Maybe those of us who remember the good old Mat Hayward should reach out to him and ask why there's been no communication from Adobe, and what the plans are for the future of the contributor bonus. He's pretty high up in the Adobe hierarchy now, so he might have some influence, at the very least when it comes to improving communication.

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 06, 2026, 09:16
Maybe those of us who remember the good old Mat Hayward should reach out to him and ask why there's been no communication from Adobe, and what the plans are for the future of the contributor bonus. He's pretty high up in the Adobe hierarchy now, so he might have some influence, at the very least when it comes to improving communication.

He has some influence over his personal financial situation; that's the only thing that's certain.

I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Quote from: DiscreetDuck on March 06, 2026, 09:38

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 06, 2026, 09:16
Maybe those of us who remember the good old Mat Hayward should reach out to him and ask why there's been no communication from Adobe, and what the plans are for the future of the contributor bonus. He's pretty high up in the Adobe hierarchy now, so he might have some influence, at the very least when it comes to improving communication.

He has some influence over his personal financial situation; that's the only thing that's certain.

He's been promoted from artist advocate to an employee. Mat has no influence and never did.

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 06, 2026, 21:22
I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Thanks Sean!

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 06, 2026, 21:22
I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Putting it together ? Isn't it a copy-paste from last year ? Are they reinventing the wheel or what..

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 06, 2026, 21:22
I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Thank you

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 09, 2026, 08:22
Putting it together ? Isn't it a copy-paste from last year ? Are they reinventing the wheel or what..

Probably too many serious contributors got the bonus last year, so they're debating how to award AI-spammers only

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 09, 2026, 08:22

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 06, 2026, 21:22
I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Putting it together ? Isn't it a copy-paste from last year ? Are they reinventing the wheel or what..

Last year it was more restrictive than two years ago, so, if anything, it may be even more restrictive.

Quote from: Zero Talent on March 09, 2026, 14:16

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 09, 2026, 08:22

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 06, 2026, 21:22
I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Putting it together ? Isn't it a copy-paste from last year ? Are they reinventing the wheel or what..

Last year it was more restrictive than two years ago, so, if anything, it may be even more restrictive.

And last year was a surprise, everything higher numbers. I don't mind getting nothing, but I'd really appreciate if they gave us a goal in advance. At least that way, I'd have the target and incentive to make the numbers needed.

I have Elements, a few versions, all before that went subscription. I'm good with that for editing. I own Premier also and there are a few others like Davinci that work just fine for stock video. I have CS3 and CS5 installed on this older desktop, they both are perfectly able and functional for EPS or PNG and illustrations.

I don't need the free subscription, but it's nice to have and use.

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 09, 2026, 08:22

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on March 06, 2026, 21:22
I emailed to ask and it sounds like they are still putting it together.

Putting it together ? Isn't it a copy-paste from last year ? Are they reinventing the wheel or what..

Last year they tightened the qualification criteria compared to previous years (without informing people ahead of time so they could adjust upload strategy).

I suspect they're working out just how far they can push it this year further.  Plus maybe take it down to "1 app".  Or even just a discount.

I think they have a set number of X free subscriptions they want to give out each year and they need to adjust the criteria so that they do not have to give out more. And since their criteria always included X amount of content submitted and people are flooding them with AI content, they need tochange the criteria a lot so they do not have to give out more subscriptions.

Easiest way would be to just exclude AI content completely (what do AI submitters even need products like lightroom or photoshop for?), but Adobe just loves their AI content waaaaay to much to do that.

Quote from: Her Ugliness on March 10, 2026, 08:00

I think they have a set number of X free subscriptions they want to give out each year and they need to adjust the criteria so that they do not have to give out more. And since their criteria always included X amount of content submitted and people are flooding them with AI content, they need tochange the criteria a lot so they do not have to give out more subscriptions.

Easiest way would be to just exclude AI content completely (what do AI submitters even need products like lightroom or photoshop for?), but Adobe just loves their AI content waaaaay to much to do that.

But isn't the dominant factor sales volume?

Just because there are so many high volume ai uploads, I don't think they should now demand that people have a minimum accepted uploads of 3k files.

The 150 accepted files was very reasonable.

They could add some extras, if you win one of their challenges then you automatically get a code or even add 500 "editors choice" reward codes as a new category to reward fresh new talent.

But otherwise the system of 150 uploads plus reasonable downloads so that even the newbies can at least enjoy photoshop or Lightroom should be affordable for adobe.

Designers and creators like to recommend adobe to potential buyers and the whole we use adobe software but also upload to adobestock makes a great creative environment.

At least they should let us know. I don't know if I waste my time configuring my old CS5 or should wait a few days for Contributor bonus.

Quote from: BelieveInStock on March 10, 2026, 15:57
At least they should let us know. I don't know if I waste my time configuring my old CS5 or should wait a few days for Contributor bonus.

True, and if I knew it was 150 new uploads and 350 Downloads, that would help give me a goal for the year. But we don't know the mystery target until after the year is over.

Last time I had over 6k downloads, but nowhere near 150 uploads, so no bonus for me (first time since many years). And honestly, I'm not going to change my workflow just to meet the requirements for some bonus code. If anything, it makes me feel less motivated to contribute to Adobe.

It does seem a bit strange that higher-volume sellers aren't rewarded, while contributors who upload the most files are. But perhaps that aligns with Adobe's longer-term strategy to replace contributors with AI: in that case, increasing the number of files in their library matters more to them than the number of sales.

.

Quote from: DiscreetDuck on March 11, 2026, 07:47
Photographers are already obsolete at Adobe. AI ​​is much more competent, and has much better taste.
And in the near future, AI will not ask for royalties or contributor bonuses.

Soon will all creative people be obsolete on adobe.
Less and less authors send work to adobe.
Even adobe associated moderation "team"  fired 15 moderators last month. 

Quote from: Uncle Pete on March 10, 2026, 17:41.. 150 new uploads ,, ,

and it doesnt help. that they reject entire upload batches with  no reason other tha n "guess why we rejected these - choose from this long list"

I also upload rarely (not worth it), but have a bunch of sales from content I uploaded before. The criteria are so funny, and changing them last-minute is so off-putting.

I have 198 approved assets this year, and if they even go ahead with the bonus program, I'm sure as hell they'll set the threshold to 200 approved assets just to fvck with me.

Quote from: cascoly on March 11, 2026, 17:38

Quote from: Uncle Pete on March 10, 2026, 17:41.. 150 new uploads ,, ,

and it doesnt help. that they reject entire upload batches with  no reason other tha n "guess why we rejected these - choose from this long list"

That's so true. Rejections for "Quality" are of no use and explain nothing.

Quote from: cascoly on March 11, 2026, 17:38

Quote from: Uncle Pete on March 10, 2026, 17:41.. 150 new uploads ,, ,

and it doesnt help. that they reject entire upload batches with  no reason other tha n "guess why we rejected these - choose from this long list"

You don't find this perfectly clear? 

"- Non compliant use of another artist's name.

- Undeclared Generative AI Content.

- Content not compliant with overall guidelines:

To learn more about the type of content we're looking for, please visit this page: https://www.adobe.com/go/stock-contributor-help"



Or maybe this. We can't tell you but if you ask on the forum, maybe some other user, might have a guess?

"Thanks for giving us the chance to consider your image. Unfortunately, this image doesn't meet our quality standards so we can't accept it into our collection.

Common issues that can impact the technical quality of images include exposure issues, soft focus, excessive filtering or artifacts/noise. Learn more about our technical requirements here.

To learn more about the type of content we're looking for, please visit this page.

If you are looking for specific feedback on your image, we recommend you create a post in the critique forum where you can solicit feedback from other Adobe Stock Contributors."

Not to whine about any specific image, but this one did say "Focus Problems" Hey, thanks... except it's sharp and in focus, but includes some light streaks.

So, looks like we are getting a bonus.

Needs 5700 dl, videos are counted as 3 times,

Code for the full creative suite for one year.

Lat time it was 7000:I think.

So this is more accessible.

They dropped the lower level one software code.

Bit offering the full suite for those who really want to do stock at least part time is a very fair offer.

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/royalty-details.html

Quote from: cobalt on March 17, 2026, 05:46
So, looks like we are getting a bonus.

Needs 5700 dl, videos are counted as 3 times,

Code for the full creative suite for one year.

Lat time it was 7000:I think.

So this is more accessible.

They dropped the lower level one software code.

Bit offering the full suite for those who really want to do stock at least part time is a very fair offer.

https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/royalty-details.html

Lovely. the wish is fulfilled.

Quote from: Artist on November 07, 2024, 09:23
I did complaint with one agency and they reviewed the case and banned the author who uploaded very similar work to mine.
But the point is, I don't have so much time to hunt for such culprits. Agencies needs to take action and make their terms and conditions stronger.

AI is ruining the market for both buyer and seller.

Your words carry a lot of emotion. I'll leave it here and wish you good luck... and maybe a little less drama. God bless.

Quote from: Artist on November 05, 2024, 05:00
Recently, I came across many contributors which have used my work in generating similar AI-generated images.

Creating and maintaining original works takes time and with such AI tools creating replicas is super easy.
This is serious copyright infringement and the companies needs to look into this.

Companies should keep the original work and AI generate work as a separate two categories.

I feel sad to see this. 

Your words carry a lot of emotion. I'll leave it here and wish you good luck... and maybe a little less drama. God bless.

Quote from: Artist on December 28, 2024, 06:36
We need to accept this fact that AI killed many businesses and lot of job losses in past few years.
I will not deny that AI killed clipartof too.

Your words carry a lot of emotion. I'll leave it here and wish you good luck... and maybe a little less drama. God bless.