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Author Topic: Bigstock extends current subscription royalty rates  (Read 13296 times)

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EmberMike

« on: August 26, 2013, 16:47 »
+4

As promised, Bigstock reassessed the current RC-like royalty structure for subscriptions this month, 6 months after the program was launched and they agrees to take a look at how things were going.

From the email announcement:

Quote
Were pleased to announce that in the past few months, Bigstock is paying more royalties to more contributors than ever before. On average, the monthly earnings per contributor also continue to grow. At the same time, were investing more money and resources in marketing than ever before to grow the business and your earnings.

Because it is still early days for Bigstock subscriptions, we are going to extend our current royalty structure with a continued promise to evaluate our products and royalties on an ongoing basis.

In other words, they see no problem with the current structure and are going to continue with the current rates, not making any adjustments to the ridiculous benchmarks we are expected to reach in order to earn anything close to what we get at Shutterstock.

I'm responding to the email now and I'd encourage anyone to do the same. These rates and benchmarks were insane when the program launched, and they are still insane 6 months later. I can't imagine that more than one or two people are able to hit 50,000 sales at Bigstock within a year in order to reach the $0.38 level.


« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2013, 16:53 »
+3
Quote
Bigstock is paying more royalties to more contributors than ever before
  8) I find it hard to believe that

« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2013, 16:58 »
+3
I find the bottom right corner of the email hilarious.

Quote
Made with love

« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2013, 17:04 »
0
Is anyone surprised?  Expect them to push more and more sales from SS to BS.

« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2013, 17:31 »
+2
Is anybody actually making more? My earnings were about the same, but my RPD fell to around 50 cents. I had them delete my images last month.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 17:43 by cthoman »

« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2013, 17:35 »
0
Is anybody actually making more? My earnings were about the same, but my RPI fell to around 50 cents. I had them delete my images last month.

Not me. 

« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2013, 17:40 »
0
My total revenue at BigStock is nearly double what it was at this time last year (comparing Aug 1 thru 25 in 2012 and 13), but I imagine my RPD has taken a major hit. 

fritz

  • I love Tom and Jerry music

« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2013, 17:42 »
0
Actually I'm making 50% more $$ after new royalty structure subscriptions. At the moment BS is performing better than FT, DP, P5 CAN ,Veer...........

« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2013, 17:44 »
+1
Weren't we getting kept at the .38 level for a limited period as the new plan rolled out?  When was that supposed to end?  When I saw the email I thought it meant they were extending that .38 level trial period.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 17:51 by stockmarketer »

« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2013, 17:51 »
0
Is anyone surprised?  Expect them to push more and more sales from SS to BS.

1 - I really don't think that BigStock has the same buyers as SS (BigStock has a different collection as well, yes the big contributors had option for bridge etc but many aren't contributing and another pile of contributors that never passed SS entry qc)
2 - SS is growing quarter after quarter, why would they risk their position to drive some buyers to BigStock?

that said BigStock is pathetic for me, I have done more this month at SS than I did in over 4 years and 5 months at BigStock

EmberMike

« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2013, 17:56 »
0
Is anybody actually making more? My earnings were about the same, but my RPD fell to around 50 cents. I had them delete my images last month.

My earnings were higher in July 2012 than in July 2013.

« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2013, 19:35 »
0
I read the e-mail that they were keeping 38 cent for people on bridge, which sorta irritates me. I could live with that for a little while, but it's not fair to keep doing it to those who didn't get on bridge for some reason or another. I'm selling subs on Shutterstock for 38 cents and Bigstock 27 cents. Same company, but paying me less and costing me sales on Shutterstock.

I am making more on Bigstock than ever before, but it's not worth it if I'm losing those sales on Shutterstock.

« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2013, 19:43 »
0
If I have illustrations on SS do they auto put them on BS and other partner programs?

« Reply #13 on: August 26, 2013, 19:56 »
0
If I have illustrations on SS do they auto put them on BS and other partner programs?

You have to be invited.  You may want to email SS and ask to be invited.  It's called the Bridge to Bigstock.

« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2013, 20:04 »
0
Thanks a bunch for responding to my question.
Funny thing is after reading this thread I don't want an invite, not sure where there're going.

lisafx

« Reply #15 on: August 26, 2013, 21:00 »
+5
I read the e-mail that they were keeping 38 cent for people on bridge, which sorta irritates me. I could live with that for a little while, but it's not fair to keep doing it to those who didn't get on bridge for some reason or another. I'm selling subs on Shutterstock for 38 cents and Bigstock 27 cents. Same company, but paying me less and costing me sales on Shutterstock.


Yeah, I read the e-mail the same way.  And I read your comment to mean that you are irritated that anyone is making .38 when you are making .27. 

Maybe I misread your comment, but if not, it confuses me.  Wouldn't it make more sense to wish everyone was making .38 than to begrudge the people who are and hope they get knocked down to .27??

« Reply #16 on: August 26, 2013, 21:06 »
0
Is anybody actually making more?

See chart below, BS is performing well for me. RPD is down, as expected, but overall earnings are up and up.


« Reply #17 on: August 26, 2013, 21:26 »
+2
I wrote them a nasty - ish letter about it. Actually my sales are way up and earnings there are up a little bit. RPI is pathetic, but more tellingly, SS is down by more than BS is up. I don't want them to be able move .38 subs to .27 subs and I really really really don't want them to move this plan to SS.

When they implemented I asked if I turned on the bridge to BS how long I would get .38 royalty and they said - sorry - I couldn't do that anymore - in a pretty nasty way. I initially declined to do the bridge when it was offered me in SS because I wanted to send some larger files to BS for potentially better large size sales... so much for that plan.

They should at least be similar in royalty to what we make at SS, but their current RC plan for subs royalty is pretty out of range for me and I suspect most other submitters.

« Reply #18 on: August 26, 2013, 22:02 »
0
Is anyone surprised?  Expect them to push more and more sales from SS to BS.


1 - I really don't think that BigStock has the same buyers as SS (BigStock has a different collection as well, yes the big contributors had option for bridge etc but many aren't contributing and another pile of contributors that never passed SS entry qc)
2 - SS is growing quarter after quarter, why would they risk their position to drive some buyers to BigStock?

that said BigStock is pathetic for me, I have done more this month at SS than I did in over 4 years and 5 months at BigStock


Look at the SEC filings and the Q2 Earnings Call Transcript, they are one in the same.  While the analyst's and key SS OP's Jon Oringer, founder, CEO and chairman; Thilo Semmelbauer, president and chief operating officer; and Tim Bixby, CFO. speak about and give financial info for Skillfeed and Offset they never mention Bigstock once. Because they consider SS & BS one in the same.

As I mention before large enterprises are a big part of SS's market push and they have expanded their sales teams substantially in the last two quarters to accomplish their goal of getting more large enterprises on board.

Just who do you think the analyst's, VC,'s, CFO and stock holders would rather see get the lion share of that huge business?  Of course they would like to push it to BS because they will make far more money. Why do you think they started the bridge program and why do you think they continued to offer the .38 cent incentive for 6 months?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1616602-shutterstocks-ceo-discusses-q2-2013-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single

Expanding Direct Sales To Large Enterprises

Snip

As Jon mentioned, direct sales continues to be one of the fastest growing parts of our business and our growth accelerated in Q2 as we continued to refine our approach and expand our team. Across agencies, publishers, media companies and large corporations, both the number and the size of the deals continue to increase.

Snip

Tim Bixby

So overall, the download growth was pretty consistent in all territories.

...direct sales to large enterprises both in the U.S. and outside the U.S. are continuing to grow at a faster clip than the overall business, and so those tended to drive that number higher. But we do see quite strong growth across all the product lines.

« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 23:24 by gbalex »

« Reply #19 on: August 27, 2013, 03:34 »
+1
I read the e-mail that they were keeping 38 cent for people on bridge, which sorta irritates me. I could live with that for a little while, but it's not fair to keep doing it to those who didn't get on bridge for some reason or another. I'm selling subs on Shutterstock for 38 cents and Bigstock 27 cents. Same company, but paying me less and costing me sales on Shutterstock.


Yeah, I read the e-mail the same way.  And I read your comment to mean that you are irritated that anyone is making .38 when you are making .27. 

Maybe I misread your comment, but if not, it confuses me.  Wouldn't it make more sense to wish everyone was making .38 than to begrudge the people who are and hope they get knocked down to .27??

I'd be fine with that, as long as they treated everyone the same. The rules should apply to everyone equally. That's the one thing I had liked about Shutterstock. They've always given new contributors a way to rise up, while other sites make it nearly impossible to break in.

In this case, they are not treating everyone the same, and they really don't have a good reason for it. They never really explained why some people got bridge while others didn't. I know plenty of people who had fewer sales on Shutterstock than I did with smaller, less commercial ports who got the bridge while I didn't. I stuck with Bigstock anyway, uploading my files to them this whole time. I didn't really care all that much. It was just a little extra time spent, but now it's costing me money and it's going to continue to cost me money.

If it stays this way, I'm going to pull my port off Bigstock despite the fact that I am making a lot more since they started subs. I went from 1-2 payouts a month to 3-4. It's decent for a secondary site, but it's not like it's a lot of money that I can't live without.

« Reply #20 on: August 27, 2013, 04:22 »
-1
I'd be fine with that, as long as they treated everyone the same. The rules should apply to everyone equally. That's the one thing I had liked about Shutterstock. They've always given new contributors a way to rise up, while other sites make it nearly impossible to break in.

In this case, they are not treating everyone the same, and they really don't have a good reason for it. They never really explained why some people got bridge while others didn't. I know plenty of people who had fewer sales on Shutterstock than I did with smaller, less commercial ports who got the bridge while I didn't. I stuck with Bigstock anyway, uploading my files to them this whole time. I didn't really care all that much. It was just a little extra time spent, but now it's costing me money and it's going to continue to cost me money.


Yes they did.

"Participation in the Bridge to Bigstock is by invitation only. We are inviting Shutterstock contributors with high performing portfolios. They will receive an e-mail giving them the choice to opt in to the program. For contributors who participate, all of their images that are accepted by Shutterstock will now automatically be accepted by and uploaded to Bigstock. The artists will earn payouts at standard Bigstock rates. For participants who already upload to both sites, we will filter for duplicates as we move Shutterstock images to Bigstock. This may take some time as we ramp up the program, but we will keep participants informed by e-mail during the process.

Select Shutterstock contributors will begin receiving e-mails from Shutterstock with details on how to participate in the Bridge to Bigstock. We may gradually invite more high-performing Shutterstock contributors once we finish the integration for the first round of invitees.

Were sorry we cant offer this service to everyone at this time. It requires staff time to sync a Shutterstock portfolio with a Bigstock portfolio, so we are only able to offer this program to selected contributors. We may expand the program after we finish processing the first round of invitees."


http://www.microstockgroup.com/bigstock-com/shutterstock's-'bridge-to-bigstock'-program/

« Reply #21 on: August 27, 2013, 04:59 »
+5
And yet, some people still on the 33 cent tier got the bridge. How were those high performing portfolios?  I'm sorry, but that explanation is not a very good explanation.

You won't be able to convince me that it's fair for someone to get 38 cents while I get 27 cents, when I probably get more sales on Bigstock. I was willing to live with it for six months, not indefinitely. 

« Reply #22 on: August 27, 2013, 05:06 »
0
I took from that email that I'll continue getting my 38cents per dl.

« Reply #23 on: August 27, 2013, 05:07 »
0
"Participation in the Bridge to Bigstock is by invitation only. We are inviting Shutterstock contributors with high performing portfolios. .......


 I had an invitation for bridge two years ago - and my portfolio was not performing high at that time - i didn` t  join bridge...
« Last Edit: August 27, 2013, 05:10 by ferdinand »

Ron

« Reply #24 on: August 27, 2013, 05:25 »
0
I wish I could join the bridge.


 

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