Author Topic: EyeEm - More than a warning! (Read 13878 times)

fotorob · « **on:** April 04, 2023, 08:50 »

As many of you have already noticed, does EyeEm not pay royalties to contributors anymore since October 2022 and there are currently no new sales reports coming in.

So I went directly to the EyeEm Mobile GmbH headoffice in Berlin (Lobeckstr. 30-35) and all I found there was a dirty full mailbox that looked like it has not been emptied for many weeks.

You can see a screenshot here on my Facebook post (https://www.facebook.com/fotoproduzent/posts/pfbid02sw3Pr8fTWUCEJQZF4jFKsALEdWAQC33twED1rrtUZzQdpGFdcZAWJHsH7WQsdjQVl) and you can also find more information about the topic in my (German language) blog post here:
https://www.alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de/2023/03/09/warnung-bildagentur-eyeem-zahlt-seit-monaten-keine-fotografenhonorare-mehr-aus/

Update 4.4.2023:
EyeEm officially filed today for insolvency!
(see full details here: https://neu.insolvenzbekanntmachungen.de/ap/text.xhtml?x=0.9019304020477832)

Mimi the Cat · « **Reply #1 on:** April 04, 2023, 09:14 »

If you ever needed proof these so-called agencies are as Obi-Wan would say

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious"

cobalt · « **Reply #2 on:** April 04, 2023, 09:32 »

Quote from: Mimi the Cat on April 04, 2023, 09:14

If you ever needed proof these so-called agencies are as Obi-Wan would say

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious"

I disagree, eyeem is the first case where I am losing money and I have been doing this since 18 years.

Compared to all the other industries I have worked in, the image agencies, inspite of any f**** ups are very reliably paying business partners.

Eyeem is a real disaster, but maybe they get sold.

Thank you for all the info Robert.

lenev · « **Reply #3 on:** April 04, 2023, 10:03 »

Quote from: cobalt on April 04, 2023, 09:32

I disagree, eyeem is the first case where I am losing money and I have been doing this since 18 years.

PhotoSpin stole about 1.5 years of my income when it suddenly closed, glad i did not registered on EyeEm last year.

cobalt · « **Reply #4 on:** April 04, 2023, 10:22 »

You missed ten years of great earnings.

Not saying it cannot happen, but compared to everything else I did, stock agencies are really reliable with payments.

Eyeem officially declared bankrupcy today.

https://www.facebook.com/fotoproduzent/posts/pfbid02sw3Pr8fTWUCEJQZF4jFKsALEdWAQC33twED1rrtUZzQdpGFdcZAWJHsH7WQsdjQVl

It is German, by our friend Robert.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2023, 11:30 »

Quote from: lenev on April 04, 2023, 10:03

Quote from: cobalt on April 04, 2023, 09:32
I disagree, eyeem is the first case where I am losing money and I have been doing this since 18 years.

PhotoSpin stole about 1.5 years of my income when it suddenly closed, glad i did not registered on EyeEm last year.

GL Stock disappeared, owing people money. Lucky Oliver shut down without paying. Since I didn't participate in the parasite agencies after about 2010 or 2011, I don't know what the rest did to people.

Yes to Cobalt, most of the history, the larger agencies have been responsible and have paid. There's a level of trust necessary for us, to believe that these places are reporting everything, and paying us what we have earned. The bottom feeders and fly by night, I don't know and I won't feed them just to find out.

Quote from: cobalt on April 04, 2023, 09:32

Eyeem is a real disaster, but maybe they get sold.

If someone buys the company, they inherit the liability and debts. I'm of the opinion that someone will not be willing to buy a company that's deep in debt and losing money. On the other hand, if they re-organize, artists should still get paid something. And same if someone new buys the business. There are possible ways that you will get paid some or all of your money.

Thanks for the links, I did translate on them, but it's a maze.

cobalt · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2023, 14:32 »

The bankrupcy lawyers can sell just the business, not eyeem itself. The money they get from the sale goes into the pool to help pay out at least part of the eyeem debts.

They can sell any assets, and supplier contracts and customer contracts are assets that can be sold and transferred.

That is the whole point of the bankrupcy process.

Now there is someone new in charge and they can look at it all and see what they can do.

They might talk to a few eyeem partners or competitors and say…give us money X..and we will give you all customer contracts and image database etc…

I have no idea how this affects our contract with eyeem. I doubt the new partner would automatically take over any liabilities or even our royalty contract with eyeem.

Not a lawyer, not legal advice…bla..bla…just personal opinion from past life experiences…

But they might also do absolutely nothing and it all gets dragged out forever.

Eta:

All agencies list our files as „assets“ in their accounting.

And customer accounts are also assetts.

But how many direct customers did eyeem have? Is that worth anything? or did most of their money come from partners?

Roscoe · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2023, 15:23 »

Thanks for the info, and taking the effort to actually go there and see what's going on.
Now we know for sure.

I'm still puzzled about what really happened.
EyeEm was sold last year to Talenthouse, which is also financially struggling and also not paying their contributors.

EyeEm was on the verge of going bankrupt already a year ago and Talenthouse was their last resort?
Or, Talenthouse bought a pretty decent company and sucked it out only to make their own balance look less worse.

Not that it matters that much, but it all sounds a bit fishy and crooked.

I also wonder what will happen with the partner collection.
Getty's EyeEm collection is still online, and still generating sales I assume: https://www.gettyimages.be/fotos/eyeem-collection

EDIT: just read the same question on Robert's blog.
Full EyeEm collection on Getty: https://www.gettyimages.be/fotos/eyeem

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #8 on:** April 04, 2023, 15:45 »

General unsecured claims are generally dischargeable, meaning any amount that is not paid through the bankruptcy proceeding is erased and the debtor is no longer liable on the debt. So I suppose if a company goes bankrupt and out of business, the artists will get a small percentage or nothing, being the lowest on the list of creditors.

When selling a company, usually:
Buyer will assume the business debt’
Seller will pay the debt prior to the closing of the sale;
Seller will negotiate with the lender to reduce the debt prior to selling the business;
Debts will be deducted from the proceeds of the sale of the business.

Debt is a liability, not an asset the way I see it? And commissions owed are way down the list, maybe last, of all debt.

DiscreetDuck · « **Reply #9 on:** April 05, 2023, 10:39 »

[email protected] -> Message returned to sender: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist
[email protected] -> Message returned to sender: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist

I asked payment early january, never received...

rushay · « **Reply #10 on:** April 05, 2023, 11:18 »

You most likely won't see any of the money

Quote from: DiscreetDuck on April 05, 2023, 10:39

[email protected] -> Message returned to sender: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist
[email protected] -> Message returned to sender: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist

I asked payment early january, never received...

GintsIvuskans · « **Reply #11 on:** April 06, 2023, 06:18 »

Hello!

I've been waiting for my EyeEm account delete since February, without result.
Any similar situations? I believe, quite a lot?

Do You have any idea , how to fight against it and what about delete from Getty?
I would like to upload the same photos to Istock, but not sure if they will accept? ( I started to upload on Istock, just this year)

Have a good day,

Gints

DiscreetDuck · « **Reply #12 on:** April 06, 2023, 06:21 »

"Deutsche Qualität"...

stoker2014 · « **Reply #13 on:** April 06, 2023, 08:42 »

Quote from: DiscreetDuck on April 06, 2023, 06:21

"Deutsche Qualität"...

das ist fantastisch

hansenn · « **Reply #14 on:** April 07, 2023, 07:48 »

hmmmm, they owe me $0,66 $:-\$
never been a big earner for me.

Brasilnut · « **Reply #15 on:** April 07, 2023, 10:02 »

You guys also getting this? Turds won't let me delete my Partner images or whole account.

rushay · « **Reply #16 on:** April 07, 2023, 10:13 »

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 07, 2023, 10:02

You guys also getting this? Turds won't let me delete my Partner images or whole account.

Click on the three buttons and it will allow you to delete the image.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Brasilnut · « **Reply #17 on:** April 07, 2023, 11:40 »

They're also censuring their social media feeds

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #18 on:** April 07, 2023, 11:45 »

Quote from: rushay on April 07, 2023, 10:13

Quote from: Brasilnut on April 07, 2023, 10:02
You guys also getting this? Turds won't let me delete my Partner images or whole account.
Click on the three buttons and it will allow you to delete the image.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Three Buttons? Meatballs or a Kabob?

I never heard of a Doner before I found this.

Peruphotoart · « **Reply #19 on:** April 17, 2023, 11:17 »

The question is how to delete the account with your Eyem and Getty photos, what is the most important thing?

fotorob · « **Reply #20 on:** April 25, 2023, 02:11 »

UPDATE:

I just got a short, though somewhat insatisfying, answer from the insolvency lawyer working on the EyeEm insolvency:
https://www.alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de/2023/04/25/erste-stellungnahme-zur-eyeem-insolvenz-vom-insolvenzverwalter/
(in German, you can use Google Translate)

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #21 on:** April 25, 2023, 12:11 »

Quote from: fotorob on April 25, 2023, 02:11

UPDATE:

I just got a short, though somewhat insatisfying, answer from the insolvency lawyer working on the EyeEm insolvency:
https://www.alltageinesfotoproduzenten.de/2023/04/25/erste-stellungnahme-zur-eyeem-insolvenz-vom-insolvenzverwalter/
(in German, you can use Google Translate)

I will volunteer to make it easier for people to see the reply. Or better put, the non-reply.

"We therefore ask for your understanding that we cannot yet answer detailed questions from Robert Kneschke."

BunnCat · « **Reply #22 on:** May 02, 2023, 20:53 »

I just noticed that my EyeEm partner photos on Getty are starting to be removed. I had not requested this so presume it's the result of Getty terminating their contract with EyeEm.

Update.... 24 hours later, all of my EyeEm Partner photos on Getty are now gone.

cobalt · « **Reply #23 on:** May 05, 2023, 05:16 »

Looks like eyeem files also disappeared from other partners like Adobe.

hstiver · « **Reply #24 on:** May 26, 2023, 16:09 »

I emailed them to close my account months ago. I subsequently found that I am unable to login now as "there is no account attached to that email".

However all my files are still on the site and they are for sale. I have sent emails to them about this but no reply.

Any suggestions on how to "encourage" them to delete my files?

Roscoe · « **Reply #25 on:** May 27, 2023, 02:05 »

Quote from: hstiver on May 26, 2023, 16:09

I emailed them to close my account months ago. I subsequently found that I am unable to login now as "there is no account attached to that email".

However all my files are still on the site and they are for sale. I have sent emails to them about this but no reply.

Any suggestions on how to "encourage" them to delete my files?

That's a lost cause I guess. There's no staff left, EyeEm is shut down.
Partner sites are also removing the EyeEm collections (if they already didn't do that).

AMVN · « **Reply #26 on:** June 12, 2023, 06:28 »

But Westend61 still uses images from EyEem and earns some money

BTW, "Talenthouse has reached an agreement with an investor under which he will invest in shares of
the Company in the realm of an upcoming capital increase. The agreement also includes an
urgently needed provision of short-term liquidity to the Company."

AnneVictoire · « **Reply #27 on:** September 02, 2023, 07:37 »

I have been receiving Your Photography Is In Demand! Confirm Market Details to Start Selling messages from EyeEm in the past two days, with photos attached. Wondering if they are going back in business or some of their partners want to use my photos, without paying for them. Have any of you received similar messages?

AMVN · « **Reply #28 on:** September 19, 2023, 18:25 »

Hmm, interesting. I received messages like this when they added images to the market. Maybe this automated message.
As I replied before, my images are still on Westend 61 and on sale (this agency use my images for almost one year for free ).

DiscreetDuck · « **Reply #29 on:** October 12, 2023, 06:03 »

Quote from: rushay on April 05, 2023, 11:18

You most likely won't see any of the money

Quote from: DiscreetDuck on April 05, 2023, 10:39
[email protected] -> Message returned to sender: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist
[email protected] -> Message returned to sender: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist

I asked payment early january, never received...

I was paid today, 10 months after request

dbvirago · « **Reply #30 on:** October 16, 2023, 12:03 »

Got this from them last week. Requested payment and got it a couple of days later, so looks like they are back. I forgot how much fun it was to get emails for $.08 sales all day.

RalfLiebhold · « **Reply #31 on:** October 17, 2023, 02:37 »

I had cancelled my Eyeem account years ago because of the outrageously low payment for Adobe sales.
The cancellation was confirmed to me in writing, the amount was paid out and then I could no longer log in. Topic done.

Today I receive an email about a 25 cent sale via Adobe.

Suddenly I can log in again and my portfolio is completely online again

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #32 on:** October 17, 2023, 11:30 »

I left EyeEm in January 2021 but thought I'd check to see if my portfolio was still deleted after I read your post - and it is. It was $0.21 royalties from the Getty collection that made me leave.

My portfolio URL doesn't exist (404 error) and my old account login doesn't work. I did a couple of searches for photos that I have sales records for to be sure they weren't online, and there's nothing.

I don't know when you deleted your account, but if the difference isn't based on exit date, I wonder what it is?

RalfLiebhold · « **Reply #33 on:** October 17, 2023, 11:44 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on October 17, 2023, 11:30

I left EyeEm in January 2021 but thought I'd check to see if my portfolio was still deleted after I read your post - and it is. It was $0.21 royalties from the Getty collection that made me leave.

My portfolio URL doesn't exist (404 error) and my old account login doesn't work. I did a couple of searches for photos that I have sales records for to be sure they weren't online, and there's nothing.

I don't know when you deleted your account, but if the difference isn't based on exit date, I wonder what it is?

It was 2-3 years ago (in any case long before the insolvency), unfortunately I no longer have the correspondence. I finally received a mail informing me that my pictures are now also deleted from the partner agencies.

Today I received a rather general mail on my request, whether despite "the excting news" I would like still delete my account. On my deletion so far years ago one did not come at all.

ole999 · « **Reply #34 on:** October 17, 2023, 14:12 »

Today I received a rather general mail on my request, whether despite "the excting news" I would like still delete my account. On my deletion so far one did not come at all.
[/quote]

I also received 'exiting news' from EyeEm: 'You sold this photo on Getty Images via EyeEm Market for $0.04 USD'.

Roscoe · « **Reply #35 on:** February 01, 2024, 02:19 »

Just wondering: anyone who stayed got any sales since the acquisition by Freepik?

They paid out remaining balances after bankruptcy, and from what I read the EyeEm portfolio's would be included in the paid section of Freepik, but I didn't get any sales reported.
I uploaded a few shots to see whether they would still be moderated, and got accepted for partner collection. Not sure what it means, because from what I understood partner collections were deleted.

So things seem to be operational there at EyeEm, but no sales, or worse, no reporting.

amabu · « **Reply #36 on:** February 01, 2024, 04:29 »

I recommend this facebook group to keep updated: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EyeEmMarket

Quote

Please expect first Freepik sales notifications in Q2 of this year.

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