Oringer gets $28 million grant

[gbalex]

so who's the math genius here...
what is $28 million divided by the number of ss contributors???
expect that to be added to each of our may's earning
as profit-sharing or just plain decent share-the-wealth
with those who really made you rich(er)
p.s. thx arenacreative for the moving ants idea, i like them better than just color and size

$28,000,000  /  70,000+ active contributors  = $400 

You forgot to include the larger bonus Jon took just after the IPO and the one after that. 

And you forgot to add in SSTK stock options at a cost to key players & Insight Venture Capitol of $0.

I quit keeping track months ago, but at that time the key players excluding Jon have granted themselves 16,356,140 shares of SSTK stock at a cost to themselves of $0.

If they disposed of it at an average share price of $70 that would amount to $1,144,929,800.00

Then you need to add in the millions Jon pulled out soon after the IPO

Given the reality of the situation $400 is way off!

[ArenaCreative]

The story always changes when a company becomes a publicly traded one, or is headed in that direction.  There are a lot of other people Jon Oringer has to try and keep happy now, besides the suppliers.  I really don't envy him, his job, or the amount of stuff that must be floating around in his mind on a daily basis.  It must be incredibly stressful.  If you started the company and wanted to share your bonus with "the help" that would be a really noble thing, and I commend you on that.  That isn't how the world always works, unfortunately. 

[Hobostocker]

Jon was making millions more each year using assets we produced and funded.

one thing is sure, things are not going like this forever !

i'm always keeping an eye on what's going on the other digital markets and they changed big time since a few years.

musicians are now making money with live gigs for instance, writers and journalists are trying any possible way to monetize their work in alternative ways, magazines and newspapers are getting more serious about their online business and it's becoming more common to switch to subscription models.

either that, or their trade will just die, as it happened with photojournalism and the major photojournalist agencies who are now desperate to find a way out.

so, what's in store for stock ? many stockers will leave the industry as it's no longer profitable for them, this will take some time but ultimately the agencies will be impacted where it hurts, in their wallets, and they'll have to find a solution one way or another as there can't be a stock industry if stock photographers can't make a profit.

the "buyers market" time lasted too long already, it's the offspring of the internet and digital  revolution but it's still an anomaly and now it reached its apex already as the market is very stable and monopolized by a small bunch of players.

[Cesar]

80.000.000 $ 70.000 users, 28.000.000$ one person, that means 35% more income everybody, that is too big bonus!

[Hobostocker]

They've abused their position about as far as they can and a reckoning is coming - not for Jon Oringer, but for the investors.

unfortunately greed and arrogance are the way marketers operate in pretty much any industry i've seen first hand.

there's nothing, nothing we can do about it.
these guys would sell their own mother, let alone our photos.

they've also no respect for suppliers or buyers or products whatsoever and they think to be smarter than us since it's so easy for them to make money while staying at the top of the pyramid scheme and yeah they don't make good friends too, i've many friends in sales and they're all full of sh-it from top to bottom, once they open their mouth about pretty much any topic you start smelling a tu-rd .. this is the world we're living in unfortunately and it's going to get worse ...

[KnowYourOnions]

Scott and others always said that the price point and royalties where balanced and that customers seem to appreciate the pricing. They wouldn't give us a raise or increase prices they thought they had the right balance. A few weeks back they raised prices but not royalties. And now they give 28 million to a person who already has 1.2B$.

Everyone can draw their own conclusions from that.

Very true... plus customers have no idea who is getting how much from this game, and they clearly don't care as long as they get good product or service.

[Hobostocker]

the price point and royalties where balanced and that customers seem to appreciate the pricing.

of course they do, it's a buyer's marke now.
high quality images have never been cheaper as today.

[etudiante_rapide]

sorry for ranting again but crooks like Oringer are a textbook case of the actual Cabal running the stock industry.

so maybe those in the city of ss can get someone connection with the talkshows and other inverstigative shows , get oringer on stage and get the host and audience to drill him
on how he makes his money. even comparing him to the 3rd world coffee pickers and child labor
trade.
but who has the b*lls to pick on such a person who is getting grants and all that???

[shudderstok]

what is the point of playing victim? SS offers everyone the same sh!tty deal and you a) agree to it or b) don't agree to it. but to incessantly whine about it after the fact makes no sense at all. you and you alone chose to agree to those pathetic terms or you and you alone chose not to agree to those terms - nobody forced you to agree to those terms. in my world it's called being an adult and being responsible for your actions. i am not a fan of SS or Oringer for that matter, but i sure as hell am not dumb enough to "agree" to his offerings hence i am not the victim. just sayin.

[Hobostocker]

but who has the b*lls to pick on such a person who is getting grants and all that???

nobody.
in the West once you're a billionaire you're untouchable, and any criticism would backfire.

[Semmick Photo]

Lol at Shudderstock. So your agencies don't give you a reason to bitch and moan and therefore you come to a microstock forum to bitch and moan over something you are no part of. LMAO.

[Hobostocker]

nobody forced you to agree to those terms.

sure but SS is now the dominant and monopolistic force in the microstock industry.
leaving SS means pretty much leaving microstock altogether, and the other agencies dont pay any better.

as much as my portfolio is better suited for RM editorial i can't deny i've lots of stuff that is selling decently on micros and never sold once on RM, so what can i do ? what are my options ?

of course we should all leave SS in droves but there are no longer "greener pastures" around.

[shudderstok]

Lol at Shudderstock. So your agencies don't give you a reason to bitch and moan and therefore you come to a microstock forum to bitch and moan over something you are no part of. LMAO.

i am no part of microstock? already you are making assumptions without anything to support your misinformed claim. and to keep things on track here, my agencies don't pay me the pittance SS pays out. so let's assume here that i am on SS and peak out at the 0.38 threshold of offer, and compare it to my average of $10 on another microstock site of which i belong, that would be 26 downloads at SS for every 1 on the other agency. bitch and moan? for sure, $10 royalty is still too * cheap.

also my point was that with any luck you made an adult decision of sound mind to accept the sh!t royalty rates on offer at SS, but you still need to not face the facts and shift the blame to Oringer and others. i guess it was our fault you agreed to those terms, let me guess you were under duress?

Help me out. Why do people move in next to an airport and then complain about the airplanes?

This completely blows my mind. Are they so compulsive that they go through the arduous process of purchasing a home and miss the fact that there are airplanes regularly flying overhead?

[shudderstok]

nobody forced you to agree to those terms.

sure but SS is now the dominant and monopolistic force in the microstock industry.
leaving SS means pretty much leaving microstock altogether, and the other agencies dont pay any better.

as much as my portfolio is better suited for RM editorial i can't deny i've lots of stuff that is selling decently on micros and never sold once on RM, so what can i do ? what are my options ?

of course we should all leave SS in droves but there are no longer "greener pastures" around.

not sure what your options are, and i really think there are lots of options out there. i submit to two sites and make a full time living, and a lot of my work it not that far of from yours i would guess.

so if you are happy selling 5-6 photos at the uber high rate on offer at SS just to buy a plate of pad thai, then go for it. i personally could not survive on that royalty amount. sure if i did not know any better and it was a hobby that would make sense, but this is my main gig, and SS simply is not sustainable for me.

the last shoot i went to do for stock, hence totally on spec, the parking fee alone was $7.50 for a couple of hours, not to mention my time and equipment blah blah blah, it makes no sense to me to have to sell one photo from that shoot 20- 30 times just to pay for the parking.

[Semmick Photo]

Shudderstock does it make a difference? You have nothing to moan about but you keep pissing and moaning here,  giving out to people. I can see why the others complain,  even agree. You just seem to like svcking lemons.

[noodle]

I would like to know what mcro pays $10 royalty?

[Semmick Photo]

Istock

[Hobostocker]

the last shoot i went to do for stock, hence totally on spec, the parking fee alone was $7.50 for a couple of hours, not to mention my time and equipment blah blah blah, it makes no sense to me to have to sell one photo from that shoot 20- 30 times just to pay for the parking.

in a perfect world i should just focus on Fine Art and start selling prints at art fairs and art galleries, i know, but for many reasons things aren't still going in that direction

[ARTPUPPY]

Well he only gets the money in 2019 if he stays and if the share price goes up to $161.88 on average in a certain time period (good luck with that). It's basically a shout of confidence to shareholders/investors saying Oringer is staying and don't worry, your investment is safe with us. I think the reality is the honeymoon period is over and investors are going to wonder when are they getting a return on their shares since they don't pay a dividend. When the full news comes out that all Adobe products will feature Fotolia images to sell and nobody else, you'll see Shutterstock take a hit. At today's price of $67 it's still way over valued with a P/E of 111. (Apple stock has a P/E of about 15) Shutterstock's book value is only about $6-7.

The only way I see Oringer can improve is to take over the Editorial market from Getty, or start to buy up other microstock suppliers to increase the "value". I any case, if you're a contributor, you're not going to see much of a raise in the future. Yeah, stock options stink, but this $28 million bonus is like two millionaires betting a dollar on a golf game. Mostly show. Expect to see more press releases in the future. 

[etudiante_rapide]

the last shoot i went to do for stock, hence totally on spec, the parking fee alone was $7.50 for a couple of hours, not to mention my time and equipment blah blah blah, it makes no sense to me to have to sell one photo from that shoot 20- 30 times just to pay for the parking.

in a perfect world i should just focus on Fine Art and start selling prints at art fairs and art galleries, i know, but for many reasons things aren't still going in that direction

in a perfect world , i wouldn't be flipping burgers and making my BME with overtime .
plus i get to eat fries free, since i won't buy much with 32 cts (per dl from ss)

[ultimagina]

the last shoot i went to do for stock, hence totally on spec, the parking fee alone was $7.50 for a couple of hours, not to mention my time and equipment blah blah blah, it makes no sense to me to have to sell one photo from that shoot 20- 30 times just to pay for the parking.

I most businesses you are doing fine if you can break even in a couple of years.

Last year, I went in Canada, mainly for fun but also to attend a SS conference. Today, all my trip expenses are paid back (hotel, transport, parking, food) through all these microstock micro-sales. I'm making a profit for every photo taken back then and sold today for $0.38

Worried for $7.50? Why would people expect overnight payback from microstock more than in other businesses?

[shudderstok]

the last shoot i went to do for stock, hence totally on spec, the parking fee alone was $7.50 for a couple of hours, not to mention my time and equipment blah blah blah, it makes no sense to me to have to sell one photo from that shoot 20- 30 times just to pay for the parking.

I most businesses you are doing fine if you can break even in a couple of years.

Last year, I went in Canada, mainly for fun but also to attend a SS conference. Today, all my trip expenses are paid back (hotel, transport, parking, food) through all these microstock micro-sales. I'm making a profit for every photo taken back then and sold today for $0.38

Worried for $7.50? Why would people expect overnight payback from microstock more than in other businesses?

I think you might be missing the point here.

Only parking was $7.50 as an example that 20-30 sales on one site would break even on that one expense alone. Don't forget to add in your travel and shoot time lets say 3 hours @ $10 per hour = $30 (a silly low wage). Post production upload time 1 hour @ $10 per hour, 2 hours if you are uploading to multiple sites.  Camera expense, computer expense, internet expense, software expense, electricity expense, rent expense, etc we can just call that around  a ridiculously low minimum of $5,000, don't forget to add the gas expense, the car insurance etc.
So you need to make at least $5047 just to break even, but really need to make at least $6000 ++ before taxes, and you have not even eaten yet. even at the so called average RPD i keep hearing about at at SS of around 0.77 that is still 6500 downloads. even on my RPD on IS as exclusive of around $10 that is still 541 downloads from just that one shoot to break even.

if you can turn a profit in one year on a trip to canada which is not cheap and most certainly more expensive than my drive downtown, then perhaps you'd like to share your secret cause i really don't get your math at all.