A noble idea but I doubt you will be able to round up much of a posse.  At this point, even if someone at FT issued a coherent, grammatical and meaningful response (highly unlikely), it would have little credibility.   I'd give 20-1 odds there would be no response at all.

Is there an existing union that would take us on?  For example perhaps the Stock Artists Alliance?  We would not have to become a part of the current union, but they could create a new one for us.  Like the Teamsters have separate unions all over the place that cater to different needs. 

I know at one time SAA had a real hate on for micro, but I'm sure their attitude must have cooled in the last few years with so many crossing over.

Unions are really businesses, the Teamsters have offices all over the place with paid staff and they are all about making money.  I doubt we can ever form an alliance on our own.  There needs to be someone who will benefit from managing it, and a cash incentive to fight the fights for us. 

Any artist who is making less than 50% commissions is being ripped off. Why on earth should a library make more than the artist who created the file?! Those that choose to put up with it simply dont value their work well enough.

This is why I love Fotolia so much!  I receive a 54% commission on sales ranging in price from $5 to $40.  Because I am exclusive I am paid very well.  I don't know of any other site that pays as high a commission to their photographers exclusive or not.  Is there one?

Mat

Quote from: jvoetsch on April 08, 2010, 10:13

Any artist who is making less than 50% commissions is being ripped off. Why on earth should a library make more than the artist who created the file?! Those that choose to put up with it simply dont value their work well enough.

This is why I love Fotolia so much!  I receive a 54% commission on sales ranging in price from $5 to $40.  Because I am exclusive I am paid very well.  I don't know of any other site that pays as high a commission to their photographers exclusive or not.  Is there one?

Mat

I think DT is the highest giving up to 50% to non-exclusive and 60% to exclusive.

Quote from: Randy McKown on April 09, 2010, 00:52

Quote from: MatHayward on April 09, 2010, 00:21

Quote from: jvoetsch on April 08, 2010, 10:13

Any artist who is making less than 50% commissions is being ripped off. Why on earth should a library make more than the artist who created the file?! Those that choose to put up with it simply dont value their work well enough.

This is why I love Fotolia so much!  I receive a 54% commission on sales ranging in price from $5 to $40.  Because I am exclusive I am paid very well.  I don't know of any other site that pays as high a commission to their photographers exclusive or not.  Is there one?

Mat

I think DT is the highest giving up to 50% to non-exclusive and 60% to exclusive.

DT gives way less than 50 % to non exclusives on level 1 - 2 images.  Exclusives get more, but nowhere near 60 % for level 1 - 2 images.

Patrick.

I think to most of us going exclusive with FT sounds crazy, they change their policy to screw contributors all the time(so does DT with the huge drop in % for almost all images level 1-2), FT changes the bar for levels, lowers percentages, lets people skip ahead if they are new, don't let anyone complain about policy changes and who knows what is next.  I don't love IS but I think the way they handle these kind of things is much more transparent and reasonable, that's why I dumped FT and DT a few months back.  The money is probably near the same as last year but even if it was down a few % I would be much happier than dealing with those two companies.

I still think we would do better if we fully supported sites that have had great communications with us and have gone out of their way to answer our questions.  Cutcaster is the one that stands out for me.  I don't see that site prospering without our help, I hope more people will do all they can to send buyers there and make sure they have a competitive collection of images.

I believe we all want essentially the same thing.  I also believe the majority of contributors (not the sites) are making it impossible.  If Cutcaster is your horse, ride it to the finish.  I think that we (when I say "We" I mean "You!" are crazy as an industry to post all images at all the sites.  The commissions are going to drop lower and lower as stock sites are going to continue to fight to recruit buyers to purchase the exact same images available at every single site willing to accept their photographs.  If Cutcaster is the best in your opinion...go!  If you think I-stock is your best bet, go exclusive...Shutterstock, Dreamstime?  I can't see any logic in them as my perception is their momentum is slowing but what ....do it!  For me it's always been Fotolia and because I see they have the fastest and most consistent growth as well as the highest return for loyalty I have much to the chagrin of the bulk of contributors very publicly remained exclusive there.  In my humble opinion my photography skills have evolved and in some cases improved.  As a result my income has steadily increased.  I don't know if I would be where I am today if I set my primary focus on blasting the market with my photo's.  Please don't misinterpret what I am saying to imply I believe I'm where I should be as I have miles and miles to go.  I have an infinite amount of time left to learn and evolve as a photographer.

I believe if you (yes YOU!) choose a site and commit some form of loyalty to them the ultimate result will be competition to recruit photographers instead of the status quo which is to recruit buyers. 

It's very late/early in the night/morning and I'm being unrealistic and sentimental as it's obviously not reality for the bulk of photographers to commit to one site.  We all feel powerless essentially as one photographer can't make a difference right? 

That being said, imagine if Yuri simply said all of his portfolio were going to one site.  How much could he charge?  How much could he demand he get paid?  How did he get to where he is?  The same we are all where we are right now (yep, even YOU).  He just chose to take it to the next level.  I haven't had the courage to do so yet.  Do you?  If you did rise to the challenge don't you think you could single handedly change the industry?  It's still so new and the possibilities are infinite.  Don't settle and accept what's being given.  Kick some ass and make a name for yourself.  There are maybe 3 or 4 photographers in the "Micro" stock industry that have done so to date in my opinion.  I can't help but feel there is more room.  Quit bitching and put your money where your mouth is.

Mat

... For me it's always been Fotolia and because I see they have the fastest and most consistent growth as well as the highest return for loyalty ...

Many interesting points in your post Mat. It does seem to me that being exclusive with FT is becoming more and more economically viable over remaining independent. I would still regard exclusivity with any one agency as being inherently less stable and riskier though, especially if microstock is your only or primary income. I'd need a significantly increased reward to make that risk worthwhile.

I know you've mentioned in the past how you've experimented with having your portfolio at different price points, whilst monitoring the effect on sales. I see you now have your entire port priced at 5 credits. Are sales still holding up despite that?

I know you've mentioned in the past how you've experimented with having your portfolio at different price points, whilst monitoring the effect on sales. I see you now have your entire port priced at 5 credits. Are sales still holding up despite that?

They are holding up G.  Since raising my prices my income has gone up consistently each month with March 2010 being my best month to date.

Mat

I decided to request my balance and close my account - in that order.  FT has never sold much for me anyway.  Found out that I have to upload a photo ID, so I shot my driver's license and hit "upload", and got "413 Request Entity Too Large".    If this has something to do with image size,  I can't find any requirements - I suspect it's an actual error at FT's end as my JPG was only 1.4 MB.  So I've messaged their legendary support center and am waiting for a reply.


"Even the simple things become rough.
Haven't we had enough?"
  - Melissa Manchester

That being said, imagine if Yuri simply said all of his portfolio were going to one site.  How much could he charge?  How much could he demand he get paid?  How did he get to where he is?  The same we are all where we are right now (yep, even YOU).  He just chose to take it to the next level.  I haven't had the courage to do so yet.  Do you?  If you did rise to the challenge don't you think you could single handedly change the industry?  It's still so new and the possibilities are infinite.  Don't settle and accept what's being given.  Kick some ass and make a name for yourself.  There are maybe 3 or 4 photographers in the "Micro" stock industry that have done so to date in my opinion.  I can't help but feel there is more room.  Quit bitching and put your money where your mouth is.

Mat

Not only may all of Yuri's photo's be going to one site (his own), they may also be completely free. A blog is the name of the game with ads providing the revenue.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/yuri-admits-his-losing-money-!/100/

http://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/yuri-admits-his-losing-money-!/125/

Scroll down for Yuri's posts.

Nothing sells better than free.

Quote from: stockastic on April 09, 2010, 19:52

I decided to request my balance and close my account - in that order.  FT has never sold much for me anyway.  Found out that I have to upload a photo ID, so I shot my driver's license and hit "upload", and got "413 Request Entity Too Large".    If this has something to do with image size,  I can't find any requirements - I suspect it's an actual error at FT's end as my JPG was only 1.4 MB.  So I've messaged their legendary support center and am waiting for a reply.

No need to wait for their reply. This is what it will say:
The "413 Request Entity Too Large" error indicates that the entity was too large.  Please try again. If you continue to receive this error, try a different file. It might need to be larger. Thank you.
   

Try making it < 100K and you shouldn't have any problem. Resizing to no bigger than 800x at 80% quality should do it (more or less).

I mashed it down to 172k and was able to upload it. At least I know they won't be giving away an XL image of my driver's license.    As soon as the money shows up in PayPal, I'm closing the account.  

This is still mostly a hobby for me.  I see the posts from people who rely on microstock income, saying they can't afford to drop FT, and I fully understand.  But I value my images and intend to make more money from them in the future.  The real Fotolia contributor agreement is actually pretty clear: theyll sell, distribute or give away our images any way they want, directly or through unspecified partners; they have no obligation to tell us anything about what they're doing; and commissions will be any amount they chose to pay, or nothing.  I'm getting off the bus right here, before my images are loose on 5 different pirate sites and discredited "former partners".

I think MatHayward is correct: in the long run, it's senseless to give all our work to multiple sites that compete only on price. We need to commit to new sites that make significant sales,  play fair, communicate with contributors, charge reasonable prices and pay reasonable commissions.  So far, I don't know of any that meet all 4 of those criteria, but there are a couple that may, in the future.  As soon as one starts to 'click' for me, I'll be ready to drop the remaining "big 3".  

Your guess was pretty good. Here's what I actually received after a few days:
"Thank you for your e-mail. That message does not seems to be related with the file requirements itself. You can find this information at http://www.fotolia.com/Info/Contents/Images
Please describe in more detail how you are submiting the file so we can review it for you."

That's funny. I think there may be robot overlords that control Fotolia. That really would explain a lot.