a) All of the agencies will continue to leech off the contributors and distract them with carrot dangling techniques to entice corporate profit and keep reducing royalties all the while contributors will take it and complain like there is no tomorrow and put forth empty threats on forums.
Same same.
b) All of the agencies will realize that without their contributors, the very people who produce their content for sale and keeps them in business will finally show their tremendous gratitude, respect, and increase royalties so that 'we' could all profit and once again make this a sustainable industry.
Dreaming.
Wishing you all the very best for 2022.
a) All of the agencies will continue to leech off the contributors and distract them with carrot dangling techniques to entice corporate profit and keep reducing royalties all the while contributors will take it and complain like there is no tomorrow and put forth empty threats on forums.
Same same.
b) All of the agencies will realize that without their contributors, the very people who produce their content for sale and keeps them in business will finally show their tremendous gratitude, respect, and increase royalties so that 'we' could all profit and once again make this a sustainable industry.
Dreaming.
Wishing you all the very best for 2022.
I don't think so. They don't need any new photos. They have more than enough photos of everything.
I don't know, I think that as the market devolves by virtue of attrition there might actually be fewer frustrated contributors. As SS pushes further into Stan's dream of a subscription only model and AS promotes CCE to the detriment of our silent yet critical partners like mom & pop designers and smaller ad agencies, the market for higher value sales will dwindle even further. Couple this with an industry wide adoption of free content libraries and the incomprehensible (to me) embracement of those by many contributors, means there's little if any room for the pendulum to swing back closer to equilibrium at this point. For anyone whose content actually comes at a cost, or even anyone who places a value on their own time for that matter, the situation will be untenable. Leaving only hobbyists and a handful of factory producers with any incentive or motivation to continue.
---------------
Very true.
The cost of taking pictures has come come down because of digital, and like many other industries prices have dropped, but the cost of travel hasn't come down, good cameras are still relatively expensive, models or locations don't come cheap either, if you live in Europe or the US mainly. It seems to me there is a big gulf in what most contributors produce and what agents want. Look at "whats new", flower pots and sunsets and other objects. Front page of most agents sites, is authentic lifestyle which most people aren't producing. I think agents should only be keeping images that they'd be happy to show off on their front page.
I think one needs look no further than the engagement on this forum over the past year to see evidence of this already.
I don't know, I think that as the market devolves by virtue of attrition there might actually be fewer frustrated contributors. As SS pushes further into Stan's dream of a subscription only model and AS promotes CCE to the detriment of our silent yet critical partners like mom & pop designers and smaller ad agencies, the market for higher value sales will dwindle even further. Couple this with an industry wide adoption of free content libraries and the incomprehensible (to me) embracement of those by many contributors, means there's little if any room for the pendulum to swing back closer to equilibrium at this point. For anyone whose content actually comes at a cost, or even anyone who places a value on their own time for that matter, the situation will be untenable. Leaving only hobbyists and a handful of factory producers with any incentive or motivation to continue.
I think one needs look no further than the engagement on this forum over the past year to see evidence of this already.
Unsplash goes public and will be listed on the NYSE, alongside Getty and SS, with contributors rejoicing at the "amazing exposure" they're receiving for their work.
(https://j.gifs.com/y491Pj.gif)
Let me refine my response: Ticket to bankruptcy
I think the main stock sites need to explain to stingy buyers the advantages of paying for content instead of going to the freebies.
Let me refine my response: Ticket to bankruptcy
how can you go bankrupt if you have passive income? if you're splurging on expensive equipment that's a personal choice & cant be blamed on MS
I predict more "exciting news" ::)
Legislation, which makes internet companies more responsible for the sale of stolen goods, will be introduced. Just like banks are now being held responsible for money laundering criminal money and receive high fines in the Netherlands.
I don't believe we get more rights through the law.
The biggest problem for us remains the ever-increasing amount of photos and the ever-increasing range of free photos.
Legislation, which makes internet companies more responsible for the sale of stolen goods, will be introduced. Just like banks are now being held responsible for money laundering criminal money and receive high fines in the Netherlands.
Not sure if legislation like that will ever come about in Canada or the US but it might, it's interesting and sometimes well meaning legislation can have unintended consequences even for those playing by rules.
I think it was this year, a large adult content site, P--rnhub had to delete most of it's content and contributors had to prove it was their own content and 18+ actors in the content and real names and ID needed to be used in the application process, a lot of people lost their way of making a living overnight.....even those who were in compliance with the laws but now had to upload their ID to a "secure" server.......
So with stock video/photos, the legislation might require agencies to verify they content the are trafficking in is not stolen but that won't stop the free sites and the free stock YouTube channels.
I predict more "exciting news" ::)
Well, everything changes over time.
Before photography you had painters who could live off their painting as a kind of photographer.
With the advent of photography, painting changed and it became more difficult to live on. Yet the talented painters, draftsmen still succeed.
Professional photographers subsequently faced enormous competition from digital cameras, telephones and the Internet with stock photo photography. Still, talented photographers manage to earn a good living.
The huge competition, amount of photos, videos, powerful stock sites now makes it very difficult for a stock photographer to earn a good living.
I suspect that just like well-earning painters, professional photographers, there will also be well-earning highly talented stock photographers.
The majority will do it more as a hobby or good side income, just like many painters.
Looking back, explaining history is easy. Predicting the future is difficult.
Legislation, which makes internet companies more responsible for the sale of stolen goods, will be introduced. Just like banks are now being held responsible for money laundering criminal money and receive high fines in the Netherlands.
Not sure if legislation like that will ever come about in Canada or the US but it might, it's interesting and sometimes well meaning legislation can have unintended consequences even for those playing by rules.
I think it was this year, a large adult content site, P--rnhub had to delete most of it's content and contributors had to prove it was their own content and 18+ actors in the content and real names and ID needed to be used in the application process, a lot of people lost their way of making a living overnight.....even those who were in compliance with the laws but now had to upload their ID to a "secure" server.......
So with stock video/photos, the legislation might require agencies to verify they content the are trafficking in is not stolen but that won't stop the free sites and the free stock YouTube channels.
Legislation, which makes internet companies more responsible for the sale of stolen goods, will be introduced. Just like banks are now being held responsible for money laundering criminal money and receive high fines in the Netherlands.
Not sure if legislation like that will ever come about in Canada or the US but it might, it's interesting and sometimes well meaning legislation can have unintended consequences even for those playing by rules.
I think it was this year, a large adult content site, P--rnhub had to delete most of it's content and contributors had to prove it was their own content and 18+ actors in the content and real names and ID needed to be used in the application process, a lot of people lost their way of making a living overnight.....even those who were in compliance with the laws but now had to upload their ID to a "secure" server.......
So with stock video/photos, the legislation might require agencies to verify they content the are trafficking in is not stolen but that won't stop the free sites and the free stock YouTube channels.
Please learn to start your posts after the quote you make the forum look like crap.
Perhaps the larger agencies propose to buy all or part of the collections to sell as NFTs in the metaverses. The value of the works (in crypto) could increase over time, but the agencies are likely to keep those benefits.
I think the main stock sites need to explain to stingy buyers the advantages of paying for content instead of going to the freebies.
Lower and lower rates because we do nothing about it, people still contribute regardless so the agencies do whatever they want.
Since everyone's predictions for 22 seem so gloomy, I thought I would share some numbers to give some people hope that maybe not all is lost in microstock. I am sure it's not the "good old days" anymore and rerquired more work these days, but it's not just all going downhills.
I am not one of the "big players" in microstock, I don't make tons of money from it, but it's till a nice amount each month that contributes greatly to covering my living costs, so definitely more than just pocket change.
Shutterstock earnings
January 20->21: +131%
February 20->21: +214%
March 20->21: +151%
April 20->21: +74%
May 20->21: +132%
June 20->21: +140%
July 20->21: +148%
August 20->21: +123%
September 20->21: +45%
October 20->21: +98%
November 20->21: +23%
December 20->21: +11%
iStock earnings
January 20->21: +76%
February 20->21: +117%
March 20->21: +130%
April 20->21: +62%
May 20->21: +158%
June 20->21: +50%
July 20->21: +79%
August 20->21: +131%
September 20->21: +33%
October 20->21: +79%
November 20->21: +170%
Adobe earnings
January 20->21: +41%
February 20->21: +50%
March 20->21: +56%
April 20->21: -11%
May 20->21: -12%
June 20->21: -45%
July 20->21: +99%
August 20->21: +131%
September 20->21: +35%
October 20->21: +53%
November 20->21: +37%
December 20->21: +50%
My conclusions for 2021 and prediction for 22: Not everything is on the decline. If you keep putting effort into microstock, there is still a reward in in, income can still increase. I don't have any plans (mostly for the lack of ideas) to find a different way to sell my photos, but only plan to expand my portfolio and hopefully further increase my earnings.
Also, some conclusions at least from my portfolio:
The level earning structure on SS doesn't seem to be so bad, at least if you rise in level fast.
iSTock and SS, the agencies most people seem to hate are not only the ones that earn me the most money, but also the ones where my income improved the most in 21 compared to 20.
- Adobe, which averyone praises so much, is the agenciy with the smalles increade in earnings, even with a decline in earnings compared to 2020 during some months. Me and Adobe will probably never become good friends.
I didn't add the numbers for the small agencies, because it's so much work and also because I only joined most of them this year, so I don't have numbers to compare. On Alamy my earnings seem to be a bit better than in 20. At least they are more frequent, but with the many very low sales and me still waiting for sales from 9 months ago to clear, it's not so easy to get proper numbers. Last year Dreamstime was my best-selling agency of the "small ones", but both sale numbers and earnings are now on the decline, so not much hope for my future there.
The biggest negative part of my personal development has shutterstock. Compared to my best year, I have 5,250 fewer downloads there in 2021. Since the RPD there was $0.88 in my best year and now it's 0.61, the financial losses are much higher in percentage terms.
Since everyone's predictions for 22 seem so gloomy, I thought I would share some numbers to give some people hope that maybe not all is lost in microstock. I am sure it's not the "good old days" anymore and rerquired more work these days, but it's not just all going downhills.
I am not one of the "big players" in microstock, I don't make tons of money from it, but it's till a nice amount each month that contributes greatly to covering my living costs, so definitely more than just pocket change.
My conclusions for 2021 and prediction for 22: Not everything is on the decline. If you keep putting effort into microstock, there is still a reward in in, income can still increase. I don't have any plans (mostly for the lack of ideas) to find a different way to sell my photos, but only plan to expand my portfolio and hopefully further increase my earnings.
Also, some conclusions at least from my portfolio:
The level earning structure on SS doesn't seem to be so bad, at least if you rise in level fast.
iSTock and SS, the agencies most people seem to hate are not only the ones that earn me the most money, but also the ones where my income improved the most in 21 compared to 20.
- Adobe, which averyone praises so much, is the agenciy with the smalles increade in earnings, even with a decline in earnings compared to 2020 during some months. Me and Adobe will probably never become good friends.
I didn't add the numbers for the small agencies, because it's so much work and also because I only joined most of them this year, so I don't have numbers to compare. On Alamy my earnings seem to be a bit better than in 20. At least they are more frequent, but with the many very low sales and me still waiting for sales from 9 months ago to clear, it's not so easy to get proper numbers. Last year Dreamstime was my best-selling agency of the "small ones", but both sale numbers and earnings are now on the decline, so not much hope for my future there.
... Because that's something I see a lot - people who say they rarely submit new images or don't submit new images at all, but then are frustrated that their income declines. Maybe submitting some images and then just watching them make you money without submiting new content is something that used to work on Shutterstock years ago. I don't know. This is only my 4th year doing microstock. But nowadays, at least from my experinece, you have to keep putting effort into it if you want to see a reward. For me that seems to work.
The biggest negative part of my personal development has shutterstock. Compared to my best year, I have 5,250 fewer downloads there in 2021. Since the RPD there was $0.88 in my best year and now it's 0.61, the financial losses are much higher in percentage terms.
See Wilm, I have always had a bit different approach to this than most people here seem to have. I don't care much about download numbers or RPD. It's a number you use to determine the worth an agency attaches to your photos, but it doesn't really translate well for me in regards of the time/costs - earnings relation and it doesn't pay my bills. You could have a RPD of 10$, but if your shoots are very expensive, because you rent locations and hire models, you could still end up getting less money for your time and costs than someone who just takes photos of his backyard flowers and has an RPD of 0.30$.
What I care about is how much money I get for my work at the end of the month. How much time did I spend to take, keyword and edit the photos? Did I spend time creating props, driving to locations or did I spend money on props for the photos? And these factors are alwys the same on all agencies. I don't soend more time or money on photos I submit to Shutterstock than on Adobe, Alamy or iStock. So why should I care for the RPD? I have a much betrter RPD on Alamy for example than on Shutterstock. What use is the high RPD on Alamy to me? The money I earn from them is pocket money at best. The money I get from Shutterstock pays my rent and has more than doubled within the past year.
And, if I remmeber correctly, you were one of the people who said you hardly submit new content to Shutterstock anymore? Because that's something I see a lot - people who say they rarely submit new images or don't submit new images at all, but then are frustrated that their income declines. Maybe submitting some images and then just watching them make you money without submiting new content is something that used to work on Shutterstock years ago. I don't know. This is only my 4th year doing microstock. But nowadays, at least from my experinece, you have to keep putting effort into it if you want to see a reward. For me that seems to work.
The biggest negative part of my personal development has shutterstock. Compared to my best year, I have 5,250 fewer downloads there in 2021. Since the RPD there was $0.88 in my best year and now it's 0.61, the financial losses are much higher in percentage terms.
See Wilm, I have always had a bit different approach to this than most people here seem to have. I don't care much about download numbers or RPD. It's a number you use to determine the worth an agency attaches to your photos, but it doesn't really translate well for me in regards of the time/costs - earnings relation and it doesn't pay my bills. You could have a RPD of 10$, but if your shoots are very expensive, because you rent locations and hire models, you could still end up getting less money for your time and costs than someone who just takes photos of his backyard flowers and has an RPD of 0.30$.
What I care about is how much money I get for my work at the end of the month. How much time did I spend to take, keyword and edit the photos? Did I spend time creating props, driving to locations or did I spend money on props for the photos? And these factors are alwys the same on all agencies. I don't soend more time or money on photos I submit to Shutterstock than on Adobe, Alamy or iStock. So why should I care for the RPD? I have a much betrter RPD on Alamy for example than on Shutterstock. What use is the high RPD on Alamy to me? The money I earn from them is pocket money at best. The money I get from Shutterstock pays my rent and has more than doubled within the past year.
And, if I remmeber correctly, you were one of the people who said you hardly submit new content to Shutterstock anymore? Because that's something I see a lot - people who say they rarely submit new images or don't submit new images at all, but then are frustrated that their income declines. Maybe submitting some images and then just watching them make you money without submiting new content is something that used to work on Shutterstock years ago. I don't know. This is only my 4th year doing microstock. But nowadays, at least from my experinece, you have to keep putting effort into it if you want to see a reward. For me that seems to work.
Around 2500 images, I think. I don't know the exact number, I don't think there is a way to ckeck on Shutterstock?
But here's a question: How many images have you uploaded to shutterstock this year?
Since everyone's predictions for 22 seem so gloomy, I thought I would share some numbers to give some people hope that maybe not all is lost in microstock. I am sure it's not the "good old days" anymore and rerquired more work these days, but it's not just all going downhills.
I am not one of the "big players" in microstock, I don't make tons of money from it, but it's till a nice amount each month that contributes greatly to covering my living costs, so definitely more than just pocket change.
My conclusions for 2021 and prediction for 22: Not everything is on the decline. If you keep putting effort into microstock, there is still a reward in in, income can still increase. I don't have any plans (mostly for the lack of ideas) to find a different way to sell my photos, but only plan to expand my portfolio and hopefully further increase my earnings.
Also, some conclusions at least from my portfolio:
The level earning structure on SS doesn't seem to be so bad, at least if you rise in level fast.
iSTock and SS, the agencies most people seem to hate are not only the ones that earn me the most money, but also the ones where my income improved the most in 21 compared to 20.
- Adobe, which averyone praises so much, is the agenciy with the smalles increade in earnings, even with a decline in earnings compared to 2020 during some months. Me and Adobe will probably never become good friends.
I didn't add the numbers for the small agencies, because it's so much work and also because I only joined most of them this year, so I don't have numbers to compare. On Alamy my earnings seem to be a bit better than in 20. At least they are more frequent, but with the many very low sales and me still waiting for sales from 9 months ago to clear, it's not so easy to get proper numbers. Last year Dreamstime was my best-selling agency of the "small ones", but both sale numbers and earnings are now on the decline, so not much hope for my future there.
Thanks I enjoyed that. :)
Just for something a little bit different, and we're all different because of what we create and upload, Adobe income passed Shutterstock this year for me. That's a first. Not only because Adobe was best income year ever, but because SS payback is going down every year.... Because that's something I see a lot - people who say they rarely submit new images or don't submit new images at all, but then are frustrated that their income declines. Maybe submitting some images and then just watching them make you money without submiting new content is something that used to work on Shutterstock years ago. I don't know. This is only my 4th year doing microstock. But nowadays, at least from my experinece, you have to keep putting effort into it if you want to see a reward. For me that seems to work.
One of my favorites, and it isn't just one person, things like "I removed my best images and I stopped uploading to SS, now my sales are terrible." Yeah, what did they expect? ::) Or the one who deleted his portfolio then re-uploaded, then deleted and re-uploaded, plus only uploads new files after they have been on other sites for a month. And he wonders why the images aren't selling or don't have the rank they used to? :o
I was waiting to say what I think for 2022, but it's almost tomorrow, close enough. I expect things to keep getting worse, and keep changing, as the agencies find any way they can to pay us less for our work. The only way to earn more is, upload more new files, of what's trending and needed. More of the same old stuff is the SOS, Same Old S#it and won't make more money.
That's my prediction. The ship has sailed, the train left the station and there's no way Microstock is going to make a stunning comeback, no new plan, or agency is coming to take us to the next level UP!. There is no new Next Big Thing. Just work smart and earn.
But here's a question: How many images have you uploaded to shutterstock this year?
Since everyone's predictions for 22 seem so gloomy, I thought I would share some numbers to give some people hope that maybe not all is lost in microstock. I am sure it's not the "good old days" anymore and rerquired more work these days, but it's not just all going downhills.
I am not one of the "big players" in microstock, I don't make tons of money from it, but it's till a nice amount each month that contributes greatly to covering my living costs, so definitely more than just pocket change.
Shutterstock earnings
January 20->21: +131%
February 20->21: +214%
March 20->21: +151%
April 20->21: +74%
May 20->21: +132%
June 20->21: +140%
July 20->21: +148%
August 20->21: +123%
September 20->21: +45%
October 20->21: +98%
November 20->21: +23%
December 20->21: +11%
iStock earnings
January 20->21: +76%
February 20->21: +117%
March 20->21: +130%
April 20->21: +62%
May 20->21: +158%
June 20->21: +50%
July 20->21: +79%
August 20->21: +131%
September 20->21: +33%
October 20->21: +79%
November 20->21: +170%
Adobe earnings
January 20->21: +41%
February 20->21: +50%
March 20->21: +56%
April 20->21: -11%
May 20->21: -12%
June 20->21: -45%
July 20->21: +99%
August 20->21: +131%
September 20->21: +35%
October 20->21: +53%
November 20->21: +37%
December 20->21: +50%
My conclusions for 2021 and prediction for 22: Not everything is on the decline. If you keep putting effort into microstock, there is still a reward in in, income can still increase. I don't have any plans (mostly for the lack of ideas) to find a different way to sell my photos, but only plan to expand my portfolio and hopefully further increase my earnings.
Also, some conclusions at least from my portfolio:
The level earning structure on SS doesn't seem to be so bad, at least if you rise in level fast.
iSTock and SS, the agencies most people seem to hate are not only the ones that earn me the most money, but also the ones where my income improved the most in 21 compared to 20.
- Adobe, which averyone praises so much, is the agenciy with the smalles increade in earnings, even with a decline in earnings compared to 2020 during some months. Me and Adobe will probably never become good friends.
I didn't add the numbers for the small agencies, because it's so much work and also because I only joined most of them this year, so I don't have numbers to compare. On Alamy my earnings seem to be a bit better than in 20. At least they are more frequent, but with the many very low sales and me still waiting for sales from 9 months ago to clear, it's not so easy to get proper numbers. Last year Dreamstime was my best-selling agency of the "small ones", but both sale numbers and earnings are now on the decline, so not much hope for my future there.
How do you justify and find the motivation to even try going forward even without hiring models but just filming or photographing anything in your city?, for 10 cents and now 1 to 7 cents at Alamy it's barely a hobby or small side income for those who are retired.
But here's a question: How many images have you uploaded to shutterstock this year?
I think I see where you are going with that Wilm, and if I'm right it highlights what to me is probably the most profound change in microstock over the years. A trend which I'm afraid will continue well past 2022.
Earnings growth at one time much was more in line with portfolio growth. It was never a direct correlation obviously, but it was as I say, more predictable. I remember when feeding the beast used to be the mantra, and for a while it seemed to work. Now not so much.
How do you justify and find the motivation to even try going forward even without hiring models but just filming or photographing anything in your city?, for 10 cents and now 1 to 7 cents at Alamy it's barely a hobby or small side income for those who are retired.
Even though the qustion wasn't directed at me, I'd still like to throw in my answer. 10 cents or 1-7 cents aren't motivating me to go forward. But the four-digit number I earn with microstock each month is. If you want to keep being motivated, it's better to pay less attention to earnings of single sales or RPD and look at the money you earn within a month. Because these 0.10$ sales are very dicouraging for sure. I have images that I put lots of work in or had costs for props that so far haven't managed to earn me back the time and money spent. Maybe they never will. That's frustrating, but I try not to dwell on that too much, because I also had images that cost me literally nothing, didn't take much more than 5 minutes to shoot/edit/keyword and earned me like 100$ within a year and 100$ for 5 minutes of work doesn't seem so bad? And in the end, at least for me, the images that underperform and the images that perform better than expected (and the imags that perform as expected) all even out each other.
Before Alamy introduced the very low sales and before Shutterstock had the commission cut iStock was the only agency that had these very frustrating sales of 0.2$ and quite a lot oif it. At the beginning I would look at my monthly report and it would really frustrate me, because I thought "I'd rather not sell my images at all than sell them for 2cents!". But somehow, no matter how frustrating the single numbers looked, it all added up to a nice sum in the end.
Of course even the overall earnings each month probably aren't much of a motivation if they are very low. But it is still possible to make decent money with microstock and still possible to increase your earnings.
But here's a question: How many images have you uploaded to shutterstock this year?
I think I see where you are going with that Wilm, and if I'm right it highlights what to me is probably the most profound change in microstock over the years. A trend which I'm afraid will continue well past 2022.
Earnings growth at one time much was more in line with portfolio growth. It was never a direct correlation obviously, but it was as I say, more predictable. I remember when feeding the beast used to be the mantra, and for a while it seemed to work. Now not so much.
If I take my numbers it's like this:
I have 8900 images in my port right now. I added around 2500 in 2021. That's an 28%increase. But my earnings increased by 107% on Shutterstock from 2020 to 2021.
Lower and lower rates because we do nothing about it, people still contribute regardless so the agencies do whatever they want.
agree completely that actual income is the prime determinant. RPD is useful when combined with income, but esp'ly helpful in dispelling all the hand-wringing about how 10c sales are killing us
See Wilm, I have always had a bit different approach to this than most people here seem to have. I don't care much about download numbers or RPD. It's a number you use to determine the worth an agency attaches to your photos, but it doesn't really translate well for me in regards of the time/costs - earnings relation and it doesn't pay my bills. ....
What I care about is how much money I get for my work at the end of the month. ....
Around 2500 images, I think. I don't know the exact number, I don't think there is a way to ckeck on Shutterstock?
But so far I pretty much submitted a very similar amount of photos each month. I like sticking to fixed schedules.
there you go again, pushing the 10c red herring when so many here have shown that RPD hasn't been affected by the new levels. and income across all agencies seems to show same year to year reductions that are more likely to be due to outside events like covid, recession, etc. which directly affect the main byers of stock
...
How do you justify and find the motivation to even try going forward even without hiring models but just filming or photographing anything in your city?, for 10 cents and now 1 to 7 cents at Alamy it's barely a hobby or small side income for those who are retired.
...
Lower and lower rates because we do nothing about it, people still contribute regardless so the agencies do whatever they want.
Around 2500 images, I think. I don't know the exact number, I don't think there is a way to ckeck on Shutterstock?
But so far I pretty much submitted a very similar amount of photos each month. I like sticking to fixed schedules.
i had about 1500 accepted this year (i dont track total submitted as it's not useful info for me)
Lower and lower rates because we do nothing about it, people still contribute regardless so the agencies do whatever they want.
despite actual evidence posted here that RPD haven't declined!! where your evidence (rather than continuous whinging & blaming the agencies for everything)
Lower and lower rates because we do nothing about it, people still contribute regardless so the agencies do whatever they want.
despite actual evidence posted here that RPD haven't declined!! where your evidence (rather than continuous whinging & blaming the agencies for everything)
In the last 12 months 80% down in earnings and RPD down, continuous whinging about the same.
Average RPD in free-fall is my prediction for the next few years... (up to 2021 are my actuals).
With yearly inflation in Europe / North America projected at 5-7% for the foreseeable future, the fall in our earnings will be even steeper.
...
In the physical world here even the second hand stores don't give product away for free.
...
In the physical world here even the second hand stores don't give product away for free.
sure they do - give away razors & profit from razor blades, give away printers & sell ink, give away iphones & sell mobile services not to mention businesses w (almost) free services who make money from ads
Microstock will just get worse over the short term, commission rates will continue to be cut, maybe even stopped or put ‘on hold’ as many of the sites will call it.Agree completely. Some of us actualy trained in this industry (or a related one) I trained in Graphic design back in the 1980s before everything went digital but when the internet got popular in the 2000s it became too difficult to earn a living at with websites like Fiver etc. I had to do another job but the horrible & rich new owners of the firm I worked for replaced my job & others with a machine. I then started photographing & selling things on Ebay, Amazon etc. but even that's declined in the last few years. It's much worse for me than most others because I have nystagmus in my eyes (limited eyesight) which naturaly limits the kind of work that I can do. (can't be a truck driver or plummer for instanse)
Shutterstock have shown the way on this with their January restart every year, I believe the overall outlook is very grim.
On the upside, in the long run, I believe that many countries, probably starting in Europe will look to bring in legislation to fairly compensate contributors, perhaps with a law that makes these companies responsible to all stake holders on a equal basis, when a company is sold, takes on debt, commission rates or terms and condition changes, basically all contributors having a equal vote at the shareholders annual meeting.
Perhaps they will bring in laws that state contributors/creatives are the ones who decide how much their work is charged out at, along with the commission rates.
As for the sites manipulating the search engines to favour the highest return for their ‘shareholders’ this will also be outlawed.
As in the music industry, new technology has been used to scam artists in our sector of the creative arts, initially drawing in the talent and then after suckering them in, ripping them off.
The law and basic human rites are always slow to catch up with the 19th century mill owners, but it will come.
Or perhaps the advent of new technology will supersede microstock as we know it, like a search engine that seeks out individual websites of artist, photographers as a listing site, creating a market of independent online shops, which to a certain degree has been happening, maybe this will supersede microstock sites as we know them.
The other point I would make is, companies like Adobe have a vested interest in higher commission rates for us, as we buy their software, lets hope they hold their nerve, as many contributors (myself included) will only be uploading fresh content to them alone, ignoring SS/Getty and the other low hanging fruit, maybe 2022 could be a breakthrough year for Adobe.
I would suggest that if Adobe offered an exclusive contract, this could be a knock out blow for the likes of Getty and Shutterstock.
Personally, and I'm sure most people would like to see this, is Getty going bust and then wound down, with all the constituent parts sold off individually.
I also believe that there should be legislation on separating historic or commisioned photographs, art/illustation libraries from individual contributors portfolios on Microstock sites, companies should only be allowed to sell one or the other, or they should have the two types of content on totally separate sites.
Overall the outlook in the long term is better than in the short term.
Average RPD in free-fall is my prediction for the next few years... (up to 2021 are my actuals).
With yearly inflation in Europe / North America projected at 5-7% for the foreseeable future, the fall in our earnings will be even steeper.
Thinking that the recession/covid has accelerated the end of this business as a way to make a living, these agencies are all startups who owe millions on VC investors usually at 30% terms, or in the case of SSTK they have shareholders, they all have massive overhead, office space, staff, data storage and transfer costs and now the economy in the worst shape since the depression.
Now the agencies are being squeezed and they are ramping up their deals with god knows who and we're getting pennies, one only has to look at the Alamy 7 cents thread, it's a deal with some company in China.
So business is down, advertising is down worldwide since covid hit and now the recession and that affects editorial producers like me as the media and production companies have lost most of their advertising and also affects demand for commercial content but the agencies still have their obligations to investors and shareholders so I guess we are the first to get squeezed out, then maybe they will start downsizing their massive office footprint, might be some mergers etc.
There is still millions being made in stock otherwise the agencies would be all closing, they are still making a ton of money on these wholesale content deals but maybe less millions than before.
The worst part is they couldn't run a lemonade stand on a hot summer day and make a profit with their obsession to race to the bottom and "free free free" which has me thinking they want to report a loss for tax purposes.
Some of the agencies are fronting the free sites......there's money in free and my best guess is it comes in the form of a tax write off or even tax credits.
In the physical world here even the second hand stores don't give product away for free.