Author Topic: Future of MicroStock? (Read 2268 times)

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #25 on:** January 26, 2012, 05:09 »

The Bohemian has some interesting thoughts on the future. I've been saying we need a new model for a while.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #26 on:** January 26, 2012, 05:37 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on January 26, 2012, 05:09

The Bohemian has some interesting thoughts on the future. I've been saying we need a new model for a while.

Yes, I wasn't saying something specific that works the same way a Spoofitty (or whatever they are) But something revolutionary that turns the market upside down.

The solution, using technology wisely, will be so obvious that it will sweep the photo industry of it’s already febrile grounds and make impossible to live outside of it.

Ah Yup, that about covers it. I don't know what or when, but someone with the funding and the new concept will be taking over. Anyone for Goggle secretly developing this marketplace? And Maybe using the methods that Click_Click proposes. Revenue sharing.

nicku · « **Reply #27 on:** January 26, 2012, 05:52 »

Quote from: lagereek on January 26, 2012, 02:10

Micro stock industry was invented with the amateur and hobby guys in mind, nobody in their right frame of mind would ever dream about, that pros, etc would fraternize in such places. Nobody ever dreamed about it would get this big either.

Today its got out of hand and the main agencies will start to impose much tougher editing and acceptance of applicants, there is no room for diletans or generics anymore. This is a good thing and will benefit many of us, others will fade away.

Buyers wants micro and thats why it will survive but in the next couple of years I think we will see thousands of contributors booted out or made redundant.

Agree,
The agencies will require more and more quality and brand new concepts. Many amateur contributors will slowly disappear. I believe in the near future our ports (at least on the top 4 agencies ) will be reviewed again and many of our old photos will be deleted.

antistock · « **Reply #28 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:25 »

Quote from: nicku on January 26, 2012, 05:52

Quote from: lagereek on January 26, 2012, 02:10
Buyers wants micro and thats why it will survive but in the next couple of years I think we will see thousands of contributors booted out or made redundant.

Agree,
The agencies will require more and more quality and brand new concepts. Many amateur contributors will slowly disappear. I believe in the near future our ports (at least on the top 4 agencies ) will be reviewed again and many of our old photos will be deleted.

i don't think they will delete anything, they will just create a low-cost "archive" collection or something like that and dump a few millions of old images along with discounts and promotions.

antistock · « **Reply #29 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:33 »

Quote from: nicku on January 26, 2012, 05:52

The agencies will require more and more quality and brand new concepts. Many amateur contributors will slowly disappear.

yes but because of the rule of supply and demand the average quality cannot improve much unless they raise the fees paid to us.

nobody is going to invest 1000s of $ in expensive studio shots if micro agencies pay 15-20% and sales keep going down.

at one point amateurs will simply realize it's wasted time for the tea money they get back and leave by themselves, probably sticking with Flickr and similar social/share sites where they can have all the fun they like without the hassle of inspectors and keywording.

pros instead will have a hard time to stay afloat, it's a cut-throat business and i can't see why it should ever be easier in the future.

lagereek · « **Reply #30 on:** January 26, 2012, 06:58 »

Quote from: nicku on January 26, 2012, 05:52

Quote from: lagereek on January 26, 2012, 02:10
Micro stock industry was invented with the amateur and hobby guys in mind, nobody in their right frame of mind would ever dream about, that pros, etc would fraternize in such places. Nobody ever dreamed about it would get this big either.

Today its got out of hand and the main agencies will start to impose much tougher editing and acceptance of applicants, there is no room for diletans or generics anymore. This is a good thing and will benefit many of us, others will fade away.

Buyers wants micro and thats why it will survive but in the next couple of years I think we will see thousands of contributors booted out or made redundant.

Agree,
The agencies will require more and more quality and brand new concepts. Many amateur contributors will slowly disappear. I believe in the near future our ports (at least on the top 4 agencies ) will be reviewed again and many of our old photos will be deleted.

Yes, that will be the next step, files are already clogged up too much. I personally know the owner of one of the top ten Micros, he started many years back in the Trad agency world actually and his agency have already started a weed out of pics and contributors, cant harbour them all, ruining the search, etc.

stockastic · « **Reply #31 on:** January 26, 2012, 12:01 »

Quote from: RacePhoto on January 25, 2012, 11:02

Quote from: stockastic on January 24, 2012, 20:43
I actually believe - and I've posted this before - that after the subscription model comes 'free', supported by ads. We'll get there.

Actually what you and Click_Click say may come true in which case, nothing of mine will be up on Microstock. Why would any of us supply the images for nothing?

Or do you mean, everything will be free and we'll get a percentage of the advertising revenue?

You'll get whatever token payment they decide to offer. And no, you won't give them new photos, but you'll leave all your old photos on line because taking them down is work, and any payment is better than nothing - i.e. they've become a fully depreciated asset. By then the agencies will all have 100 million old photos in their archives and they'll regard new photos as essentially a separate business.

Jeez, I even scared myself with this one... :-)

Rv-Voyager · « **Reply #32 on:** January 26, 2012, 13:14 »

The days of upload your hard-drive and get rich are over!

luissantos84 · « **Reply #33 on:** January 26, 2012, 13:23 »

Quote from: Rv-Voyager on January 26, 2012, 13:14

The days of upload your hard-drive and get rich are over!

unless it is all keyworded and edited

gostwyck · « **Reply #34 on:** January 26, 2012, 14:04 »

Quote from: sjlocke on January 25, 2012, 14:40

I prefer that buyers feel that have some sense of investment in the content they are using, otherwise, it has no value to them, and they will feel free to abuse it. Incorrect usages, distribution, etc. Also, as a buyer, I wouldn't want my searches, which is part of the service I pay for with my download price, to be cluttered with crap ads.

I'd agree. If images were 'free' then what's to stop another site downloading them and presenting them on their own site without distributing any of the revenue?

The Google analogy doesn't make sense and is not comparable. Google is providing a service to both suppliers and buyers and apparently no-one can provide that service better than them. With microstock we are providing a product to the end-users.

Then there's the policing of the use of the images. Whilst people are paying for them then at least you have their details via the method of payment. If all it required to gain access to images was 'registration' then any sort of control would be lost.

The Google analogy for microstock could never work for a multitude of reasons.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #35 on:** January 26, 2012, 14:07 »

Quote from: Rv-Voyager on January 26, 2012, 13:14

The days of upload your hard-drive and get rich are over!

With all of the negative earnings postings from top shooters, the days of investing in good equipment, props, models, and shoots to create sellable work may be coming to an end also.

stockastic · « **Reply #36 on:** January 26, 2012, 14:24 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on January 26, 2012, 14:07

Quote from: Rv-Voyager on January 26, 2012, 13:14
The days of upload your hard-drive and get rich are over!

With all of the negative earnings postings from top shooters, the days of investing in good equipment, props, models, and shoots to create sellable work may be coming to an end also.

This is the real problem. I have lots of ideas for 'object' shots that would each make me $10 over time. But each one would cost me $10 to make.