microstock mentioned at 1:00

with it being said that within 3 years time microstock will take over 25% more of the market.

I think that number is rather conservative in both the time and the %.  They also mention that they are adapting to the future changes and getting 'ahead of the game'  .... if snapvillage is this game plan, I am not sure they are going to be very far ahead of anyone...

Also interesting to note he segued into talking about microstock as the increase of amateur photography in the marketplace.  So it still seems that corbis views microstock as a bunch of amateurs.  Sure there are lots of amateurs involved in microstock, and the microstock model gives the amateur a chance at trying their hand at stock, but the bulk of images, I am guessing 90% of the income microstock agencies receive come from photographers who are definitely not amateur.

Regarding amateurs, maybe that was the main reason for the tone of SnapVillage. They figured it was all amateur designers buying from amateur photographers and wanted the "snap" brand to clearly separate the amateurs from the pros at Corbis.

As I'm sure they've found, it's not all amateurs. And I don't get the impression SnapVillage is a strategy. It looks like more of a test vehicle to stick the Corbis toe in the microstock waters to see what happens.

...There are only a few hundred photographers in microstock which i would consider pro sure they have a lot of downloads but they are facing a crowd of several tenthousand amateurs...

I like the term "pro-am" with regards to the microstockers who make some money, but not "enough to live on" money. They're not professionals, but certainly not amateurs either.

And I don't think anything will ever be as black and white again, where we have just professionals and amateurs in any field. Microstock isn't the only business where the line between amateurs and pros is blurring.

Also interesting to note he segued into talking about microstock as the increase of amateur photography in the marketplace.  So it still seems that corbis views microstock as a bunch of amateurs.  Sure there are lots of amateurs involved in microstock, and the microstock model gives the amateur a chance at trying their hand at stock, but the bulk of images, I am guessing 90% of the income microstock agencies receive come from photographers who are definitely not amateur.

if you're in big business, and you see commissions of 30 cents to one dollar per download.
it's only natural to assume an amateur would accept this.

i wrote somewhere else on your forum that's how several , no correction, majority, of my business associates see it  too ( i am both a freelance photographer and consultant in language, and my associates are business managers,etc).
ie. time alloted against commissions earned for the general micro photographer = not really something a "professional" would consider to be deemed  "profitable".
so yes, only amateurs living with parents, retired (pensioners living on subsidized income), househusbands, housewives,etc...
Only a handful can truly say it's their sole income . and if true, how many hours, how many images ,etc... would that make it into  dollars/cents per hour  .

corbis will say, the panhandler down at the tubes, or the squeegee kids
at the junction, make money dollars/hour than we do.
not quite the  worthwhile business projection for anyone in terms of auditing and accounting.

Quote from: leaf on December 02, 2008, 07:03

So it still seems that corbis views microstock as a bunch of amateurs.

Sure all the photographers which make more than thousand Dollar a month are at least semipro...There are only a few hundred photographers in microstock which i would consider pro sure they have a lot of downloads but they are facing a crowd of several tenthousand amateurs. It's probably more like  50/50 or even less for the pros than 10/90.

i agree with grp_photo. until i can make a "living" in stock, i 'd rather consider myself an "amateur".
if anything, just to avoid looking like a naive business venture, or  spending too much time on a losing investment.
i think most of us are "dabbling" in microstock, for "ama" ( "love" of  making photos or illustrations)
rather than a "business venture".
NOTE: edited for brevity, not trying to misquote you