anyone is going to pay 300+ credits for a "late" license.  Most anyone using an image illegally isn't going to care, and selling RF, he can't track who is supposed to be using it any better than anyone else.

"Time-Exclusive" sounds like the false exclusive license DT sells.  "When you buy this license, we will stop the image from being sold on PeopleImages.com for a certain period of time." - don't mind the fact its already sold 40 times (or whatever).  The front page says "Get exclusive rights for as low as c160" - so the whole thing is unclear, unless the option disappears after the first sale.

Agree with the others.  Nice site, nothing groundbreaking.  This similar results thing sounds interesting: http://peopleimages.com/more/ai (http://peopleimages.com/more/ai) .  No price filter.

As a buyer, I don't think I could handle that much Yuri.  "Yuri's choice" "Ask Yuri"  "Where's Yuri".  It certainly is all about the brand name.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 01, 2012, 07:02
IF.. Yuri decides to open up his site for downloads from the general public - who of you would sign up and what would you like to see Yuri offer thats different from all the MS sites?
I don't have any need to download images; but if I did, I guess I'd want more 'real' looking people, but that won't happen!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Ed on May 01, 2012, 07:08
Am I reading this right?

26 credits for $25

12 credits per hour for retouching?

I would LOVE to be able to hire a retoucher to edit my images for $11.50/hour.

Wow.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sgoodwin4813 on May 01, 2012, 07:32
It's going to be an interesting month.

My guess is he's spent the past 2 years developing a huge library of exclusive images.  Through his boot camps he has trained a large number of photographers to shoot the way he does all over the world.  Now he will have his own agency to market all of that content, plus is providing some additional services that may be in demand by companies.  He's thought this all out and probably will be very successful.

The interesting bit will be to see how this affects the existing agencies.  Will he keep his content there as well?  How will they react if he is now competing with them directly?  Or will his new site only have exclusive content?  Might lead to a major market shakeup or might just be an interesting blip - no way to know until Wednesday.  In any event hats off to Yuri for taking the plunge.  Hopefully this will generate a lot of positive spin for photography in general.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 01, 2012, 07:35
Am I reading this right?

26 credits for $25

12 credits per hour for retouching?

I would LOVE to be able to hire a retoucher to edit my images for $11.50/hour.

Wow.

that is way subjective.. how many pics? 1 or 2 or half?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 01, 2012, 07:36
It's going to be an interesting month.

My guess is he's spent the past 2 years developing a huge library of exclusive images.  Through his boot camps he has trained a large number of photographers to shoot the way he does all over the world.  Now he will have his own agency to market all of that content, plus is providing some additional services that may be in demand by companies.  He's thought this all out and probably will be very successful.

The interesting bit will be to see how this affects the existing agencies.  Will he keep his content there as well?  How will they react if he is now competing with them directly?  Or will his new site only have exclusive content?  Might lead to a major market shakeup or might just be an interesting blip - no way to know until Wednesday.  In any event hats off to Yuri for taking the plunge.  Hopefully this will generate a lot of positive spin for photography in general.

there are only around 5k exclusives pictures at his agency and they don´t like shoot yesterday..
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: thesentinel on May 01, 2012, 08:09
Am I reading this right?
26 credits for $25
12 credits per hour for retouching?
I would LOVE to be able to hire a retoucher to edit my images for $11.50/hour.
Wow.


As featured in: http://www.psdisasters.com/2011/10/fotolia-psd-for-sale.html (http://www.psdisasters.com/2011/10/fotolia-psd-for-sale.html)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on May 01, 2012, 08:09
Am I reading this right?

26 credits for $25

12 credits per hour for retouching?

I would LOVE to be able to hire a retoucher to edit my images for $11.50/hour.

Wow.

Go ahead. There's plenty of folk in places like India that would bite your hand off for that sort of money.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on May 01, 2012, 08:15
As featured in: [url]http://www.psdisasters.com/2011/10/fotolia-psd-for-sale.html[/url] ([url]http://www.psdisasters.com/2011/10/fotolia-psd-for-sale.html[/url])


I don't understand what this is... the result of a competition or something? 

There seem to be no reflections for the people at the front.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 01, 2012, 08:47
As featured in: [url]http://www.psdisasters.com/2011/10/fotolia-psd-for-sale.html[/url] ([url]http://www.psdisasters.com/2011/10/fotolia-psd-for-sale.html[/url])


I don't understand what this is... the result of a competition or something? 

There seem to be no reflections for the people at the front.

That's why it's a PhotoShop Disaster. (the clue's in the domain name).
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on May 01, 2012, 08:52
Oh!  Oops!   :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: RacePhoto on May 01, 2012, 11:13

I can't see it making them do anything at all. All Yuri has done is make a site to sell his photos directly (note the "cutting out the middleman" line in the press release, that does not mean "becoming a middleman", for all those who dream of selling on his website).
 

And yes on the rest, but this was the main point that needed to be reinforced.

He's got the name recognition, buyers know what he sells, if they need that, they know where to go. It's not too complicated. Direct marketing, he makes a nice chunk of the money instead of 20% and down. Nice work, best wishes, I bet it's a success.

And yes also to the point that he has a huge collection, so no lack of subjects or images. Specialty agency for what people want the most. Makes perfect sense.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: dirkr on May 01, 2012, 14:18
I do hope it's a success for him and I do have some hope that it might bring some changes to the industry in the long term.

I do understand his motivation to set up his own shop. You only need to do some back of the envelope calculations to see what amount of money is at stake.

If we believe the "one image sold per 8 seconds", that results in roughly 10.000 images sold per day. Now doing a very conservative guess, the average sales price (total price, not his cut) of those images is maybe 4$ (including subs, but also including ELs and XXLs). Next assumption: his overall average commission may be as high as 40%.

Taking these numbers, he pays around 24.000 $ to stock agencies every single day.
That makes almost one million US dollars per year. Reality may be (average price higher, average commission lower) even a lot more.

Motivation enough to give it a try... Every percent of buyer budget he is able to move from other agencies to his own (only accounting for people buying his images at his site instead of elsewhere) would bring him around 10.000$ a year. Any new business or any business he may take away from other photographers is additional upside potential.

Obviously that is not without risk (e.g. agencies throwing him out), but that's what business is about: risk and return.

It will certainly be interesting to watch...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: aeonf on May 01, 2012, 14:31
^^^ your math is all wrong.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 01, 2012, 14:32
Taking these numbers, he pays around 24.000 $ to stock agencies every single day.
That makes almost one million US dollars per year. Reality may be (average price higher, average commission lower) even a lot more.

There's definitely a lot of money left on the table. I like to joke that I run a 100K a year business that makes me 20K. Then I realize it's true and stop laughing.  :(
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on May 01, 2012, 14:40
^^^ your math is all wrong.

Are you going to say why or give us the correct 'math' perchance? No? Thought not.

I thought Dirkr's post was interesting and well thought out. Obviously the numbers are estimated but there's no doubt that 'cutting out the middleman' has huge potential for Yuri and probably only he has the scale of operation and the brand to take advantage.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on May 01, 2012, 14:48
Any new business or any business he may take away from other photographers is additional upside potential.

Obviously that is not without risk (e.g. agencies throwing him out), but that's what business is about: risk and return.

I think they would prefer to keep taking the money they earn from him than throw him out.

edit: Albeit a lesser amount if he manages to take some of their market.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 01, 2012, 16:14
^^^ your math is all wrong.

Are you going to say why or give us the correct 'math' perchance? No? Thought not.

I thought Dirkr's post was interesting and well thought out. Obviously the numbers are estimated but there's no doubt that 'cutting out the middleman' has huge potential for Yuri and probably only he has the scale of operation and the brand to take advantage.

exactly, if there isn't anything to add just don´t post.. I also think that dirkr post was/is interesting and even if not that accurate it shows how much money he is losing, all of us actually.. we certainly will never know his RPD, I believe a while ago he posted here saying his RPI (which I think he uses monthly) was close to the 5$ or was it the cost per picture? if he has a RPI of 5$ it means 275k $ from a 55k portfolio
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 01, 2012, 16:23
^^^ your math is all wrong.

Are you going to say why or give us the correct 'math' perchance? No? Thought not.

I thought Dirkr's post was interesting and well thought out. Obviously the numbers are estimated but there's no doubt that 'cutting out the middleman' has huge potential for Yuri and probably only he has the scale of operation and the brand to take advantage.

Yup, the figures could be 50% out in either direction, but it is still a hell of an incentive to try to claw back a proportion of that commission.

As I said earlier, I don't believe anyone else has the corporate presence to have a chance of pulling off this trick and making it pay, but Yuri does. But if it turns the sites against him it could still go horribly wrong (maybe he has already cleared it with them).
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: dirkr on May 01, 2012, 16:25
^^^ your math is all wrong.

If you know better, help me out  ;)

Obviously the numbers I put in for sales value and commission percentage are only wild guesses, but the conclusion is the same: Yuri for sure is paying a fortune to agencies to market and sell his images.
And the more they take the more attractive it gets for him to try to "cut out the middleman"...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 01, 2012, 17:54
As I said earlier, I don't believe anyone else has the corporate presence to have a chance of pulling off this trick and making it pay, but Yuri does.

What's the trick? Anyone can open their own site, sell their images and make a profit. It's a pretty low bar to entry.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: noodle on May 01, 2012, 18:11
i dont think ANY site will kick him out - if yuris making a crapload  of $ -  then the bigger portion of it is going to the agency, month after month. No one is going to throw away guaranteed  income unless the the advantage is in their favour.

So, in the end , the agancys will still benefit from having his port to sell, and Yuri will make even better with what he sells at the agencies + his own site ..

CHAAA CHIIINGGGG!!!!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 01, 2012, 18:19
^^^ your math is all wrong.

Are you going to say why or give us the correct 'math' perchance? No? Thought not.

I thought Dirkr's post was interesting and well thought out. Obviously the numbers are estimated but there's no doubt that 'cutting out the middleman' has huge potential for Yuri and probably only he has the scale of operation and the brand to take advantage.

Yup, the figures could be 50% out in either direction, but it is still a hell of an incentive to try to claw back a proportion of that commission.

As I said earlier, I don't believe anyone else has the corporate presence to have a chance of pulling off this trick and making it pay, but Yuri does. But if it turns the sites against him it could still go horribly wrong (maybe he has already cleared it with them).

I believe that it may only happen if he opens it for contributors, if not, its just his website, it shouldn´t affect I guess but agencies we actually never know..
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: aeonf on May 01, 2012, 18:40
I would try and help with the math but I am way to drunk for that now :)
I do agree with the conclusion though, with out a doubt it makes perfect sense in opening your own shop with such a large port.
I do doubt that it will hurt any of the big boys. One can not compete his 70K port with 10M+ port.
Add to the fact that his photos are what Sean calls a "one trick poney"
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gillian vann on May 01, 2012, 18:49
He won't have to worry about overheads such as paying highly qualified reviewers...... he already has staff so he can redirect a few of them into marketing and site maintenance. The bigger question is: will he undercut the others to gain new business?  Will that drive prices down?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: noodle on May 01, 2012, 20:01
I doont think he will impact the cost side for microstock- although his portfolio is huge for AN INDIVIDUAL, it is small potatoes compared to the MILLIONS of photos the agencies have to offer to customers - plus, as someone mentioned, many of his images are redundant i.e. business people , so the choice of variety that customers need is severly restricted in his port
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rinderart on May 01, 2012, 20:06
I doont think he will impact the cost side for microstock- although his portfolio is huge for AN INDIVIDUAL, it is small potatoes compared to the MILLIONS of photos the agencies have to offer to customers - plus, as someone mentioned, many of his images are redundant i.e. business people , so the choice of variety that customers need is severly restricted in his port

Agree.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: WarrenPrice on May 01, 2012, 20:50
Maybe he will buy into the SS IPO
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 01, 2012, 22:12
I remember when Monkey Business Images was running her own site.  She even picked off some non-exclusives and created her own agency.  She now directs people to the four majors when you go to her website.  Wonder why??
Wasn't Yuri pushing "Crestock" for a while.  It didn't seem to help. 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: stormchaser on May 01, 2012, 23:17

I believe that it may only happen if he opens it for contributors, if not, its just his website, it shouldn´t affect I guess but agencies we actually never know..

While do you think he started his boot camp? His entourage will do the work, and it will likely be exclusive content directed by him. It will be an agency, just not with the usual known suspects.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lagereek on May 02, 2012, 00:39
Good luck to Yuri!  he deserves it!  actually, I feel quite proud to be Swedish right now, well?  at least Im his neighbour. :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on May 02, 2012, 00:58
Well done to those who successfully predicted this when the photographer competition he was running was announced all those months ago. I think the big price tag takes into account all that stuff done to build a big collection for the site.

Personally I wish him the best of luck and hope that he can make it work. Always good when the content creator can find a way to get a bigger cut than the middlemen.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 02, 2012, 02:11
As I said earlier, I don't believe anyone else has the corporate presence to have a chance of pulling off this trick and making it pay, but Yuri does.

What's the trick? Anyone can open their own site, sell their images and make a profit. It's a pretty low bar to entry.

The trick is having tens of thousands of images, a huge reputation and outstanding marketing skills so your site perceived as offering a significant alternative to purchasing through an agency. It's not quite the same as you or me selling directly and pulling in a few dozen dollars a year.

BTW, I must compliment him on the way he watermarks his images. The agencies could learn a lesson from that.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: nataq on May 02, 2012, 02:32
As I said earlier, I don't believe anyone else has the corporate presence to have a chance of pulling off this trick and making it pay, but Yuri does.

What's the trick? Anyone can open their own site, sell their images and make a profit. It's a pretty low bar to entry.

The emphasis is on "making it pay". Anyone can start his/her own website but noone has the same presence as Yuri has to start with. Well, and there are things like marketing and such. It doesn´t help to have a website and offer your images as long as nobody visits your site. That´s why some of the calculations made are a little off. You can´t say you gain 100% of the commissions paid to the agencies because you need to spend substantual money on marketing. And marketing let´s say 3000 images doesn´t make sense at all unless they are really unique and niche photos. But I´m sure Yuri made his calculations and it does seem to make sense for him. It will definitely also bring some commissioned work - especially since he put up the site pretty clever with model search and other tools. Other companies aren´t that clever demanding to upload a model release for every single image and therefore lose the valuable data that sits in linking model releases.

I wish him all the best and think he deserves it because he is one of a few that really put a lot of energy into his work. People who work a lot should get their revenue - no matter if stereotype or not. I guess we all have some sort of stereotype - some call it style ;-).
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: suemack on May 02, 2012, 04:30
Best of luck Yuri!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 02, 2012, 04:32

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.



You don't seriously think he did it out of love for photography, do you? He saw a business opportunity and exploited it with unparalleled brilliance. His achievements are outstanding but they are primarily the achievements of a businessman.

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No love whatsoever is radiating from his photos. He's just doing the same boring concepts over and over again. Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did. Yuri is just an effective emotionless robot, when it comes to taking shots. As others pointed out, he's just passionate for the money (I didn't get past this quote, so I don't know what ppl wrote after this post) and I think, also for the attention (could be even more for the latter). It's not that I don't like Yuri or anything, not only I respect his achievements, but I also think he's a nice guy, for instance if you ask him about something, even via PM, he'll reply (I doubt many ppl like him would), but I'm pretty sure there's no big love for the photography, or he'd at least make a shoot that's different, not that stocky, but more "for his soul" type of shoot, from time to time. Making 100k shots that all look the same, just doesn't show that (the same style, of course there are hundreds of concepts, all very stocky with the aim to maximize the sales, not enjoy taking those shots)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 02, 2012, 06:24
He won't have to worry about overheads such as paying highly qualified reviewers...... he already has staff so he can redirect a few of them into marketing and site maintenance. The bigger question is: will he undercut the others to gain new business?  Will that drive prices down?

have you seen his website? his pricing is 2x the regular exclusive file or a photo+ at iStock
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 02, 2012, 06:33
He won't have to worry about overheads such as paying highly qualified reviewers...... he already has staff so he can redirect a few of them into marketing and site maintenance. The bigger question is: will he undercut the others to gain new business?  Will that drive prices down?

have you seen his website? his pricing is 2x the regular exclusive file or a photo+ at iStock

That is very surprising. I wonder if he's timed all his files to be removed from all his other sites today; otherwise maybe not as great a move as it looks.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 02, 2012, 07:14
Is Yuri going exclusive with his own site.   Is he pulling all his work from all the undervaluing agencies.  This will tell if he believes in this move or not. 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: andresr on May 02, 2012, 07:31
First of .... Congratulations to Yuri. The site looks and works amazingly well. Like the usual stuff he does.

Do you guys honestly think he is going to pull his port on other sites??? honestly????? why would he do something as dumb as that, not a chance. No the agencies will not through him out, no he won't pull his port, no this will not turn the industry upside down. It's just an amazing own portal to sell HIS OWN images (and images from other photographers that work for him), full stop.

This is simply an extra outlet for him, and he will try and grab as many customers direct as he can. Maybe if in a few years he is really outselling some agencies and after a lot of negotiation to bump his commissions up with lack of success, then he has an ace under his sleeve and won't care to leave the agency if they don't. That would be my strategy although I doubt it he can compete with millions of different looking images already at the agencies.

In fact my own website is also on the works, although I will have a slightly different approach to it. I won't invest 700k USD on it of course but enough to make it look good, professional with all the toys that are necessary to have a positive impact on buyers.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 02, 2012, 07:32
Is Yuri going exclusive with his own site.   Is he pulling all his work from all the undervaluing agencies.  This will tell if he believes in this move or not. 

It doesn't make any sense otherwise, especially not spending over 3 mil $...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: nataq on May 02, 2012, 07:33

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.



You don't seriously think he did it out of love for photography, do you? He saw a business opportunity and exploited it with unparalleled brilliance. His achievements are outstanding but they are primarily the achievements of a businessman.

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No love whatsoever is radiating from his photos. He's just doing the same boring concepts over and over again. Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did. Yuri is just an effective emotionless robot, when it comes to taking shots. As others pointed out, he's just passionate for the money (I didn't get past this quote, so I don't know what ppl wrote after this post) and I think, also for the attention (could be even more for the latter). It's not that I don't like Yuri or anything, not only I respect his achievements, but I also think he's a nice guy, for instance if you ask him about something, even via PM, he'll reply (I doubt many ppl like him would), but I'm pretty sure there's no big love for the photography, or he'd at least make a shoot that's different, not that stocky, but more "for his soul" type of shoot, from time to time. Making 100k shots that all look the same, just doesn't show that (the same style, of course there are hundreds of concepts, all very stocky with the aim to maximize the sales, not enjoy taking those shots)

Ah, OK - I wonder if you think whether I love photography. It´s interesting to see how some people seem to know just about everything.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 02, 2012, 07:36
after a lot of negotiation to bump his commissions up with lack of success, then he has an ace under his sleeve and won't care to leave the agency if they don't. That would be my strategy although I doubt it he can compete with millions of different looking images already at the agencies.

Why would any agency give into his demands, there are dozens of togs producing images that look (almost) exactly the same as his. He just doesn't offer anything different, much less a niche.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 02, 2012, 07:43

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.



You don't seriously think he did it out of love for photography, do you? He saw a business opportunity and exploited it with unparalleled brilliance. His achievements are outstanding but they are primarily the achievements of a businessman.

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No love whatsoever is radiating from his photos. He's just doing the same boring concepts over and over again. Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did. Yuri is just an effective emotionless robot, when it comes to taking shots. As others pointed out, he's just passionate for the money (I didn't get past this quote, so I don't know what ppl wrote after this post) and I think, also for the attention (could be even more for the latter). It's not that I don't like Yuri or anything, not only I respect his achievements, but I also think he's a nice guy, for instance if you ask him about something, even via PM, he'll reply (I doubt many ppl like him would), but I'm pretty sure there's no big love for the photography, or he'd at least make a shoot that's different, not that stocky, but more "for his soul" type of shoot, from time to time. Making 100k shots that all look the same, just doesn't show that (the same style, of course there are hundreds of concepts, all very stocky with the aim to maximize the sales, not enjoy taking those shots)

Ah, OK - I wonder if you think whether I love photography. It´s interesting to see how some people seem to know just about everything.

Just an opinion, perhaps you could add something meaningful to this discussion ;)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Michael Lancaster on May 02, 2012, 07:43
He won't have to worry about overheads such as paying highly qualified reviewers...... he already has staff so he can redirect a few of them into marketing and site maintenance. The bigger question is: will he undercut the others to gain new business?  Will that drive prices down?

have you seen his website? his pricing is 2x the regular exclusive file or a photo+ at iStock

Yuri sells XS with 1 credit, on iStock XS is 1 credit.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 02, 2012, 08:29
First of .... Congratulations to Yuri. The site looks and works amazingly well. Like the usual stuff he does.

Do you guys honestly think he is going to pull his port on other sites??? honestly????? why would he do something as dumb as that, not a chance. No the agencies will not through him out, no he won't pull his port, no this will not turn the industry upside down. It's just an amazing own portal to sell HIS OWN images (and images from other photographers that work for him), full stop.

This is simply an extra outlet for him, and he will try and grab as many customers direct as he can. Maybe if in a few years he is really outselling some agencies and after a lot of negotiation to bump his commissions up with lack of success, then he has an ace under his sleeve and won't care to leave the agency if they don't. That would be my strategy although I doubt it he can compete with millions of different looking images already at the agencies.

In fact my own website is also on the works, although I will have a slightly different approach to it. I won't invest 700k USD on it of course but enough to make it look good, professional with all the toys that are necessary to have a positive impact on buyers.


Investing 600K usd is not simple.  How does monkeybusinessimages sales compare to Yuri.  Pretty close.  They pulled down their "direct compete site" and promoted the four majors after they stopped selling their stuff and other non-exclusives on a their own site.  Unless you pull your images off cheaper alternatives with better infrastructure/legal/branding/etc.  It will be hard if not impossible to get traction.  I also don't think a big two year announcement would be simple direct sales in addition to you wares on every cheap site around. 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 02, 2012, 09:32

Why would any agency give into his demands, there are dozens of togs producing images that look (almost) exactly the same as his. He just doesn't offer anything different, much less a niche.

Because they usually do. They're in the habit of doing it and they have convinced themselves that he is vital to their success.

Andres is right. It would be insane for Yuri to pull out of the micros (and he certainly isn't insane). The new site is a sideline at this stage and one that has yet to prove itself.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: nataq on May 02, 2012, 09:37

Yes, it's something big "for him".  But the more power to him, nonetheless.  He has taken a love of something and turned it into a successful business.  Good for him.

He's hardly the first one to be successful because of a love of money, is he?

No but he certainly has gone from a point and shoot process to the most successful MS'r in the world.  I think that in and of itself differentiates what I was trying to say from your comments.



You don't seriously think he did it out of love for photography, do you? He saw a business opportunity and exploited it with unparalleled brilliance. His achievements are outstanding but they are primarily the achievements of a businessman.

Seriously, you don't think he'd do it if he hated it do you? No disrespect, Paul, but most MS contributors would give their right nut to enjoy his kind of success....and to enjoy creating the product to boot (the love of photography, yes).  The only question I would ask is, if Yuri won the LOTTERY, say 10 million bucks (USD) clear after taxes, would he keep going with his photography business?  Perhaps not and in that context you'd be correct.  But I can't speak for Yuri and maybe he would keep doing it, who knows.

No love whatsoever is radiating from his photos. He's just doing the same boring concepts over and over again. Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did. Yuri is just an effective emotionless robot, when it comes to taking shots. As others pointed out, he's just passionate for the money (I didn't get past this quote, so I don't know what ppl wrote after this post) and I think, also for the attention (could be even more for the latter). It's not that I don't like Yuri or anything, not only I respect his achievements, but I also think he's a nice guy, for instance if you ask him about something, even via PM, he'll reply (I doubt many ppl like him would), but I'm pretty sure there's no big love for the photography, or he'd at least make a shoot that's different, not that stocky, but more "for his soul" type of shoot, from time to time. Making 100k shots that all look the same, just doesn't show that (the same style, of course there are hundreds of concepts, all very stocky with the aim to maximize the sales, not enjoy taking those shots)

Ah, OK - I wonder if you think whether I love photography. It´s interesting to see how some people seem to know just about everything.

Just an opinion, perhaps you could add something meaningful to this discussion ;)

I could - and I did.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 02, 2012, 10:12
The trick is having tens of thousands of images, a huge reputation and outstanding marketing skills so your site perceived as offering a significant alternative to purchasing through an agency. It's not quite the same as you or me selling directly and pulling in a few dozen dollars a year.

Obviously, he is doing it on a larger scale, but he has to. When you open your own site, you have to compete (or at least compare) with your sales power on other sites. What will it take to earn the same as you earn on DT, SS, IS, etc? For him to equal his numbers on other agencies, I would assume that is a pretty high bar. Much more than the average contributor that can do that with a handful of sales a month at 100% royalties.

It seems like a big challenge, but I wouldn't bet against him.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ppdd on May 02, 2012, 10:47
I must say, the more I look at this new site, the more impressed I am. For a new site, the attention to detail and the level of finish is remarkable.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on May 02, 2012, 12:39
Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did.

You know, this is really very astute.  I don't follow Lise's port, so I didn't know what she'd been up to lately, but it's good to know she's finding a way to stay creative and enjoy what she's doing. 

I was having almost this exact conversation with my husband the other night.  I was (of course) complaining about how lousy sales were in April, and how demoralizing it is to see the downward trends in sales and earnings.  The directions all the major sites seem to be going in do not inspire optimism. 

My husband's response was - "So just shoot what you enjoy, that way it doesn't matter as much if you make the money.  At least you'll be having fun".  Brilliant!  This is exactly what you are describing that Lise has been doing. 

Seems like if the industry continues in its current direction, those of us who are not factories will be well advised to go back to shooting what we enjoy, or else get out altogether. 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 02, 2012, 14:10
He won't have to worry about overheads such as paying highly qualified reviewers...... he already has staff so he can redirect a few of them into marketing and site maintenance. The bigger question is: will he undercut the others to gain new business?  Will that drive prices down?

have you seen his website? his pricing is 2x the regular exclusive file or a photo+ at iStock

Yuri sells XS with 1 credit, on iStock XS is 1 credit.

sorry not following you.. thats the only price that matches.. all other are way up.. check yourself before talking..

actually IS bumped prices again lol 4 for a XS regular collection for exclusives..

Yuri

XSmall 1
Small 4
Medium 8
Large 13
XLarge 18
XXLarge 25
XXXLarge 35
Full Size 70

new IS for exclusives regular collection
XSmall 4
Small 6
Medium 10
Large 15
XLarge 20
XXLarge 25
XXXLarge (Full Size) 28
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 02, 2012, 14:30
The trick is having tens of thousands of images, a huge reputation and outstanding marketing skills so your site perceived as offering a significant alternative to purchasing through an agency. It's not quite the same as you or me selling directly and pulling in a few dozen dollars a year.

Obviously, he is doing it on a larger scale, but he has to. When you open your own site, you have to compete (or at least compare) with your sales power on other sites. What will it take to earn the same as you earn on DT, SS, IS, etc? For him to equal his numbers on other agencies, I would assume that is a pretty high bar. Much more than the average contributor that can do that with a handful of sales a month at 100% royalties.

It seems like a big challenge, but I wouldn't bet against him.

I'm certain that he isn't looking to replace the micro sales. Look at the sums. Say he gets $500,000 from istock a year. If he shifts 20% of those sales from them to him - lets say at the same price, I haven't checked his pricings - then he loses $100,000 from iStock but gets $250,000 from direct sales. Profit: $150,000, and he is still getting big money from the agency. It makes perfect sense.

What would be crazy would be to dump iStock  at a loss of $500,000 and then pick up 30% of those sales on his own site, while the rest go to iStock rivals (because punters have got their iStock accounts and won't abandon them for him). Loss $500,000, gain $375,000, net loss $125,000.

PS: We're not allowed to bet against him .... or for him. It's a private game, all bets are off.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 02, 2012, 14:31
Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did.

You know, this is really very astute.  I don't follow Lise's port, so I didn't know what she'd been up to lately, but it's good to know she's finding a way to stay creative and enjoy what she's doing. 

I was having almost this exact conversation with my husband the other night.  I was (of course) complaining about how lousy sales were in April, and how demoralizing it is to see the downward trends in sales and earnings.  The directions all the major sites seem to be going in do not inspire optimism. 

My husband's response was - "So just shoot what you enjoy, that way it doesn't matter as much if you make the money.  At least you'll be having fun".  Brilliant!  This is exactly what you are describing that Lise has been doing. 

Seems like if the industry continues in its current direction, those of us who are not factories will be well advised to go back to shooting what we enjoy, or else get out altogether. 

I was never a Yuri fan but that is very unfair IMO.. I am sure Yuri loves photography, everybody keep on saying that stock ain´t art so I don´t understand why people keep on saying Yuri is a factory or this or that.. how cannot he not love photography? sure the money makes us happy too but we cannot say that doing stock or only photographing our life ain´t an amazing thing, I have a blast every time I pick up my camera, certainly it is the coolest thing on earth, that and sushi ;D

actually I dont know a person that don´t love photography, only women on the first second but after a few shoots they are all in love ;D (a few you look gorgeous help too)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 02, 2012, 14:44
actually I dont know a person that don´t love photography

I don't love it. It's alright.  :P
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 02, 2012, 14:52
Lise Gagne (and a small fraction of other big players, but she's the biggest of all of them) on the other hand is doing what she loves, her photos show it. She shoots less lately (in the last couple of years or so), but she does shoot interesting things she enjoys, that chimpanzee businessman is brilliant (very stocky too) and then there are shoots that aren't as saleable (and I'm sure she knows it), but she shoots them anyway, because she enjoys the process of taking them. Then there are all those playful mustache photos etc. She started to really enjoy herself after becoming big, not being burdened if the new series are going to bring in a ton of money like the old did or not. It looks as though she doesn't really care about that (but also knowing at the same time her old series will still keep on bringing her lots of money) and just enjoys herself. That's love for photography! And I'd do exactly the same if I made just 10% of what she did.

You know, this is really very astute.  I don't follow Lise's port, so I didn't know what she'd been up to lately, but it's good to know she's finding a way to stay creative and enjoy what she's doing. 

I was having almost this exact conversation with my husband the other night.  I was (of course) complaining about how lousy sales were in April, and how demoralizing it is to see the downward trends in sales and earnings.  The directions all the major sites seem to be going in do not inspire optimism. 

My husband's response was - "So just shoot what you enjoy, that way it doesn't matter as much if you make the money.  At least you'll be having fun".  Brilliant!  This is exactly what you are describing that Lise has been doing. 

Seems like if the industry continues in its current direction, those of us who are not factories will be well advised to go back to shooting what we enjoy, or else get out altogether. 

Great! I'm glad I confirmed your husband's opinion. If you do it as well, ppl will probably start using the expression are you going to go (or have you gone) Lise/a too? :) (meaning are you going to start shooting what you like, not what sells).

I have have to shoot what sells (better said try to do it), to get to the point that I can rely with 100% certainty it'll be enough from month to month to live off, but still, I have to shoot what I like and really enjoy from time to time. I would have gone completely mental otherwise :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 02, 2012, 14:56
actually I dont know a person that don´t love photography

I don't love it. It's alright.  :P

me too if I am not behind it ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on May 03, 2012, 00:35
actually I dont know a person that don´t love photography

I don't love it. It's alright.  :P
meh
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gillian vann on May 03, 2012, 02:04
He won't have to worry about overheads such as paying highly qualified reviewers...... he already has staff so he can redirect a few of them into marketing and site maintenance. The bigger question is: will he undercut the others to gain new business?  Will that drive prices down?

have you seen his website? his pricing is 2x the regular exclusive file or a photo+ at iStock
nope, hadn't bother to search yet, is it the peopleimages.com site?
there's only 70,000 which is an impressive portfolio for him, but I did a search based on one of my best sellers...didn't find anything similar. I'm sure we all could do that. I can't see him withdrawing from the big agencies yet.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: picture5469 on May 03, 2012, 02:12
If it does take off, then his rank is likely to drop on the sites and so will his search rank on the agencies. I think this a potential downfall. Especially there are so many professionals out there now
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Yuri_Arcurs on May 03, 2012, 04:32
I must say, the more I look at this new site, the more impressed I am. For a new site, the attention to detail and the level of finish is remarkable.

Thank you! You will not believe all the small things I have been optimizing before launch. Re-keyworded about 30000+ images, re-titled about the same. Organized 1300 shoots, 700 models...Auto-suggestions based on beta-testers, manually input keyword suggestions for about 3000 top searches, color corrected about 10000 files. Re-developed old shoots so they would look better.
Our current ticket tracker system reads 3500 in issue number, which means that to get the site to where it is now we have fixed or added 3500 bugs or features.
For the critical comments: Remember that this is a version 1.0 - it still introduces two new inventions that no other site has: Time-exclusivity and custom retouching. And both features work, at launch!
Imagine what version 2.0 will look like, with SEO, referral and social media integration. 100000+ images! 
Keep in mind the bigger picture. That's what I always do. :)

Best Regards Yuri Arcurs
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on May 03, 2012, 04:56
^^^ Extremely impressive __ thanks for sharing. Good luck with the new venture!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gemmy12 on May 03, 2012, 05:21
Good luck Yuri...!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Yuri_Arcurs on May 03, 2012, 07:04
Lot's of interest that is for sure. We just had over 1000 visitors in one hour and about 200+ visitors constantly on the site. Small numbers for big stock agencies, but it's still pretty nice. :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gillian vann on May 03, 2012, 07:21
I must say, the more I look at this new site, the more impressed I am. For a new site, the attention to detail and the level of finish is remarkable.

Thank you! You will not believe all the small things I have been optimizing before launch. Re-keyworded about 30000+ images, re-titled about the same. Organized 1300 shoots, 700 models...Auto-suggestions based on beta-testers, manually input keyword suggestions for about 3000 top searches, color corrected about 10000 files. Re-developed old shoots so they would look better.
Our current ticket tracker system reads 3500 in issue number, which means that to get the site to where it is now we have fixed or added 3500 bugs or features.
For the critical comments: Remember that this is a version 1.0 - it still introduces two new inventions that no other site has: Time-exclusivity and custom retouching. And both features work, at launch!
Imagine what version 2.0 will look like, with SEO, referral and social media integration. 100000+ images! 
Keep in mind the bigger picture. That's what I always do. :)

Best Regards Yuri Arcurs


Love the time exclusivity. Of course, the others will copy you at some point. be flattered. Very clever!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 03, 2012, 07:25
It really sounds impressive, I agree.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on May 03, 2012, 07:43
Dreamstime has time exclusivity.  So do any RM sites, and at the prices for time exclusivity, you're actually at comparable to RM.

I haven't found yet - is it fake exclusivity like DT, or is it only on images with zero sales?

It is a huge task to put something like a stock site together.  It takes great management skills, so congrats on that.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: dreamstock on May 03, 2012, 08:30
Lot's of interest that is for sure. We just had over 1000 visitors in one hour and about 200+ visitors constantly on the site. Small numbers for big stock agencies, but it's still pretty nice. :)

had first sale yet?  ;)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: noodle on May 03, 2012, 09:09

[/quote]

had first sale yet?  ;)
[/quote]

$ 0.30 sub
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microbius on May 03, 2012, 09:27
Dreamstime has time exclusivity.  So do any RM sites, and at the prices for time exclusivity, you're actually at comparable to RM.

I haven't found yet - is it fake exclusivity like DT, or is it only on images with zero sales?

It is a huge task to put something like a stock site together.  It takes great management skills, so congrats on that.


I think it could be "fake exclusivity" for example,
http://peopleimages.com/image/a-casual-business-meeting-on-the-go-people-working-united# (http://peopleimages.com/image/a-casual-business-meeting-on-the-go-people-working-united#) one of Yuri's most popular on SS http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-2700p1.html#id=7704406 (http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-2700p1.html#id=7704406)
Is offered with a 99% buyout license: http://peopleimages.com/support/licenseAgreement/3 (http://peopleimages.com/support/licenseAgreement/3)

"With this Agreement we promise to remove the selected Media from peopleimages.com as well as all other major online stock agencies! This license type illustrates our efforts to eliminate all future sales on a particular image that you want for yourself. This is a costly and time-consuming procedure for us, but it will give you want - an image for yourself!" and for all the other people who have already purchased it!

It could be good to be a bit more explicit in the licence terms about the fact that previous buyers could still be using the image (an in the case of Yuri's most popular images no doubt will be). I think that failing to mention it kinda implies and end to future usage, not just sales. This is why I have never allowed the sale of any of my images with DT's fake exclusivity. It's just a matter of time before someone is taken to court over it.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 03, 2012, 09:39
That wording is a bit iffy, let alone the spurious nature of the "exclusivity". All other MAJOR stock agencies? What about the minor ones? Is it that some places aren't willing or able to pull images whenever Yuri asks them to?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 03, 2012, 09:45
That wording is a bit iffy, let alone the spurious nature of the "exclusivity". All other MAJOR stock agencies? What about the minor ones? Is it that some places aren't willing or able to pull images whenever Yuri asks them to?

that might be a smaller problem, I believe the tons of agencies partners would be a lot harder, 5 working days.. if all agencies work as good as IS on the thinkstock migration I believe it will take more like 500 days  :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 03, 2012, 09:48
lol!

And Yuri will be on TS, of course. TS is a pretty major agency.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on May 03, 2012, 10:33
Lot's of interest that is for sure. We just had over 1000 visitors in one hour and about 200+ visitors constantly on the site. Small numbers for big stock agencies, but it's still pretty nice. :)

Very nice site, Yuri - very fast, clean, easy to navigate. Would you share your plans for advertising? Bringing buyers to the site may not be easy - even with excellent and big image collection like yours. You will have a lot of people checking out your site initially but it's a different task to convince them to bring you their money. I do wish you a lot of success with your site - please keep up posted on the progress!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 03, 2012, 10:41
Finally, by redisintermediating, Yuri is regaining the most valuable part of the stock photography business:  the customer relationships.  He’s already been hard at work doing this, with 2,000 active photo buyers already in his records (50 have been beta-testing the site, buying 10 – 30 per day).  Now he has a substantially more lucrative destination to direct his promotional resources and leverage the fame he’s built as the “worlds top selling stock photographer”.

http://www.microstockdiaries.com/yuri-arcurs-launches-peopleimages-com-the-ultimate-direct-sales-website.html (http://www.microstockdiaries.com/yuri-arcurs-launches-peopleimages-com-the-ultimate-direct-sales-website.html)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on May 03, 2012, 10:53
^^^ He's doing what? 'Redisintermediating'? That's not a even a word. Yuri might be disintermediating, or cutting out the middle-man in more common parlance, but you can't re- that unless he was doing it twice over which doesn't seem possible.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: jarih on May 03, 2012, 11:46
My prediction seems to be true, he teach his own photographer army who shoot for him. High-quality images will be available for customers at a good rate. He is a very wise man :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 03, 2012, 12:20
Meh
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on May 03, 2012, 12:44
Lot's of interest that is for sure. We just had over 1000 visitors in one hour and about 200+ visitors constantly on the site. Small numbers for big stock agencies, but it's still pretty nice. :)

Really impressive looking website, and seems to be very functional.  Great attention to detail.  I am impressed with your reworking of titles to be so descriptive.  Obviously a lot of work went into this.  Wishing you great success! Congratulations!  :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rimglow on May 03, 2012, 13:32
I love how big the previews are!   You can finally see the detail in what you are buying.   You can fill your screen.   He's raising the bar for the other stock sites.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on May 03, 2012, 13:54
Wishing you great success! Congratulations

I haven't yet been able to figure out why we'd wish him success (sorry :) ). Any gain that the site makes is 'our' loss.  Are we hoping he will cause our agents to up their game?   I certainly don't want to lose any buyers.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: wut on May 03, 2012, 14:02
Wishing you great success! Congratulations

I haven't yet been able to figure out why we'd wish him success (sorry :) ). Any gain that the site makes is 'our' loss.  Are we hoping he will cause our agents to up their game?   I certainly don't want to lose any buyers.

Damnn, I love honesty and ppl that get str8 to the point. It's like a breath of fresh air, really!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on May 03, 2012, 14:16
Wishing you great success! Congratulations

I haven't yet been able to figure out why we'd wish him success (sorry :) ). Any gain that the site makes is 'our' loss.  Are we hoping he will cause our agents to up their game?   I certainly don't want to lose any buyers.

I think most of us (including you!) consider that agencies take far too much in commission and therefore we would hope for a fairer distribution of our images' earnings. If Yuri is successful in this venture then it may represent one small step in the right direction. Personally I don't compete with Yuri's subjects so I'm not worried about any increased competition or loss of buyers.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Graffoto on May 03, 2012, 14:22
A) He will be successful.
B) Yes, it should come as a very welcome wake-up call to the rest of the industry.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on May 03, 2012, 14:25
Wishing you great success! Congratulations

I haven't yet been able to figure out why we'd wish him success (sorry :) ). Any gain that the site makes is 'our' loss.  Are we hoping he will cause our agents to up their game?   I certainly don't want to lose any buyers.

I am not competing with Yuri and I won't lose any buyers to him. He has very distinct and straightforward style that buyers sometimes are looking for - now they'll be able to go to his site and get just that. If they want something different, they'd look elsewhere. I am not getting how is this "our loss"?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on May 03, 2012, 14:26
A) He will be successful.
B) Yes, it should come as a very welcome wake-up call to the rest of the industry.

A: we'll see
B: what do you realistically think will happen at a result.  You cannot leave to submit there.  They will cut your commission to make up for loss, or raise prices.  Or will they increase features and service?

Again, we're looking at another agency, like stock fresh, who aren't selling anything either.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on May 03, 2012, 14:28
I haven't yet been able to figure out why we'd wish him success (sorry :) ). Any gain that the site makes is 'our' loss.  Are we hoping he will cause our agents to up their game?   I certainly don't want to lose any buyers.
I don't get your point. Yuri's images are already at all the agencies ready for purchase.

Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site.

Other than that, all that buyers can get from him are, well, people images (Yuri style). Buyers still have to stick with other agencies to satisfy their image needs when it comes to people photos (non-Yuri style), non-people photos, illustrations, highly specialized people photos, backgrounds, design elements etc.

I'm also catering to an entirely different customer base so his style doesn't affect me one bit. However, I think there is still some resentment towards Yuri that he simply made the move while others are only talking (thinking) about it.

He may ultimately just oversee his business operations but has other people shooting for him while he puts more fingers in more pies.

Well done.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on May 03, 2012, 14:35
'Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site. '

Bingo,  you've nailed the USP. 

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on May 03, 2012, 14:40
'Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site. '

Bingo,  you've nailed the USP. 

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.
IMO even regarding the exclusive pictures on his site, I'm sure that the vast majority of his buyers ONLY sign up there because of the Yuri-look not because he is the only one offering a certain image that no other photographer at other sites already has online.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: dreamstock on May 03, 2012, 14:43
... agencies take far too much in commission and therefore we would hope for a fairer distribution of our images' earnings. If Yuri is successful in this venture then it may represent one small step in the right direction....

this will make much more sense if Yuri's new site accepts other contributors and offers "fair" commissions.

the bottom line is that selling images at micro price through agencies whom takes 70%-85% commission is not sustainable for a proper BUSINESS,  Ron Chapple realized it, so did Yuri.  
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Druid on May 03, 2012, 14:55
I don't quite see why everyone is so excited about this, Yuri's the only winner here the only way this will affect the rest of us is that when buyers search his sight for images they are only going to get his to choose from. Whereas previously there was a chance that one of mine (or anyone elses} would appear next to his and on a very rare occassion mine would get picked instead of his. (well maybe not very often I know I don't shoot the same sort of subject that he does but you know what I mean}. If he builds up a loyal following of buyer who only go to his sight then the rest of us will loose out.
Whilst I wish him well in his new venture as I would anyone I don't see it as anything I should be getting excited about.

The rest of the MS companies out there are not going to give us more favourable deals just because of this.

Druid
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 03, 2012, 15:10
'Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site. '

Bingo,  you've nailed the USP. 

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.

He's capitalising on e.g. iStock's total failure to retain loyalty, from buyers as well as sellers. Whether offering 'false exclusivity' is a way to nurture loyalty, we'll just have to wait and see. I'd think it might bite him in the bum, but no doubt he's got it well covered in the 'small print', and maybe that's OK in Denmark, or whichever legislation he's operating under.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: helix7 on May 03, 2012, 15:29

I think this rocks. Congrats Yuri. Best of luck with it.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 03, 2012, 15:32
'Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site. '

Bingo,  you've nailed the USP. 

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.

Correct, the bias against  istock/getty on here is very strong.  It is so strong that people are cheering a "team" that is setting up a site if successful is going to take sales and money from the pockets of all the well wishers.   And the "team" doing this is confused as to why some people have "negative" opinions of their effort. Hello, Mcfly if you do not  like Getty because they take more of you money then you should not like this "team" effort that takes all of your money.  The market place is limited and if successful this site will vacuum up your dollars.  It makes no sense unless you work for or are related to this Team.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: click_click on May 03, 2012, 16:02
So we can pretty much close up shop because Yuri started a (possibly successful) stock agency?

Uhhhhhh ok.  :-X
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on May 03, 2012, 16:36
'Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site. '

Bingo,  you've nailed the USP. 

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.

Correct, the bias against  istock/getty on here is very strong.  It is so strong that people are cheering a "team" that is setting up a site if successful is going to take sales and money from the pockets of all the well wishers.   And the "team" doing this is confused as to why some people have "negative" opinions of their effort. Hello, Mcfly if you do not  like Getty because they take more of you money then you should not like this "team" effort that takes all of your money.  The market place is limited and if successful this site will vacuum up your dollars.  It makes no sense unless you work for or are related to this Team.

Umm, seriously? This can't be real. A LOT of serious photographers sale their images from their own sites. Like, majority of us. How is Yuri doing the same thing will put us out of business? Then there is another, painfully obvious fact - we all have our portfolios together with Yuri's on all major and not-so-major agencies, side by side. If Yuri's images could put anyone out of business, that would have happened long time ago. And yet many of us are able to carve out pretty decent living, even with all-people portfolios.
Yeah, this probably won't affect agencies policies in any significant way, but why not cheer for the guy? He works hard and deserves his success.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 03, 2012, 21:05
Correct, the bias against  istock/getty on here is very strong.  It is so strong that people are cheering a "team" that is setting up a site if successful is going to take sales and money from the pockets of all the well wishers.   And the "team" doing this is confused as to why some people have "negative" opinions of their effort. Hello, Mcfly if you do not  like Getty because they take more of you money then you should not like this "team" effort that takes all of your money.  The market place is limited and if successful this site will vacuum up your dollars.  It makes no sense unless you work for or are related to this Team.

A lot happens outside of Getty. A lot happens outside of the big four. Stuff even happens that's not on the list to the right. Like it or not, the barrier to setting up new, personal or even niche sites is becoming easier every day. Expect to see more.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: hatman12 on May 03, 2012, 21:31
Well, congratulations to Yuri.  What an excellent web site.  And those full size previews - wow.

My guess is that this is only the first step.  Yuri has seen Bruce get his $50 million, and now Jon getting his $100 million, and Yuri wants his slice of that pie.  I'll guess that gradually Yuri will include work from other photographers, gradually building into the premier agency for people photos.  He could attract a surprising amount of traffic and business.  In about five years or so he'll have an asset that will be worth a lot of money.  Perhaps then he'll sell out to Getty or Shutterstock, or even attempt to become an industry leader and eventually do his own IPO.

One thing is certain - Yuri is a winner who thinks big.  I don't think he'll be satisfied with just a small boutique web site.

Well done Yuri.  What a pleasure to see someone become such a success through their own hard work and entrepreneurship.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on May 03, 2012, 22:26

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.

I understand your point.  And from a purely monetary POV you are probably right that this is competition for other lifestyle shooters.  But lets face it, Yuri has been major competition for lifestyle shooters for years anyway.  Whether he's on the micros or his own site, or both, that won't change.  

As a contributor, I am sick of the way the agencies have been taking us for granted.  I started my own site over a year ago, when some of this BS started to go down, and so did a lot of others.  Unfortunately, none of us had a big enough presence for this to in any way impact the agencies.  Yuri's presence is big enough for this to matter.  I stated earlier in this thread that I hope this makes the agencies realize they have been squeezing contributors too hard, and ease up.  

It might not do that.  I'm certainly not holding my breath.  But I hope it does, and there's a better chance of it if Yuri is successful than if he fails.  

Also, there's a chance this could get buyers thinking about buying direct from artists, and in a peripheral way, any of us with our own site could ultimately benefit from changing buyers' perceptions about where and how to buy images.  

Most likely this will not affect me much either way.  But I am perfectly willing to congratulate someone on taking initiative and to wish them well. 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lagereek on May 03, 2012, 23:36
Well, congratulations to Yuri.  What an excellent web site.  And those full size previews - wow.

My guess is that this is only the first step.  Yuri has seen Bruce get his $50 million, and now Jon getting his $100 million, and Yuri wants his slice of that pie.  I'll guess that gradually Yuri will include work from other photographers, gradually building into the premier agency for people photos.  He could attract a surprising amount of traffic and business.  In about five years or so he'll have an asset that will be worth a lot of money.  Perhaps then he'll sell out to Getty or Shutterstock, or even attempt to become an industry leader and eventually do his own IPO.

One thing is certain - Yuri is a winner who thinks big.  I don't think he'll be satisfied with just a small boutique web site.

Well done Yuri.  What a pleasure to see someone become such a success through their own hard work and entrepreneurship.

I agree!  in this day and age, its not easy to build anything,  most people trying end up at the local shrink. People like Jon, Yuri, even Bruce, has got to be admired.
Yuri built this, surrounded by the big 4 agencies, that alone is full marks.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lagereek on May 03, 2012, 23:42
Lot's of interest that is for sure. We just had over 1000 visitors in one hour and about 200+ visitors constantly on the site. Small numbers for big stock agencies, but it's still pretty nice. :)

Youre timing is next to perfect! :)  best of luck!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 04, 2012, 00:03

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.


As a contributor, I am sick of the way the agencies have been taking us for granted.  I started my own site over a year ago, when some of this BS started to go down, and so did a lot of others.  Unfortunately, none of us had a big enough presence for this to in any way impact the agencies.  Yuri's presence is big enough for this to matter.

That's the point, isn't it? The only effect this will have is to shift a small amount of cash from your pockets to Yuris and a larger amount of cash from the agencies to him. Apart from that it is completely irrelevant. It won't affect the way the agencies treat anyone else because it isn't the start of anything meaningful.  If you, at your level, can't make any impact then hobody else can, either, probably not even Andres because he hasn't got the same brand recognition as Yuri.

Personally, I have doubts about whether even Yuri is going to have a meaningful impact because of the lack of diversity in his portfolio. As I said earlier, how many buyers will want to shop with Yuri AND keep an account at a major micro in order to have access to all the non-Yuri subjects, when they could make life easy for themselves by just sticking to a micro.

Frankly, the only way I could see this becoming a significant issue for the agencies would be if he became yet another agency, taking in all the files that all the others have. If he did that, then he could probably get into the mid or upper tiers quite quickly. but he would have the problems of inspections, storage space and bandwidth, accounting, etc. etc.

Even if he did that, it would still be a one-off Yuri thing, not the start of a new movement with everyone going to make their own agency.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: CarlssonInc on May 04, 2012, 00:28
I think we are over-estimating the impact this will have on the "microstock" industry - the effect will in my opinion be minuscule, but on the other hand for Yuri's business it probably will be substantial if he gets enough and lasting traction.

I also don't think we need to fear that his move will have any impact on taking away the food from our tables, we are quite capable of slowly doing that to ourselves by being one of the few (sub)-professions (stock photographers) that are ridiculously un-organized, thus being at the "mercy" of libraries/agents.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: grp_photo on May 04, 2012, 00:45
A) He will be successful.
B) Yes, it should come as a very welcome wake-up call to the rest of the industry.
A) you have never run an Agency by yourself, the USP of Yuri's one is not a very strong USP I doubt the USP is strong enough to get his money back anytime soon.
B) Sure if selling directly become a big success it would be great for all of us but I personally doubt it.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sharpshot on May 04, 2012, 01:00
Small niche sites can do very well.  I think Yuri will be successful with this, he's a shrewd businessman.  I'm not concerned about the effect on the other sites.  They have no problem finding feeble excuses to cut our commissions.  They could use this to carry on doing what they were going to do anyway or they could notice that paying us less is going to lose them money in the long term.  The rest of us might not make much from our own sites but if the top 1,000 contributors joined together, there would be no need for agencies that pay ridiculously low commission.

At some point, I think the top contributors are going to see that owning their own site is the only way to make microstock sustainable.  Hopefully the sites will see that they need to end commission cuts or they wont have much of a business left.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Wim on May 04, 2012, 01:26
It's about time Yuri!

I would have done this a long time ago if I was in your shoes mate.
I don't have to wish you luck because there is nothing negative to say about your site so I'm sure it will do very well, and besides, I doubt it's by luck you have gotten this far (well maybe a bit starting at the right time)
Smart move with the focus on retouche too, spending most of my time retouching I know how important this is and buyers will love you for it.
Good to see you pop up in the forums too, you don't let all this get to your head.

Wim
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: dreamstock on May 04, 2012, 01:33

Frankly, the only way I could see this becoming a significant issue for the agencies would be if he became yet another agency, taking in all the files that all the others have. If he did that, then he could probably get into the mid or upper tiers quite quickly. but he would have the problems of inspections, storage space and bandwidth, accounting, etc. etc.

Even if he did that, it would still be a one-off Yuri thing, not the start of a new movement with everyone going to make their own agency.

have to agree with this one. and i don't think inspections, storage and accounting etc are the real problems to yuri, it's just not the business direction he's taken right now.

maybe now is the time for Andres or a few world's top contributors to form an agency.  ;)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on May 04, 2012, 02:25
Small niche sites can do very well.  I think Yuri will be successful with this, he's a shrewd businessman.  I'm not concerned about the effect on the other sites.  They have no problem finding feeble excuses to cut our commissions.  They could use this to carry on doing what they were going to do anyway or they could notice that paying us less is going to lose them money in the long term.  The rest of us might not make much from our own sites but if the top 1,000 contributors joined together, there would be no need for agencies that pay ridiculously low commission.

At some point, I think the top contributors are going to see that owning their own site is the only way to make microstock sustainable.  Hopefully the sites will see that they need to end commission cuts or they wont have much of a business left.

Well said that man.

Talk of taking revenue away from us may be true but in that case revenue will be taken away from agencies, which would be nothing but their own making. Let the top dogs work on keeping more of the income made from their images, rather than giving most of it to middle men. Only they have the possibility of influencing agencies behaviour, and their behaviour can only be changed if their pockets are hit. Maybe an outcome could be another round of commission cuts, but long term they may have to start thinking well how do we stop people from adding to the list of competitors, especially the people who could pose a threat. I really hope guys like Yuri can eventually cut into agencies revenues and help change the completely disproprotionate balance of power. Big agencies won't be happy with this development, but they are the cause and lets hope oneday they can see the effect.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: nicku on May 04, 2012, 02:26
I don't believe will have a HUGE impact on the top agencies... Yuri is still selling stock there ( and will  do in the future). Regarding the commission cuts i expect possible  cuts on IS, FT and 123RF not on SS.

If things are getting very threatening for SS probably they will take off the ace in sleeve.... The exclusivity program.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on May 04, 2012, 02:42
I don't believe will have a HUGE impact on the top agencies... Yuri is still selling stock there ( and will  do in the future). Regarding the commission cuts i expect possible  cuts on IS, FT and 123RF not on SS.

If things are getting very threatening for SS probably they will take off the ace in sleeve.... The exclusivity program.

I think if his site becomes successful, it would be a logical next step to become an agency in its own right. It's human instinct to want to expand.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: nicku on May 04, 2012, 03:03
I don't believe will have a HUGE impact on the top agencies... Yuri is still selling stock there ( and will  do in the future). Regarding the commission cuts i expect possible  cuts on IS, FT and 123RF not on SS.

If things are getting very threatening for SS probably they will take off the ace in sleeve.... The exclusivity program.

I think if his site becomes successful, it would be a logical next step to become an agency in its own right. It's human instinct to want to expand.

agree...
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gillian vann on May 04, 2012, 04:38
^^ditto. when this whole thing was first hinted at I assumed he was opening an agency to compete with the Big guys. What will you all think if he offers the same paltry comms though?
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 04, 2012, 05:04
I found this five minutes ago, and it seems a bit pertinent to this thread:


Prayer of a Sportsman


Dear Lord, in the battle that goes on through life
I ask but a field that is fair,
A chance that is equal with all in the strife,
A courage to strive and to dare;

And if should win, let it be by the code
With my faith and my honor held high;
And if I should lose, let me stand by the road,
And cheer as the winners go by.

And Lord, may my shouts be ungrudging and clear,
A tribute that comes from the heart,
And let me not cherish a snarl or a sneer
Or play any sniveling part;

Let me say, "There they ride, on whom laurel's bestowed
Since they played the game better than I."
Let me stand with a smile by the side of the road,
And cheer as the winners go by.

So grant me to conquer, if conquer I can,
By proving my worth in the fray,
But teach me to lose like a regular man,
And not like a craven, I pray;

Let me take off my hat to the warriors who strode
To victory splendid and high,
Yea, teach me to stand by the side of the road
And cheer as the winners go by.

-Berton Braley
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ProImage on May 04, 2012, 05:33
It is a impressive and bold move. All the best to him and his team.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on May 04, 2012, 06:49
Well, congratulations to Yuri.  What an excellent web site.  And those full size previews - wow.

My guess is that this is only the first step.  Yuri has seen Bruce get his $50 million, and now Jon getting his $100 million, and Yuri wants his slice of that pie.  I'll guess that gradually Yuri will include work from other photographers, gradually building into the premier agency for people photos.  He could attract a surprising amount of traffic and business.  In about five years or so he'll have an asset that will be worth a lot of money.  Perhaps then he'll sell out to Getty or Shutterstock, or even attempt to become an industry leader and eventually do his own IPO.

One thing is certain - Yuri is a winner who thinks big.  I don't think he'll be satisfied with just a small boutique web site.

Well done Yuri.  What a pleasure to see someone become such a success through their own hard work and entrepreneurship.

I agree!  in this day and age, its not easy to build anything,  most people trying end up at the local shrink. People like Jon, Yuri, even Bruce, has got to be admired.
Yuri built this, surrounded by the big 4 agencies, that alone is full marks.

Completely agree.  Good for him.  Next up???
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 04, 2012, 08:08
'Only customers who want his exclusive images have to sign up with his site. '

Bingo,  you've nailed the USP. 

However, as someone who shoots people ( and Lisa, you're included ), this is an attempt to draw buyers and build loyalty at a site you can't sell at.  I'm not sure why I should think that's awesome.

Correct, the bias against  istock/getty on here is very strong.  It is so strong that people are cheering a "team" that is setting up a site if successful is going to take sales and money from the pockets of all the well wishers.   And the "team" doing this is confused as to why some people have "negative" opinions of their effort. Hello, Mcfly if you do not  like Getty because they take more of you money then you should not like this "team" effort that takes all of your money.  The market place is limited and if successful this site will vacuum up your dollars.  It makes no sense unless you work for or are related to this Team.

Umm, seriously? This can't be real. A LOT of serious photographers sale their images from their own sites. Like, majority of us. How is Yuri doing the same thing will put us out of business? Then there is another, painfully obvious fact - we all have our portfolios together with Yuri's on all major and not-so-major agencies, side by side. If Yuri's images could put anyone out of business, that would have happened long time ago. And yet many of us are able to carve out pretty decent living, even with all-people portfolios.
Yeah, this probably won't affect agencies policies in any significant way, but why not cheer for the guy? He works hard and deserves his success.
 
   My point which has not been addressed is a logically question.  If Getty is evil because they take more of your money and do not treat you "fair".  And their downfall is actively cheered, then conversely someone who taking market share (your money) you do not know, should not be cheered using the same measurement.   Second, if Yuri really wants to take on the agencies then he should pull his work of their low paying sites.  If there are 40000 $2 dollar photos on SS covering all the things he shoots, then I would skip the new work at $550 and buy 250 photos that are good enough and what bargain on the price.  Would you say monkeybussinessimgaes is almost a good as Yuri.  I would ask why she closed her site.    Her prices were comparable to IS at a flat rate.  She even recruited other non-exclusives to sell.  She did not have a confusing tiered pricing system.   Or an exclusive model that has a ton of previous work out there that is a near copy.  It's fine to say my arguments are invalid.  I would like to be proved wrong.   I just don't get the well wishing for A and the contempt for B when A it lowering your income and B is taking it all.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: RT on May 04, 2012, 08:14
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rene on May 04, 2012, 08:32
I think if his site becomes successful, it would be a logical next step to become an agency in its own right. It's human instinct to want to expand.
He will, but not exactly the way we imagine.
First he will give us possibility to create our own sites using "Yuri's stock store engine" - a kind of Ktools Photostore - for free. Once 1000 individual stores are on line a mega Yoogel search image site will be deployed. Yoogel will research images among all Yuri's engined sites and take 10% from each sale.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 04, 2012, 08:33
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 ;D ;D

its a huge puppy! it may bite eheh
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Elenathewise on May 04, 2012, 09:03

   My point which has not been addressed is a logically question.  If Getty is evil because they take more of your money and do not treat you "fair".  And their downfall is actively cheered, then conversely someone who taking market share (your money) you do not know, should not be cheered using the same measurement.   Second, if Yuri really wants to take on the agencies then he should pull his work of their low paying sites.  If there are 40000 $2 dollar photos on SS covering all the things he shoots, then I would skip the new work at $550 and buy 250 photos that are good enough and what bargain on the price.  Would you say monkeybussinessimgaes is almost a good as Yuri.  I would ask why she closed her site.    Her prices were comparable to IS at a flat rate.  She even recruited other non-exclusives to sell.  She did not have a confusing tiered pricing system.   Or an exclusive model that has a ton of previous work out there that is a near copy.  It's fine to say my arguments are invalid.  I would like to be proved wrong.   I just don't get the well wishing for A and the contempt for B when A it lowering your income and B is taking it all.

And my point was that Yuri's site will not take any of our money. He may take a tiny fraction of the money from the sites he is selling on. So wishing him well is not an opposite reaction to complaining about Getty - it's just plain good will:)  About Monkey Business Images - I am a part of that, and the reason they closed their site is because they recruited other photographers to sell with them. See, if you just selling your images from your own site, it's fine, agencies don't consider you as competition. If you involve other photographers, you become an agency = competition. If you have your and your contributors portfolios sold on other agencies, some of them won't like it - they'd say, you can't sell with us now, you're competition. In this case the agency that wasn't ok with that was (guess who) Istock. Monkeys are still a distribution agency, but they are not running their own site, since taking their files down from Istock was not an option.
That's the reason Yuri's site will also stay just Yuri's site, unless he is prepared to take down his portfolio from other selling sites, and, umm, why would he do that. If he builds up his customer base, good for him, but it won't be even comparable to big agencies... so really, it's a drop in the ocean. But having your own site and doing direct sales just makes you feel good, I have my own site and I do sell directly from it. Money is not comparable to the big agencies, but anything I make is 100% mine and it makes my day now and them. Good for morale:) 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 04, 2012, 09:24
Well said that man.

Talk of taking revenue away from us may be true but in that case revenue will be taken away from agencies, which would be nothing but their own making. Let the top dogs work on keeping more of the income made from their images, rather than giving most of it to middle men. Only they have the possibility of influencing agencies behaviour, and their behaviour can only be changed if their pockets are hit. Maybe an outcome could be another round of commission cuts, but long term they may have to start thinking well how do we stop people from adding to the list of competitors, especially the people who could pose a threat. I really hope guys like Yuri can eventually cut into agencies revenues and help change the completely disproprotionate balance of power. Big agencies won't be happy with this development, but they are the cause and lets hope oneday they can see the effect.

I wouldn't hold my breath expecting the agencies to change. If you want change (for the better), you'll probably have to go out and make it happen.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 04, 2012, 10:11
That's interesting info, Elena, I didn't know what had happened to Monkeybusiness.

pro@stockphotos - you have made a logical error. Yuri is our competitor (well, not mine, but some people's) and therefore it is fair for him to do his best to get his images sold instead of ours. Istock is our agent, our "friend" and representative, and they take up to four-fifths of all the money we earn, providing an ever poorer service to us in return.

So it is quite rational for people to see their relationship with iStock as being somewhat abusive and one-sided, while regarding Yuri as an honourable competitor.

Secondly, I might have missed it but I am unaware of Yuri expressing any desire to "take on" the agencies. It looks to me as if he is just trying to find ways to maximise his revenues.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: rubyroo on May 04, 2012, 11:56
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 04, 2012, 12:15
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 ;D ;D

its a huge puppy! it may bite eheh

Maybe it'll be a Lab and lick the opposition to death.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sgoodwin4813 on May 04, 2012, 12:28
I think if his site becomes successful, it would be a logical next step to become an agency in its own right. It's human instinct to want to expand.
He will, but not exactly the way we imagine.
First he will give us possibility to create our own sites using "Yuri's stock store engine" - a kind of Ktools Photostore - for free. Once 1000 individual stores are on line a mega Yoogel search image site will be deployed. Yoogel will research images among all Yuri's engined sites and take 10% from each sale.

This could be the way of the future and a way for all of us to get a larger proportion of sales.  Individually we are too small, but a coordinated search of many individual sites could provide the breadth of a large agency.  This could really work if everyone used the same template for their own sites so they could be searched together.  If Yuri is heading in this direction then it really could lead to a new way of selling images that would bypass the agencies or at least give artists some leverage to get agencies to increase commissions.

Of course it wouldn't require Yuri if someone else has the programming skills to put it together ... a virtual agency of individual sites that are searched as one, like Travelocity or Amazon but for images.  There would have to be caveats about quality since everyone would be their own reviewers and some sort of agreements about pricing or it might be too complicated for buyers but something like this really could work - each individual is responsible for their own individual site and you'd just need a search engine and front bit to manage sales.  There would be no costs for reviewing images or maintaining a huge database, just a search engine.  Wish I had the time and the programming skills...  If someone is working on something like this it would be great!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gbalex on May 04, 2012, 12:45
I think if his site becomes successful, it would be a logical next step to become an agency in its own right. It's human instinct to want to expand.

He will, but not exactly the way we imagine.
First he will give us possibility to create our own sites using "Yuri's stock store engine" - a kind of Ktools Photostore - for free. Once 1000 individual stores are on line a mega Yoogel search image site will be deployed. Yoogel will research images among all Yuri's engined sites and take 10% from each sale.


This could be the way of the future and a way for all of us to get a larger proportion of sales.  Individually we are too small, but a coordinated search of many individual sites could provide the breadth of a large agency.  This could really work if everyone used the same template for their own sites so they could be searched together.  If Yuri is heading in this direction then it really could lead to a new way of selling images that would bypass the agencies or at least give artists some leverage to get agencies to increase commissions.

Of course it wouldn't require Yuri if someone else has the programming skills to put it together ... a virtual agency of individual sites that are searched as one, like Travelocity or Amazon but for images.  There would have to be caveats about quality since everyone would be their own reviewers and some sort of agreements about pricing or it might be too complicated for buyers but something like this really could work - each individual is responsible for their own individual site and you'd just need a search engine and front bit to manage sales.  There would be no costs for reviewing images or maintaining a huge database, just a search engine.  Wish I had the time and the programming skills...  If someone is working on something like this it would be great!


http://www.picturengine.com/ (http://www.picturengine.com/)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: fotoVoyager on May 04, 2012, 12:48
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 ;D ;D

its a huge puppy! it may bite eheh

Maybe it'll be a Lab and lick the opposition to death.

It'll definitely be blonde.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 04, 2012, 13:15
[url]http://www.picturengine.com/[/url] ([url]http://www.picturengine.com/[/url])


It looks as if they want us to pay them a monthly fee for the pleasure of uploading our stuff there so that they can redirect buyers to the existing agencies (and probably collect a referral fee) where they buy our stuff. It will help them find the cheapest way to get our work.

Is that the game plan?

To work, a lot of leading photographers would have to agree to join up and spend time uploading.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on May 04, 2012, 13:17
[url]http://www.picturengine.com/[/url] ([url]http://www.picturengine.com/[/url])


It looks as if they want us to pay them a monthly fee for the pleasure of uploading our stuff there so that they can redirect buyers to the existing agencies (and probably collect a referral fee) where they buy our stuff. It will help them find the cheapest way to get our work.

Is that the game plan?

To work, a lot of leading photographers would have to agree to join up and spend time uploading.


Sounds like a loser all around for the artist.  The only engine I would be willing to pay for would be one that exclusively searched the artist's own sites, not the micro agencies.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gbalex on May 04, 2012, 13:43
[url]http://www.picturengine.com/[/url] ([url]http://www.picturengine.com/[/url])


It looks as if they want us to pay them a monthly fee for the pleasure of uploading our stuff there so that they can redirect buyers to the existing agencies (and probably collect a referral fee) where they buy our stuff. It will help them find the cheapest way to get our work.

Is that the game plan?

To work, a lot of leading photographers would have to agree to join up and spend time uploading.


Sounds like a loser all around for the artist.  The only engine I would be willing to pay for would be one that exclusively searched the artist's own sites, not the micro agencies.


"The only engine I would be willing to pay for would be one that exclusively searched the artist's own sites"

Yes that would be the idea... the technology, not picturengine itself is the focus, however picturengine shows that a similar search vehicle could be used by a group of submitters who shoot different types of images.  A collective if you will.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pro@stockphotos on May 04, 2012, 14:13

  
 About Monkey Business Images - I am a part of that, and the reason they closed their site is because they recruited other photographers to sell with them. See, if you just selling your images from your own site, it's fine, agencies don't consider you as competition. If you involve other photographers, you become an agency = competition.

It seems  "team" yuri is the very definition of actively recruiting other photographers to sell with them.    If what you say is true.  I wonder why she just didn't kick of everyone else and keep selling her own work on her own site.  

As for competition being friendly ,@ BaldricksTrousers, and his success not hurting those only with the agencies, you do not understand how market places work. The pie cannot be cut without affecting you adversely. If money is being taken from you then why care if the entity responsible is charismatic.  

If Yuri is  Istock then at least people have a chance to look for other photos
If Yuri is on all the agencies then at least people have a choice to be on the same agencies.
If Yuri has his own site then you are squeezed out and if you root for him you do not understand math or markets or business and while it my seem nice it might also be insane.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pancaketom on May 04, 2012, 14:38
I somehow doubt Yuri's site will lead to cutting my IS take 20% (like one of IS's actions did - and yes, I do hate on them for a number of reasons of which that is one). If I specialized in that sort of image I'd maybe be a little more worried though.

I also doubt that this new site will make the established agencies suddenly see the light and treat contributors better. More likely they will use it as another bogus excuse to satisfy their greed and lower %ages.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: sharpshot on May 04, 2012, 14:39
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 ;D ;D

its a huge puppy! it may bite eheh

Maybe it'll be a Lab and lick the opposition to death.
I think a Great Dane would be more appropriate :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ShadySue on May 04, 2012, 14:44
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 ;D ;D

its a huge puppy! it may bite eheh

Maybe it'll be a Lab and lick the opposition to death.
I think a Great Dane would be more appropriate :)
;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Yuri_Arcurs on May 04, 2012, 15:12
I can't talk about sales. But here are some facts:
Day 1: 900 visitors (not launched)
Day 2: 1200 visitors (not launched)
Day 3: 3600 visitors (launched)
Day 4: 5900 visitors so far (launched) Today

Do the math!

Best Y
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on May 04, 2012, 15:19
I can't talk about sales. But here are some facts:
Day 1: 900 visitors (not launched)
Day 2: 1200 visitors (not launched)
Day 3: 3600 visitors (launched)
Day 4: 5900 visitors so far (launched) Today

Do the math!

Best Y

$200-$250. That's my guess based on the traffic.  ;)

Nice traffic though.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Microstock Posts on May 04, 2012, 15:21
I can't talk about sales. But here are some facts:
Day 1: 900 visitors (not launched)
Day 2: 1200 visitors (not launched)
Day 3: 3600 visitors (launched)
Day 4: 5900 visitors so far (launched) Today

Do the math!

Best Y

11600. I cheated, I used a calculator.  ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on May 04, 2012, 16:19
on the first day and second I have openned it like 30 times so drop a few lol I am sure a few tons did the same from MSG forum
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: BaldricksTrousers on May 04, 2012, 16:53
As for competition being friendly ,@ BaldricksTrousers, and his success not hurting those only with the agencies, you do not understand how market places work. The pie cannot be cut without affecting you adversely. If money is being taken from you then why care if the entity responsible is charismatic.  

If Yuri is  Istock then at least people have a chance to look for other photos
If Yuri is on all the agencies then at least people have a choice to be on the same agencies.
If Yuri has his own site then you are squeezed out and if you root for him you do not understand math or markets or business and while it my seem nice it might also be insane.

He won't be hurting me, I don't believe we have a single image in the same genre as each other. so anyone using his site who wants my kind of image will have to go to the micros, anyway. Even so, if you look at my earlier comments you will see that I am not part of his fan base and I'm not rooting for him. I completely understand your point, though I think you may be overestimating what the impact of his site is likely to be. I was simply trying to explain why iStock's screwing of contributors creates more animosity than Yuri's commercial progress. One is a deliberate attack, the other may cause collateral damage.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on May 04, 2012, 17:20
on the first day and second I have openned it like 30 times so drop a few lol I am sure a few tons did the same from MSG forum

Well yes, after all Yuri didn't state unique visitors. Even if they were it still only represents about 1/3rd of the registered membership of Microstockgroup. Surely sales are the only thing that count? We all get hundreds of views for our images, sometimes without any sales at all.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Mantis on May 04, 2012, 17:22
on the first day and second I have openned it like 30 times so drop a few lol I am sure a few tons did the same from MSG forum

Well yes, after all Yuri didn't state unique visitors. Even if they were it still only represents about 1/3rd of the registered membership of Microstockgroup. Surely sales are the only thing that count? We all get hundreds of views for our images, sometimes without any sales at all.

For years :(
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: Yuri_Arcurs on May 05, 2012, 07:38
The stats I mentioned where unique visitors. ;)
Our facebook campaign reached 17000 people. All those likes paid off after all.
Our customers will not come from the general trafic masses we are brining in now. This is just a result of curiosity and other photographers checking out our direct sales platform. We do not expect a whole lot of sales at this point and have seen little. So don't be too worried. All the trafic is great for testing our servers and our capacity. Even with 250 users online at the same time, our servers where only at about 15% of their max capacity. This means we can host about 1500 users simultaneously with a little overcapacity and still have a fast site. NICE :)
Anyway. I'm loving every moment of this launch. I have only sleept for about 15 hours this last week and had to go on Danish live TV at 0600 in the morning with 4 hours of "airplane sleep" - and off cause with all the stress i fell sick the day before the TV spot. Madness.
I know you probably don't understand Danish, but here you can watch the interview: http://go.tv2.dk/morgentv/id-50107240.html (http://go.tv2.dk/morgentv/id-50107240.html)
So. My conclusion is: IT launches are hardcore! Madness, crazy workhours and insanely interesting at the same time.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: leaf on May 06, 2012, 03:49
Thanks for the link Yuri and congrats on the publicity.  ... so THAT'S the most downloaded female and male models :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: ProImage on May 07, 2012, 07:18
I'm confused, is he getting a puppy or not.

 ;D ;D

its a huge puppy! it may bite eheh

Maybe it'll be a Lab and lick the opposition to death.

It'll definitely be blonde.


hahahahaha  :) and incredibly photogenic
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: RacePhoto on May 07, 2012, 12:38
Thanks for the link Yuri and congrats on the publicity.  ... so THAT'S the most downloaded female and male models :)

Didn't understand a word, but I think I understood this. "Mød verdens mest brugte model" and the site looks great. Anyone who goes out on their own, deserves the praise for their efforts.

I know Yuri is a different case, person and organization, but from the top to the smallest one person site, best wishes to everyone.

The modern day individual entrepreneur refuses to die!
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pixeled on June 13, 2012, 09:41
Kudos to Yuri.  I fail to understand the negativity here.  A great photographer doing well, sharing his knowledge about the medium as well as his business very openly with the world and still doing well,  launching his own site for direct selling, going places...why should I hate him again?  Oh I know, because I produce the same old images for the same old agency and consider my same old technique of isolating on white to be so valuable that I do not share it with anybody. Also I am always scared that someone somehow may get wind of that isolation technique and steal my business because I know that I have very little else to fall back on.  Ahhh, now that makes sense.   That would make anybody insecure, wouldn't it? I HATE YURI and I  dont want to cheer him because he is smarter, took more risks (and succeeded), and is more talented and resourceful than I am.  Also, he never cares about what I do and doesn't talk about my work but I always talk about his - makes me look petty.
 
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on June 13, 2012, 09:47
sorry pixeled but where is the negativity here?

don´t make me go over this topic and make some stats :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on June 13, 2012, 11:52
sorry pixeled but where is the negativity here?


Agreed.  Most of the posts I read (and posted) were supportive and encouraging. 

Rather odd to resurrect a thread from over a month ago just to make an inaccurate complaint about its content.  ???
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: gostwyck on June 13, 2012, 12:31
sorry pixeled but where is the negativity here?


Agreed.  Most of the posts I read (and posted) were supportive and encouraging. 

Rather odd to resurrect a thread from over a month ago just to make an inaccurate complaint about its content.  ???

Even odder that it has taken Pixeled nearly 3 years, since registering at MSG, to be inspired enough to contribute. I'm sitting on my hands awaiting the next pearl of wisdom which hopefully should arrive in early 2015.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: lisafx on June 13, 2012, 12:39

Even odder that it has taken Pixeled nearly 3 years, since registering at MSG, to be inspired enough to contribute. I'm sitting on my hands awaiting the next pearl of wisdom which hopefully should arrive in early 2015.

LOL!  Second great laugh you've given me today.  You're on a roll!  ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: pixeled on June 13, 2012, 14:23
 :D the pearl will come. Hang in there my friend...I don't disappoint my followers :-* .  But just to put things in context a bit and to clear up the confusion.  I don't frequent this forum at all, as you can tell.  I did a google search on Yuri's new venture and landed here.  Realized I have an account so signed in too.  Then I found someone up to his old antics - yes I have been in the biz for some time, just not a regular here so know the characters very well. Could not help but comment.  My bad, as you guys seem to have taken this comment too personally. But if you don't want random posters like me interrupting your reverie then please feel free to boot me out.  Otherwise there might me another pearl in the horizon  ;D.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: cthoman on June 13, 2012, 14:46
:D the pearl will come. Hang in there my friend...I don't disappoint my followers :-* .  But just to put things in context a bit and to clear up the confusion.  I don't frequent this forum at all, as you can tell.  I did a google search on Yuri's new venture and landed here.  Realized I have an account so signed in too.  Then I found someone up to his old antics - yes I have been in the biz for some time, just not a regular here so know the characters very well. Could not help but comment.  My bad, as you guys seem to have taken this comment too personally. But if you don't want random posters like me interrupting your reverie then please feel free to boot me out.  Otherwise there might me another pearl in the horizon  ;D.

Welcome back, maybe?!?  ;D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: luissantos84 on June 13, 2012, 14:47
:D the pearl will come. Hang in there my friend...I don't disappoint my followers :-* .  But just to put things in context a bit and to clear up the confusion.  I don't frequent this forum at all, as you can tell.  I did a google search on Yuri's new venture and landed here.  Realized I have an account so signed in too.  Then I found someone up to his old antics - yes I have been in the biz for some time, just not a regular here so know the characters very well. Could not help but comment.  My bad, as you guys seem to have taken this comment too personally. But if you don't want random posters like me interrupting your reverie then please feel free to boot me out.  Otherwise there might me another pearl in the horizon  ;D.

no need for that :D
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: loop on June 13, 2012, 17:21
:D the pearl will come. Hang in there my friend...I don't disappoint my followers :-* .  But just to put things in context a bit and to clear up the confusion.  I don't frequent this forum at all, as you can tell.  I did a google search on Yuri's new venture and landed here.  Realized I have an account so signed in too.  Then I found someone up to his old antics - yes I have been in the biz for some time, just not a regular here so know the characters very well. Could not help but comment.  My bad, as you guys seem to have taken this comment too personally. But if you don't want random posters like me interrupting your reverie then please feel free to boot me out.  Otherwise there might me another pearl in the horizon  ;D.

Welcome back, maybe?!?  ;D

Really boring.
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: drugal on June 14, 2012, 05:33
sorry pixeled but where is the negativity here?


Agreed.  Most of the posts I read (and posted) were supportive and encouraging. 

Rather odd to resurrect a thread from over a month ago just to make an inaccurate complaint about its content.  ???

Even odder that it has taken Pixeled nearly 3 years, since registering at MSG, to be inspired enough to contribute. I'm sitting on my hands awaiting the next pearl of wisdom which hopefully should arrive in early 2015.

Maybe he has a life.  Or maybe.. my favourite recently was this guy on flicker who exclaimed "wow great shot, she is sooo beautiful, sooo pretty" in 2010, now few days ago, 2.5 years later he faved it too. :)
Title: Re: Yuri Arcurs - Something big will happen on the 3 of May!
Post by: leaf on June 14, 2012, 05:48
topic locked as it's discussing nothing to do with the original topic anymore.