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Messages - BigBubba

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1
Shutterstock.com / Re: Is Shutterstock dead?
« on: February 19, 2024, 11:52 »
I honestly think that my work deserves 3000$ on a February at Shutterstock. 8 years into stock, nice portfolio, SS used to be the god of stock for me for years. A switch was pulled on my portfolio and for many others, making way for fresh clips I assume, even though I try to shoot timeless subjects.


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2
Shutterstock.com / Re: Is Shutterstock dead?
« on: February 19, 2024, 07:14 »
I personally think a switch was turned off for my portfolio. Adobestock is solid, Pond5 declined but Im amazed that from 7000$ a month at SS up till COVID, and less but still something since COVID has reduced to 280$ 20 days into February.  I know for a fact that my portfolio is good, diversified and in demand.


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3
Shutterstock.com / Re: Is Shutterstock dead?
« on: February 19, 2024, 00:28 »
20K clips - 280$ so far in February, last year around this time in February it was 3000$+ whats going on?


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4
Saw this post on FB shuttterstock worldwide contributors, legit author.

I didnt get any, wondering if this is a broader thing.


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5
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 19, 2022, 12:46 »
...I doubt if I will ever have a BME ever again anywhere...

I guess the pessimism makes sense then. My BME overall was December 2021 (been uploading since 2006), hopefully I will beat it this December.

I also dont rely on video as much as you do I think, though I have some in my portfolio. Video RPD has been sliding quickly since the micros started taking it.

Wish you all the best with it.

Thank you for the conversation and insights.


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6
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 19, 2022, 12:42 »

I admire your optimism and spirit.

Im treating it with the harshest realism I can find. I literally shoot stock these days memorizing you said youll keep doing it hardcore even if the crazy numbers will stop. (Hoping for better days).  I doubt if I will ever have a BME ever again anywhere but I know it is happening to others, and maybe it will flip back, no one knows and I have little hope for that to happen, but its an obsession, I shoot stock and it pays well even now.


I like your attitude, it is very uplifting :) Could you tell me how big is your footage portfolio?

15K+ clips.


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7
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 19, 2022, 10:23 »

Contributors are scattered and powerless, this industry is heading to free downloads, advocating is useless unfortunately.


Well we don't have to be really organised. I am not talking about advocating with words but voting with our content. We can be scattered and still not upload where we are paid poorly. IMHO we just need to stop


I admire your optimism and spirit.

Im treating it with the harshest realism I can find. I literally shoot stock these days memorizing you said youll keep doing it hardcore even if the crazy numbers will stop. (Hoping for better days).  I doubt if I will ever have a BME ever again anywhere but I know it is happening to others, and maybe it will flip back, no one knows and I have little hope for that to happen, but its an obsession, I shoot stock and it pays well even now.

I think the next step will be unlimited downloads across the board, same rates everywhere and possibly agencies will rent portfolios for a year ahead (a wider version of Adobes new model).





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8
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 19, 2022, 09:20 »
I find that attitude really odd. Why not advocate for better conditions from the agencies? They are constantly pushing for better conditions for their end (less money for us). The competition from other contributors will be there either way, even if we get a fairer deal, so it isn't about fearing competition.

I am definitely not at the level where the the reset is almost meaningless. It takes 25000 dls to reach level six which takes me several months (with my old content; the only stuff SS gets from me). If you shoot through the levels in month 1 I can understand not caring.

Contributors are scattered and powerless, this industry is heading to free downloads, advocating is useless unfortunately.

Level 4 is where the effect of the reset stops,   If you hit level six at any point of the year, level 4 should take you two weeks into January, the reset have a minimal impact on you and once you reach level 5 youre actually making more %.


Thank you for this communication, I rarely write here but I always follow, read and learn from members.






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9
Shutterstock.com / What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 19, 2022, 07:28 »
... I think the reset is a very good structure to support contributors that are deeply invested into a solid selling portfolio or for contributors that see it as a marathon and not as a random gig...

Couldn't disagree more. If they actually wanted to motivate contributors with a similar scheme they could have had a rolling 12 month target (if you sold X number in the last 12 months you are on level Y). They could even work it so they are making the same amount on their end.

A January reset is just cruel and makes no sense. Does anyone feel extra motivated come January first, or demoralised and p*ssed off? I firmly believe they just didnt want to make the extra investment to implement the slightly more technically complex option.

If a contributor has a good solid quality and diversified portfolio, the reset is almost meaningless. a new contributor or growing contributor who plans to be here for the long run, shoots quality, invest time in research and dig into the industry will take a hit for a year or two and will also reach the meaningless reset point as well (if the industry survives).

I wish the reset wasnt there and Im not scared of competition, I guide new contributors and still encourage people to join in, but the first thing I tell them is that if theyre not fully committed to obsessively invest time into it, they shouldnt bother opening an account (anywhere).

I definitely feel bad for small contributors with great portfolios, and there are many of them, great clips, very focused on a couple of subjects, but the limited market made the reset hurt them bad. Thats unfair, no doubt.

Im very into the long tail strategy and I think it pays off very well (even now with all the market changes, structures, SS bought P5) theres still solid income in this business.
Ive made my adjustments to the market and responded quickly but responsibly to any exciting news email and theres still good solid full time 1st world upper middle class money to make here every month and especially on Shutterstock!

Forget this 3000 sale, it took me nowhere in terms of BME, my numbers are down, this industry will keep smacking us in the head with exciting news emails, but Im already deep into this obsession, was lucky enough to join in 2014, and lucky enough to be able to shoot stock regularly (Im a videographer for a living and get great opportunities to legitimately shoot stock while Im out there). 

I feel bad for any fellow contributor that took a more dramatic hit from all these changes, people who relied on a steady predictable income which was possible until the new subs/structure/covid/reset daysbut come on, You cant ever trust an industry that you have zero control over. At my best of best months I never thought of doing just stock, I did it obsessively, I still do, but I will never let an algorithm dictated by a 20 year old trendy minded kid decide if there will be food on my table next month.

The only significant change is that I stopped and wont make any Stock trips abroad, they used to be 100% guaranteed in terms of at least 3X return on investment but I dont see them payoff these days. I take advantage of any free good opportunity that I get to shoot stock these days.

It will all die in the end, everything will be free, We have zero control over it, but theres still good money to make for established portfolios.

One last very important thing, most contributors are obsessed about how much they are getting per download and overlook the number of downloads and exposure. I know for a fact that some contributors are earning twice as much in this reset/cheap downloads era. They just get more exposure and downloads.

Im on the other side of the rope for now, less downloads and less income, but some old contributors are having a hell of a ride these days, and this is verified intel.



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10
Shutterstock.com / What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 18, 2022, 10:24 »
Congrats! But what a nightmare if you get that on the first of January... and after making however many thousands of dollars from one sale, you're still on Level 1!
Not complaining but I think they will deduct 10% tax, it showed - in the location box and for me at least it means a sale in the U.S

Still, came in the right time, slow December is ahead and it will take me almost two months into 2023 to bounce back to level 4.

As this is a supportive post for SS I would like to take the opportunity to say that they always have been my number one earner (started uploading in 2014), my earnings at SS took a massive hit when covid started and then the new structure and reset, but they are still by far my best earners. I think the reset is a very good structure to support contributors that are deeply invested into a solid selling portfolio or for contributors that see it as a marathon and not as a random gig.
Reset is painful, subscription sales are painful and they dominate my sales chart, but I dont see any other way for anyone to survive these days paying 25$+ for HD or 60$+ 4K.  It was a hell of a ride as long as it lasted and Im thankful for SS for delivering nonstop sales for 6 years (up to 2020), I bow down to the power of the industry in this business and accept that theres no other way. I rather sell 30 clips totaling 30$ than a single 30$ sale, part of this is just the pride of knowing someone liked my work and actually will use it in his/her creation.

Sorry for the long reply.




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11
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 18, 2022, 09:43 »
Got a 3000$ sale yesterday, feels a bit over the top in terms of high sale, previous record was 600$ a couple of months back.

You're lucky, lucky duck :D Congrats!

I, on the other hand, recently have only teeny tiny sales and none of big fat sales. But this is November, and for me November is always low in big fat sales...

Anyway... waiting for December to get what is mine :D
Pure luck with that clip, tons of other options online. 


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12
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 18, 2022, 09:41 »
Got a 3000$ sale yesterday

Wow that's a great amount, congrats!
Really hard to imagine who would like to pay SS about 10.000 to have non exclusive clip, it's so high amount that it could be used for original production instead! Was your clip about an extremely rare subject?
Thats what I dont get, they could easily get that shot for500-600$ by hiring someone to shoot it. Definitely not a rare subject, tons of similar options online. I was just lucky I guess.




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13
Shutterstock.com / Re: What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 17, 2022, 14:13 »
Got a 3000$ sale yesterday, feels a bit over the top in terms of high sale, previous record was 600$ a couple of months back.

Any idea what kind of license is that?
editorial clip, not exclusive (the file is still live on site and on other sites as well and I was not asked to take it off).


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I've only ever had those sorts of figures as negotiated buyouts. Congrats.
I had offers in the past for the same amount for a buyout and it made sense for that amount, but for a non exclusive this is certainly a great sum.

Thank you.


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14
Shutterstock.com / What a cool SS, how well he sells
« on: November 17, 2022, 10:09 »
Got a 3000$ sale yesterday, feels a bit over the top in terms of high sale, previous record was 600$ a couple of months back.

Any idea what kind of license is that?
editorial clip, not exclusive (the file is still live on site and on other sites as well and I was not asked to take it off).


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15
Shutterstock.com / Re: Email: Shutterstock: Asset Inquiry
« on: October 01, 2021, 02:12 »
Happened to me on SS and other sites, the client sometimes need to know 100% that this is the right location (readers trust).


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16
Alamy.com / Re: Commission lowered to 20%
« on: May 19, 2021, 12:43 »
Just as I thought 250$ in commission is not a problem for me personally...I had 2 sales for 10 cents each. I never had a 10c sale on Alamy, so maybe 250 will be a challenge after all.


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17
Thanks for this and for the last two years of all the apps, this is really kind and generous.


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18
True.


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19
So it's like.. Share the profit, share the punishment. If its true then it teaches that if you can take benefits of higher commission by uploading in a mass, you will have to bear its side effects too as a group.
The more lucrative world of stock footage compared to photos, and now that you can download an endless amount of 4K clips from sub sites


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20
Just to show, SS dont care about how big you are! If you violate Terms of service...youre in trouble.

I feel bad for Pat and BB (not getting into weather BB is the place to go to or not)
The guy tries his best to run a clean operation.

Im also glad to see that SS takes things very professionally. 900K clips, gone, I think its temporary.



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21
So, assuming this is legit, what would someone pay for a 38K 150k$ a year portfolio? Im curious.



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22
I guess it comes down to how much the contributors get paid and how long is that while and are they going for best sellers of undiscovered gems.


Will it always be the same chosen few who get paid? If so, it probably is a good deal for them.

Not so much for the unchosen rest of us.

I hope and assume that they will diversify, it just makes sense.  Will all contributors take part? I assume not. If they want to buy good images that got buried for no reason, for a year and for an honest and fair price, which will be very low for images that have never sold...this can work if done fairly.



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23
Hi, 
The way I read it, AS buys from contributors, put it for a while in the free collection, the contributor got paid regardless of how many times the file was downloaded and when a while passes the file returns to the paid collection. So, I guess that can be a nice thing if its done fairly and call me naive but I trust AS.  I guess it comes down to how much the contributors get paid and how long is that while and are they going for best sellers of undiscovered gems.

Am I missing something here?
Ive been around since Fotolia days, this doesnt seem bad.



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24
I found this website and started to upload my clips. In that way I could have my shop without big hustle. sounds all good  so far, they have some issues and some things are not so straight forward but overall it looks great. its worth a shot.
does anyone have experience with this site?
thanks for any answers
Started uploading my files a couple of days ago.  How is it working for you? Its very quiet with them, no buzz and I would love to know that this service wont suddenly disappear.



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25
Pond5 / Re: Check your earnings (surprise).
« on: June 16, 2020, 13:44 »
Nevermind, had to check the details of a sale that I got DAYS before the email and its license is listed as GPP.
The email that came empty today was about the sales reported with no email on June 10th.   I think...


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