Quote from: photominer on June 18, 2015, 15:22

Quote from: tickstock on June 18, 2015, 15:12

I'm surprised you can disagree with what I'm saying.  I'm saying there will be some buyers who choose to go to Adobe Stock, that doesn't seem very controversial, look at the stock price it didn't get hammered when this was first announced and when it was implemented because investors are worried Adobe Stock will get only brand new customers.  I'm saying those buyers that do move will earn you less money for like sales (subs, on demand, single sales), that's a fact, you can look it up and compare for yourself.  What I think we can disagree on is how many customers will be brought into Adobe Stock that would not have been customers at other sites, that is a much harder thing to predict.  I think it will be a low number, much much lower than the amount converted from other sites and specifically SS but again we can disagree about that point.  Time will tell.  About the ratio of packages I would expect buyers that move from SS to Adobe to buy those packages in the same ratio they would when they were at SS, why not?  And each of those packages will pay the vast majority of contributors less than they would have had.

I think this is correct in the main. I just disagree that the impact will be more at SS than istock. Why quit a stock leader when you can dump the site(s) that treat both customers and contributors the worst. I suspect that if AS takes off, it will be the finally nail in the coffin (or stake through the heart) of what was once a great company. But yes, time will tell.

iStock may lose Essentials subscription packages but SS could lose all their subs packages.  Adobe has the same content as SS, Adobe is more convenient than SS since a subs buyer most likely already has photoshop and uses it regularly, the price is exactly the same as SS.  I think having different content and cheaper pricing at iStock probably will result a smaller percentage loss of subscription packages, what does SS offer that Adobe doesn't have?  That's going to be a tough question for them to answer.  Inertia should keep them steady for a while but how will they keep customers when it's time to renew?

SS has shown itself to be more agile than iS over the past few years, so I'm sure we shall see.
I'm curious as to why Adobe chose Fotolia to partner with, but I guess we'll never know.

I didnt even make a tenner today, with 2900 photos.

Quote from: ShadySue on June 18, 2015, 16:42

I'm curious as to why Adobe chose Fotolia to partner with, but I guess we'll never know.

That one is easy, fotolia and adobe have been working together very closely for many years. There have been many photoshop workshops, presentations, tutorials for adobe products together with fotolia. At least here in Germany, probably the rest of europe as well. So the close relationship has been visible for the artists here like forever.

I am more surprised it took them so long...

Keep in mind, that fotolia was and maybe still is, the dominant microstock agency in europe.

Oh, right, thanks. I had no idea about the collaboration.

Adobe bought Fotolia so its not really a "partnership"

SAN JOSE, Calif. � Jan. 28, 2015 � Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) has completed its acquisition of privately held Fotolia, a leading marketplace for stock content. Adobe announced its intent to purchase Fotolia in December 2014 and the acquisition cements Creative Cloud�s role as a vibrant market for creatives to buy and sell assets and services as well as showcase their talent to a worldwide audience. Work will now begin on integrating Fotolia into Adobe Creative Cloud. This will provide current and future Creative Cloud members with the ability to access and purchase over 35 million images and videos, significantly simplifying and accelerating the design process. Adobe also plans to continue to operate Fotolia as a standalone stock service, accessible to anyone.

Some optimism sure would be nice in face of all this doom and gloom, it's just non-stop bad news since about mid-April.

It's been a terrible slow week on my end, clip views ok but sales? I do this full time now after working in TV news, 24,000 clips and my income this week?, this is before taxes, gas, expenses while shooting new content? $100.44, after expenses I paid to come to work.

Oh wait! this thread is about optimism

M
http://www.pond5.com/artist/WeatherENG

This move by Adobe is brilliant but very bad news for the future of stock photography and it's suppliers.

Are you sure the glasses you are wearing are not coal black

At this point, it's about finding and pursuing niches that will only continue to shrink and vanish - for payments that are already ridiculously low, and will never increase.   Draw your own conclusions, but I think that unless you have a specialty you know how to exploit, there's no longer any point in doing microstock.

Yes, there's always a new or better way to shoot a subject, with a different creative spin.  But without any sort of 'curation' by the agency, new and better work doesn't go to the top of the search.   And at 35 cents per licensed use, it's pretty hard to get motivated.

I think a lot of us are just waiting for one of the big agencies to say "this isn't working any longer and we need to change".   I have no idea where it would go after that.

I'm pretty sure the prices will never increase unless 99% of the photos out there disappear from existence. It's not just Microstock, it's every industry. Look at the app market...people are so used to getting things for free that very few people are willing to pay for apps. In App Purchases has fallen 30% from March to June across the board. That's an even grimmer market.

Microstock is still above that and still a better market. I think at this point, it's more useful to find a niche than to shoot at everything with the 10,000th strawberry photo. SS is trying their hand at curation with OffSet, but it's impossible to get in without some reputation. For all we know OffSet could be doing poorly right now. I'm targeting niche markets and it's working out well for me. Take for instance, I recently upload a few images related to a government mandate and I've been getting a download almost every day.

To do just one thing is not going to make a big impact right now. Microstock photography is probably the most competitive field in the world...everyone has a camera. That's why I'm also doing vector art. Also started just testing out video so I can target a broader audience.

I just joined this site and all I see is doom and gloom. I'm a newbie photographer/vector artist and I think selling microstock is a great source of passive income. I would never do it full-time, but as a part time thing, it's pretty great....

Unfortunately, it is easier to destroy (complain) than it is to build (inspire). I too strive for optimism. My family depends on me for income. MS is becoming a bigger slice of that income. So I must be optimistic and open to opportunity or we'll lose our house and starve.

Peace.