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Poll

For independent contributors - in light of Istock's new policy of mirroring all non-exclusive content in the Partner Program, will you be agreeing to the new ASA or leaving the site?

I will be pulling my portfolio from Istockphoto
52 (21.8%)
I will be staying and allowing my content in the PP
104 (43.7%)
Not sure right now.
47 (19.7%)
Going exclusive.
10 (4.2%)
I left already.
18 (7.6%)
Never joined
7 (2.9%)

Total Members Voted: 211

Author Topic: Independents - do you plan to leave Istock or not?  (Read 59288 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

lisafx

« on: August 29, 2011, 19:09 »
0
I will be staying.  I am not at all happy about the heavy-handedness of this new ASA, but I have been expecting something like this for months.  Can't afford to give up more than 1/3 of my income.


« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2011, 19:14 »
0
Same here. For some reason iStock has gone up for me in the last 3 months, despite summer, despite paycut, despite their awful practices. Too big of a chunk to lose (at this point). Once it widdles down to a much smaller amount I might pull my content but not now.

Probably within the next 6-12 months we'll finally see where this is (officially) heading. Until then, hanging in there...

« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2011, 19:21 »
0
I'll continue to delete my photos.  I've been removing five a day since the assault on royalties, and this just encourages me to keep going.  iStock represents 15% or my modest stock income over the past year, and is down to 13% this month.  I'll miss it, but I'd miss my dignity and sense of worth more.

RacePhoto

« Reply #3 on: August 29, 2011, 19:35 »
0
I will be staying.  I am not at all happy about the heavy-handedness of this new ASA, but I have been expecting something like this for months.  Can't afford to give up more than 1/3 of my income.


As usual I'll complain about the survey (sorry) but you might have added something besides the all or none, forced answers.  ;D What about, I'll sit and think about it, as in #3 Maybe? Or maybe, #4 Already left IS!  ??? or #5 Going exclusive, which is odd, but could happen?

For the record, look back at this on January 1st, maybe that's a fair date since th new contract goe into effect on the 28th if nothing is done. (I still don't get that?)



As of today - total contributors 37132, Exclusive 5653 = 15.22%. If people leave the exclusive percentage should go up (in theory?) and the total contributors should drop or at least stagnate.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 20:37 by RacePhoto »

« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2011, 20:01 »
0
Deleting. It will hurt financially, but iStock is really just a mid-tier agency for me now.

« Reply #5 on: August 29, 2011, 20:02 »
0
As Istock is one of my two main sources for income (the other being SS), I can't affort to pull out unless SS offers exclusivity.

I also don't HATE the PP-program, since it gives me a fair payout without cannibalizing my IS sales (as far as I can see). But I still want the option to opt-out of the PP program, whenever I feel like. I also see this as a sign that things will get worse and they will stop at nothing to minimalize our incomes.

But I can't afford to pull out at this moment. Although it should be the most respectable thing to do.

« Reply #6 on: August 29, 2011, 20:03 »
0
I'm not happy but I'm staying. Too much of my income comes from iStock to leave (as I'm sure they realize). I won't lift a finger to help them, but I'm not going to hurt my income any further by pulling out.

The less money they make me, the easier they make it to leave them, but at the moment, they haven't cut my income enough to make it easy to walk away :)

I just hope that like a good movie plot, at some future time all the bad karma will come back to bite Getty on the arse.. Life doesn't always oblige that way, but one can only hope :)

« Reply #7 on: August 29, 2011, 20:06 »
0
I'll stay.

  Lisa, you should add another option, Becoming exclusive to not have your photos in PP.  Sounds weird but it is an option...

Claude

« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2011, 20:08 »
0
Already sent a support ticket asking to terminate. I really can't afford it, but I stopped making any money there months ago.

« Reply #9 on: August 29, 2011, 20:08 »
0
I recently got the option of going exclusive, but I feel exclusives will get screwed too, eventually.

On short term, it might increase my income, but that means I will be stuck with the worst company ever to sell microstock.

« Reply #10 on: August 29, 2011, 20:22 »
0
I'm not happy but I'm staying. Too much of my income comes from iStock to leave (as I'm sure they realize). I won't lift a finger to help them, but I'm not going to hurt my income any further by pulling out.

The less money they make me, the easier they make it to leave them, but at the moment, they haven't cut my income enough to make it easy to walk away :)

I just hope that like a good movie plot, at some future time all the bad karma will come back to bite Getty on the arse.. Life doesn't always oblige that way, but one can only hope :)

This - but I too keep waiting for the karma to come round and kick them in the guts - a cut off your nose feeling from me me I know but it's honest - but I have not uploaded any new images in almost a year - has made virtually no difference to my income which is kinda sad and very deflating.

helix7

« Reply #11 on: August 29, 2011, 20:31 »
0
Think I'm finally pushed over the edge. Not 100% sure, but definitely leaning that way tonight. Going to sleep on it for a few days and see if I change my mind.

The way I see it, this is a job, and like any job you need to be willing to walk away when things get to a point that you are no longer comfortable being involved with the company. Even if financially speaking it's not the most sensible decision. At this point, after another and another and another slap in the face, it's hard to stick with istock anymore. I can make up the lost income somewhere else. Lost pride is something that I can't get back if I sit here and do nothing.

ThinkStock is being positioned to not only compete with Shutterstock, but to do so at an increasing level with the increased supply from the Partner Program. TS wasn't a threat to SS before. Now, they could be. I'm not ready to cannibalize my growing SS earnings to save my dwindling istock earnings. I also strongly believe that istock will cut royalties again, reinstate fraud deductions (that's in this new ASA), and further extend inclusion in the partner program, possibly to mandate that exclusives participate at some level.

I said back in September that it was only the beginning of the unfavorable changes we'd see at istock in the coming year. Seems that prediction was correct, and this latest set of changes is certainly not the end.

My vote is to leave. The decision is subject to change after a few days away and giving it some more thought. But as of now, I'm headed towards the door.

RacePhoto

« Reply #12 on: August 29, 2011, 20:34 »
0
Already sent a support ticket asking to terminate. I really can't afford it, but I stopped making any money there months ago.

Please add a thread when it happens and report how the process went for you.

I'm a #3, not appearing in the above survey ;) which is wait and see. I may try to exit the program in Dec. and keep the income all in 2001 for easier tax tracking. Just wondering how fast it gets done. If it's a long process and there are leftover commissions, I may have to think about Nov 30th closing. In the meantime I want to see how sales are going, If it's anything like July and August, they won't miss me and I won't be missing much either.

IS has fallen off the face of the planet for me. Was 50% of my sales, now StockXpert is competing with them for licensing and that's all subscriptions for both. Maybe my photos suddenly became old or something, but if they sold for three years, why did all sales stop two months ago. Very strange!

« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2011, 20:53 »
0
I really don't know, but all these changes - FT, now IS, will DT come next? - make me think of leaving microstock altogether. As I consider my microstock images "lost", in the sense they don't value much, being repeatedly found everywhere (legally or not), I may well leave them there. I haven't uploaded for over 2 years anyway.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 20:57 by madelaide »

« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2011, 21:50 »
0
The new agreement seems to say that they'll now sell my stuff anywhere, on any web site, partner, or 'channel' they choose, and pay me whatever they feel like.  I'd expect one new bargain basement outlet after another, and steadily eroding commissions .

I'm tired of even trying to figure out what terms like this mean.  How about just selling my photos via your web site, with a clear simple price structure?  Does it have to be more complicated than the federal tax code, and more mysterious than North Korea?

If I drop IS now, that leaves SS, DT and GL.   SS and DT have actually been picking up steadily.  GL makes a sale now and then.   Like others, I'll chew on this for a while but may well decide I've done enough screwing around with IS for one lifetime and not even wait for the first 5 cent sales to come in before pulling the plug.  
« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 21:52 by stockastic »

« Reply #15 on: August 29, 2011, 22:35 »
0
Things are only going to get worse for independents at IS. Now they want to force us into supplying a bargain basement ghetto that will ultimately devalue our work. And if they succeed in crushing SS, we are all screwed, and that includes exclusives. If we allow this to happen, we have only ourselves to blame. I know what the right thing to do is, I just don't know if I've got the courage to leave.

« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2011, 23:17 »
0
I'm certainly leaning towards pulling the plug there. The income and % of my income from IS has been steadily declining, so it really won't hurt me that much except for the pain of all the hoops I had to jump through to get the content up there. I will miss the $, but I fear I would miss my dignity more. I guess I have 'til the 28th to decide. Actually I am tempted to pull it all the 29th just to make more work for them.

(I am not on FT for similar reasons).

xst

« Reply #17 on: August 30, 2011, 00:19 »
0
I'll be staying but monitoring my sales on SS and overall monthly income from all sites.

If I see sudden drop in sales on SS I'll reconsider this matter.

Also,
I always uploaded my content first in IS and then on other sites.
I'll probably start delaying new content and sending it to IS 2-3 later, after other sites.

lagereek

« Reply #18 on: August 30, 2011, 01:26 »
0
I will be staying.  I am not at all happy about the heavy-handedness of this new ASA, but I have been expecting something like this for months.  Can't afford to give up more than 1/3 of my income.

Im surprised they havent done it much earlier!  I knew this was coming well over a year ago, the pattern was all too familiar. Started with the new RM-contract, signing away certain shots to TS, etc.
I will be staying as well!  whats the point of beefing about it? but Im not happy at all. Lets see if they for, just ONCE, can proove us wrong?

best.

rubyroo

« Reply #19 on: August 30, 2011, 01:51 »
0
I'll be staying but monitoring my sales on SS and overall monthly income from all sites.

If I see sudden drop in sales on SS I'll reconsider this matter.

I agree with this.  I certainly don't want to hurt Shutterstock. I also agree with Jsnover's post above.

I'm considering a third option, which is to just send 'good enough' files to iStock in future, and to reserve my very best work for agencies I trust to treat my work more respectfully.   I like the idea of taking that kind of considered control over my port, and making the greatest effort for those I feel are most deserving.  Also I won't feel so miserable about having my best work 'junked' into the PP for a pittance.

Microbius

« Reply #20 on: August 30, 2011, 02:20 »
0
ETA sorry wrong thread
« Last Edit: August 30, 2011, 02:27 by Microbius »

« Reply #21 on: August 30, 2011, 02:28 »
0
I think I'll leave. I will not let hem sell my images for free and therefore not selling at the more expensive agencies. If all these great images of all of us are practically given away for free why would buyers go elsewhere? Delete , delete, delete...
But how to delete? I don't know how to do this anymore. Can anyone give me some information on this?

« Reply #22 on: August 30, 2011, 03:05 »
0
So probably many of us will stay on IS... That may be OK for now...
But we have to make plan on long period and on a personal level, some kind of process through time how to bring customers on agencies with better deal for us...
« Last Edit: September 18, 2011, 14:02 by borg »

« Reply #23 on: August 30, 2011, 03:23 »
0
This time I am considering leaving - Istock has become a low earner to me anyways (I am happy if I make 25US$ there a month), so it should not hurt too much. I fail to see the bright side of this new ASA.

« Reply #24 on: August 30, 2011, 03:28 »
0
Just leaving the dross there removing my better performing files.....

 you get what you pay for  ;)  

Not being able to upload any new content will not concern me as will be concentrating on making the opposition stronger.

Thats is already happening without any help from little'ol me of course


 

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