Author Topic: Alamy cutting all commissions by 10% (Read 42765 times)

ShadySue · « **on:** November 20, 2012, 06:40 »

http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2012/11/20/5275.aspx

JPSDK · « **Reply #1 on:** November 20, 2012, 06:49 »

I joined alamy.
I even uploaded 3 pictures.
But found it not worthwhile to upsize and go through their procedure.

Now it seems that I was spared a good amount of frustration.

borg · « **Reply #2 on:** November 20, 2012, 06:51 »

Alamy!
Big Welcome on the Dark side!

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #3 on:** November 20, 2012, 06:52 »

Dear Alamy, you say "We understand that reducing your share by ten percentage points cannot be seen as great news in the short term."

Well, I couldn't care less about "short term". The problem is the long term: the two other major sites that did cut our shares only got a lot of bad publicity in return, and a reduction in sales, not an increase.

You are still in time to withdraw your decision, and we will forgive you: we have little power, but we are many.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #4 on:** November 20, 2012, 06:57 »

I wonder why expansion costs always come at the expense of contributors. If revenue is increasing, and the company is profitable, then there should be more profits to spend on expansion.

While I appreciate agencies and the fact that they provide income, it's pretty clear that there is no stopping the continual downward push of commissions. Where will it stop? 10%? 5%?

ClaridgeJ · « **Reply #5 on:** November 20, 2012, 06:58 »

Thats quite in order and will probably benefit us long term.

leaf · « **Reply #6 on:** November 20, 2012, 06:59 »


Alamy commission change. A Q+A with Alamy CEO, James West.

Perry · « **Reply #7 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:01 »

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

leaf · « **Reply #8 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:03 »

1:07 - "We have to modify our commission split to bring us in line with the competition"

In other words, everyone else is taking a grotesque amount from the photographer, if we are going to compete, we need to as well.

50% is still good and what I'd call fair but it is still a big disappointment seeing them pressed to do this. Interestingly he corrects the interviewer when she says that alamy is getting 10% more.. he corrects her saying "10 more percentage points".. really Alamy is getting a 25% increase in the share of a sale which is a seriously big amount. All I have to say is hopefully they do something smart with it.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #9 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:09 »

Haha, at least they're honest about it.

Alamy never did much for me, so I'll be dropping them.

ClaridgeJ · « **Reply #10 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:13 »

Quote from: leaf on November 20, 2012, 07:03

1:07 - "We have to modify our commission split to bring us in line with the competition"

In other words, everyone else is taking a grotesque amount from the photographer, if we are going to compete, we need to as well.

50% is still good and what I'd call fair but it is still a big disappointment seeing them pressed to do this. Interestingly he corrects the interviewer when she says that alamy is getting 10% more.. he corrects her saying "10 more percentage points".. really Alamy is getting a 25% increase in the share of a sale which is a seriously big amount. All I have to say is hopefully they do something smart with it.

50% is not just good in comparison to others, its very good! and if they are pressed to do it, well not much one can do, is it.

borg · « **Reply #11 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:18 »

Agencies are in war for existing customers with our money...
Probably they are struggling for new buyers, but there is no new market field for that, photo stock is an old business...
Also, they can not bring new customers for us without our loss on other agencies...
So, this will be profitable only for marketing companies...

Mantis · « **Reply #12 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:22 »

Gee thanks Alamy. Another commission cut with the promise of sales growth. Can anyone recall another company like "123 saying that we're cutting your pay but we will be growing your sales". Yes they cut our pay (or will be in January) but they definitely haven't grown my revenue. Just another * rhetorical blather thinking we will buy it, when it is nothing more than a money grab like IS and 123. This isn't the end either, I suspect. 40% is next, then 30% and so on.

leaf · « **Reply #13 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:26 »

and for the record, here's the email...

Quote

Dear INSERT-NAME-HERE,

We’ve posted some important information on our blog and there is an accompanying video from James West Alamy CEO to explain some changes at Alamy.

In summary;

Your royalty percentage will be decreasing by 10 percentage points in early 2013 for direct and distributor image sales.

The change applies to all images from all our contributors, regardless of which commission structure you are on. For example, Alamy Blue contributors will move from receiving 60% of each sale to receiving 50%. Video royalties will remain unchanged at 50%.

Why are we doing this? Alamy is a profitable business, however we are at a stage in our development where we have reached the limits of our expansion under our current set-up.

Alamy has developed significantly over the past 18 months. We introduced a News Sport and Entertainment division and we are now selling video. We’ve started curating the collection for creative picture buyers and continue to bring innovation and high quality service to the editorial market. We have ambitious plans to gain market share from our competitors and grow the business.

We’ve increased our sales staff in our core UK and US offices and also in key growth markets such as Germany, India and Australia. We’re also simplifying the buying process for our customers by introducing sales focused initiatives such as Alamy iQ.

In early 2013 we’ll unveil our new look website. Alamy is transforming into a Sales and Marketing led business with the ultimate goal of growing sales.

All of this is designed to drive sales and this will be accompanied by further initiatives planned for 2013 to improve the contributor experience.

We understand that reducing your share by ten percentage points cannot be seen as great news in the short term. However, this investment will provide Alamy with the foundation to greatly improve our presence and penetration and so increase sales.

When we made a change like this back in 2008 it was to fund expansion into the US. We’ve been true to our word. Our US office sales performance is growing at the rate of 30% year on year. The US is now our largest direct sales operation and we are currently recruiting staff to expand it further. Our experience shows that investing in the right things does pay off.

All contributors will receive a formal notification via email of the changes to the contract.

Thank you for your time.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #14 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:32 »

Why don't they just lower or remove the amount they are so proud of giving to charity, and leave the charity giving up to the suppliers if they so wish?

There won't be any increase in sales because of reducing royalties. Don't be delusional.

Microbius · « **Reply #15 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:36 »

They are very open and honest compare to other agencies.
They have said what they are doing and why, now we just need to think if the new deal is good enough to justify staying with them.
For me it is.
No point getting worked up about this when we've got the likes of Fotolia to worry about.

ShadySue · « **Reply #16 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:38 »

Quote from: ClaridgeJ on November 20, 2012, 06:58

Thats quite in order and will probably benefit us long term.

The last cut, to fund the US offices, didn't.

ClaridgeJ · « **Reply #17 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:39 »

Quote from: ShadySue on November 20, 2012, 07:38

Quote from: ClaridgeJ on November 20, 2012, 06:58
Thats quite in order and will probably benefit us long term.

The last cut, to fund the US offices, didn't.

I know! but one can hope. Only thing to do.

fritz · « **Reply #18 on:** November 20, 2012, 07:55 »

Wonderful

Carl · « **Reply #19 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:00 »

If cutting our commissions means more sales and more money in our pocket, I think we should just cut to the chase and cut 'em all the way down to zero so we can get rich!

jjneff · « **Reply #20 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:30 »

I don't know much about this place so I would like to hear how people are doing on Alamy. Their video pricing is spot on for a good return, If you only get one sale a month then its a waste of time. Agencieis that are paying 50/50 should get our support as a community!!! It's at least fair so I don't know why people complain so much about an agency like this! Keep in mind if you are non exclusive at iStock then you are earning 15% if you are lucky. If all great artist helped sites that pay 50/50 we would all be in better shape!

rubyroo · « **Reply #21 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:35 »

If they would make their upload process faster and easier, I'd send them my whole portfolio tomorrow.

I really like the honesty and integrity that comes through from James West. I see no reason to doubt that they'll do all they can to make this work for contributors. It seems very clear that they want to be around for a long time. There's no whitewash here. He seems to understand the contributor's perspective perfectly and is unafraid to be honest about that.

I'm so sick of robotic sales-speak and 'down with the kids' lingo. I find him really refreshing.

dbvirago · « **Reply #22 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:43 »

Quote from: leaf on November 20, 2012, 07:03

1:07 - "We have to modify our commission split to bring us in line with the competition"

In other words, everyone else is taking a grotesque amount from the photographer, if we are going to compete, we need to as well.

50% is still good and what I'd call fair but it is still a big disappointment seeing them pressed to do this. Interestingly he corrects the interviewer when she says that alamy is getting 10% more.. he corrects her saying "10 more percentage points".. really Alamy is getting a 25% increase in the share of a sale which is a seriously big amount. All I have to say is hopefully they do something smart with it.

This - it's not a 10% cut, it's a 16.66% cut

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #23 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:49 »

Quote from: jjneff on November 20, 2012, 08:30

I don't know much about this place so I would like to hear how people are doing on Alamy.

not many sales, but some at a very good price, make Alamy worthwhile

Quote from: jjneff

Agencieis that are paying 50/50 should get our support as a community!!! It's at least fair so I don't know why people complain so much about an agency like this! Keep in mind if you are non exclusive at iStock then you are earning 15% if you are lucky. If all great artist helped sites that pay 50/50 we would all be in better shape!

50% is good in itself compared to others, but the trend (cutting commissions) is not

furthermore, Alamy is funding medical research, which is commendable; but cutting our percentage to give away to others is not

after all, if they are so confident that they are acting to "grow the business", then they could easily reduce funds to their charity now (they say they give away 89% of profits), in order give away even more lately of course

RacePhoto · « **Reply #24 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:55 »

Quote from: csproductions on November 20, 2012, 08:00

If cutting our commissions means more sales and more money in our pocket, I think we should just cut to the chase and cut 'em all the way down to zero so we can get rich!

I think you have summarized the entire situation, Alamy and everyone else, perfectly!

I don't mind getting 50% when other places I dropped were down to 12-15% and making no sales. I'd still rather have 50% of something. Alamy takes files that the others won't, so I'm fine with that part too. Just sitting on my hard drive, I haven't every made a sale yet.

The claim that US sales are up 30% has had no effect on me at all. I have had no increase and in fact sold less last year, than any previous year. So much for a perceived gain. Someone may have made more, but I'm in the US, selling images that target the US and I had no increase.

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Author Topic: Alamy cutting all commissions by 10% (Read 42765 times)

ShadySue

JPSDK

borg

microstockphoto.co.uk

PaulieWalnuts

ClaridgeJ

leaf

Perry

leaf

Noedelhap

ClaridgeJ

borg

Mantis

leaf

Sean Locke Photography

Microbius

ShadySue

ClaridgeJ

fritz

Carl

jjneff

rubyroo

dbvirago

microstockphoto.co.uk

RacePhoto

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