Basically yes, there are reported downloads which have zero royalties attached to them.
No, of course we don't have any way of checking at the source - but then we have no way of truly checking downloads or payments anywhere as far as I know, we just trust that the agencies aren't outright scamming us!
As for reconciling the downloads with the money received, well, all we can really do is check by adding up reported downloads and seeing if the total seems to match reported royalties, which it doesn't, in my case at least.
iStock will correct the amount when reported, at the subscription rate, but of course the zero payment might not be a subscription sale, and might even be an EL for all we know. We just have no information except that we have reported downloads with a zero payment.
My guess would be that the error is actually in Thinkstock or photos.com reporting, as presumably all that happens at the iStock end is that they process some file they are sent to add it to our accounts - but again, we don't know because they don't tell us.
To traveller1116 - check your downloads on the actual downloads page too, just in case my script is faulty; I didn't have any test data for it except my own account, so it could have a bug. Then, if it's correct, email
[email protected] with the details.
kelvinjay has said he has passed the information on to - well, to somebody - so presumably they are looking into it, but as with all things iStock, don't hold your breath. The amounts, as far as I know, are presumably quite small but obviously we'd like it corrected.
