Author Topic: Microstock is DEAD ? (Read 7835 times)

macrosaur · « **on:** September 09, 2010, 00:28 »

The end of microstock ?

You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Now feel free to move your portfolios on SS, FT, and DT, wait a few months and see them screwing
you up even more after january with the excuse of bad economy downturn and yadda yadda... (FT did it already
in the past).

What options do you have after all ?
Macrostock ? Forget it, it's in deep sh-it exactly because of you microstockers accepting getting paid a pittance.

You created a monster, and now you pay the consequences on your skin.
There's justice in this world after all.

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #1 on:** September 09, 2010, 01:35 »

>The end of microstock ?

No

>You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Yes

>Now feel free to move your portfolios on SS, FT, and DT, wait a few months and see them screwing
>you up even more after january with the excuse of bad economy downturn and yadda yadda... (FT did it already
>in the past).

Should this happen, yes, microstock will be dead - but for now your prophecy is incomplete.
SS, FT and DT may well react positively to what happened right now and reinforce their position instead of screwing us. Yes, FT did it already recently, but it wasn't as bad.
Then, of course they may decide to screw us in the future, but not necessarily: not everyone is looking at profit at the same way. While managers at the company that screwed us yesterday are probably looking for an immediate % increase at our cost, others may look for a sustainable future for their company. Everybody's acting in their own interest of course, but consequences for us are different.

>What options do you have after all ?
>Macrostock ? Forget it, it's in deep sh-it exactly because of you microstockers accepting getting paid a pittance.

No future apparently; but since people will always need fresh pictures, something will replace microstock in case of death; and I don't think it's free, because free is fun for a while but can't last

>You created a monster, and now you pay the consequences on your skin.
>There's justice in this world after all.

We didn't create a monster; low cost of technology and the internet created it
By the way, before being screwed by this virtual monster, I was being screwed in other industries by real people in a physical office. At least now I am free (to be screwed

)

macrosaur · « **Reply #2 on:** September 09, 2010, 03:08 »

Quote from: microstockphoto.co.uk on September 09, 2010, 01:35

>You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Yes

good !
it's a good start !

for anything else, i'm curious to see how the new "midstock" in istock will perform, because it could be very well
become an interesting market, crushing the cheap microstocks at the same time and raising prices for all including
RM ... we'll see ... we'll see .... give 'em 6 months.

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #3 on:** September 09, 2010, 03:53 »

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 03:08

Quote from: microstockphoto.co.uk on September 09, 2010, 01:35

>You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Yes

good !
it's a good start !

Yes, but don't take it as a final victory: I still hope you will be proven wrong in your FUTURE prophecies regarding microstock

(Nothing against midstock, I am glad if it will work - but why should it crush the cheap microstocks?)

sharpshot · « **Reply #4 on:** September 09, 2010, 05:52 »

Istock seem to be doing what Getty have been doing for years. What's this got to do with microstock? It's a problem for all the stock industry.

macrosaur · « **Reply #5 on:** September 09, 2010, 06:52 »

the worst is still to come :

getty pays 20%, and now istock is getty owned, therefore the obvious conclusion will be that anyone including the top sellers will get 20% on istock before or later.

i think they'll announce it in january, wait and see !

sharpshot · « **Reply #6 on:** September 09, 2010, 07:00 »

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 06:52

the worst is still to come :

getty pays 20%, and now istock is getty owned, therefore the obvious conclusion will be that anyone including the top sellers will get 20% on istock before or later.

i think they'll announce it in january, wait and see !

But istock have exclusive contributors. They wouldn't accept 20%, look at what is happening now. I don't think they are that stupid but they have proved me wrong in the past.

macrosaur · « **Reply #7 on:** September 09, 2010, 07:52 »

Quote from: sharpshot on September 09, 2010, 07:00

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 06:52
the worst is still to come :

getty pays 20%, and now istock is getty owned, therefore the obvious conclusion will be that anyone including the top sellers will get 20% on istock before or later.

i think they'll announce it in january, wait and see !
But istock have exclusive contributors. They wouldn't accept 20%, look at what is happening now. I don't think they are that stupid but they have proved me wrong in the past.

exactly because they're exclusives they're "locked in" or better "screwed in".

only 10% of the exclusives wrote in the forum, the remaining 90% doesn't give a crap apparently
and will eat the soon-to-come 20% royalty without making any fuss, after all they chose to
be exclusive to put their eggs in just one basket isnt it ?

leaving istock would take months and months of re-uploading somewhere else,
and months again to stabilize their biz in their new agencies, that means only 3 options
by the way : FT, DT, and SS, and they'll be at their mercy anyways so is the migration
really worth the hassle ? i don't think so and so will think most of the exclusives, wait and see
by yourself !

macrosaur · « **Reply #8 on:** September 09, 2010, 07:53 »

Quote from: sharpshot on September 09, 2010, 07:00

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 06:52
the worst is still to come :

getty pays 20%, and now istock is getty owned, therefore the obvious conclusion will be that anyone including the top sellers will get 20% on istock before or later.

i think they'll announce it in january, wait and see !
But istock have exclusive contributors. They wouldn't accept 20%, look at what is happening now. I don't think they are that stupid but they have proved me wrong in the past.

people would migrate in droves only if getty disclosed their REAL plan : 20% for ALL exclusives, no matter if gold or uranium.

they're doing it step by step instead, in order to game the gullibles.

jbarber873 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 09, 2010, 08:13 »

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 00:28

The end of microstock ?

You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Now feel free to move your portfolios on SS, FT, and DT, wait a few months and see them screwing
you up even more after january with the excuse of bad economy downturn and yadda yadda... (FT did it already
in the past).

What options do you have after all ?
Macrostock ? Forget it, it's in deep sh-it exactly because of you microstockers accepting getting paid a pittance.

You created a monster, and now you pay the consequences on your skin.
There's justice in this world after all.

Digital cameras, photoshop and the internet killed macrostock. When film had to be processed, and every image cost money to produce, macrostock could work. When the photographer had to get everything perfect before clicking the shutter, the skill of the photographer commanded a good fee. When communication was by printed material, printers had a lock on the costs and the processes. The internet killed that, and the requirements for an image went from maximum to minimum. Microstock was the result, not the cause, of these changes. Just as when the printing press changed who could own a book, digital imaging changed who could create an image.
Believe me, if I could wave a magic wand and get rid of all digital technology, I would do it in a heartbeat. What i can make from microstock in a month i used to make in a day during the analog era. But you can't go back, and the reason i can still make a living at this is that I have always tried to get out ahead of where the next wave is going, not wish it wasn't the way it is.

macrosaur · « **Reply #10 on:** September 09, 2010, 08:28 »

i like your reply !

finally somebody here who knows what he's talking about.

macrosaur · « **Reply #11 on:** September 09, 2010, 08:32 »

but then don't you think that anything which doesn't require only technical skills can still have a market ?

think about creative photos for instance, or concepts, the cost there is not about gear or whatever, it's plain down
the fact you've really to invent something buyers like and this has nothing to do with web or print or film or digital.

so, as these skills are hard to find in the ocean of crap sold in micros, WHY people is accepting such low fees for their works ?

i understand most of these works sell by the thousands and make good profits, but this is exactly the perversion of the micro business model that finally ruined the whole stock industry in my opinion.

it started with creatives selling their leftovers for a few bucks and now istock is making more profits alone than all the RM agencies combined !

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #12 on:** September 09, 2010, 10:07 »

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 08:32

but then don't you think that anything which doesn't require only technical skills can still have a market ?

Of course it can - and it does. I'm thinking about art, or high profile commercials which need to be *really* exclusive.

See this wonderful commercial by Blixa Bargeld (Einstuerzende Neubauten) for a German DIY store: nobody can even think they could reach the same artistic level by using stock video:
http://www.dangerousminds.net/index.php/site/comments/blixa_bargelds_hornbach_commercials/
This is both art and commercial at the same time: a genius.

But what has this to do with macrostock vs microstock? Macro and micro are both just different ways of selling well-done but still ordinary pictures (that's what THEY want), either by selling 1) few at an high price or 2) many at a low price. If quantity2*price2 >= quantity1*price1, who cares about macro or micro?

lisafx · « **Reply #13 on:** September 09, 2010, 10:13 »

Considering how many identities Mat Tan (Macrosaur, lefty, Albert Martin, perseus, batman, tanjomast510 etc.) has going at any given moment in these forums, and how many conflicting opinions he posts in his various disguises, it's only reasonable that occasionally one of them would be right.

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut in the woods once in awhile

microstockphoto.co.uk · « **Reply #14 on:** September 09, 2010, 10:18 »

If that is the case (multiple identities + conflicting opinions), then I like it: injecting noise into the system is fun

macrosaur · « **Reply #15 on:** September 09, 2010, 11:53 »

LOGOFF ... forever.

farewell.

helix7 · « **Reply #16 on:** September 09, 2010, 12:01 »

The end of microstock? No way. The end of iStock? Maybe...

RacePhoto · « **Reply #17 on:** September 09, 2010, 18:07 »

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 00:28

The end of microstock ?

You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Now feel free to move your portfolios on SS, FT, and DT, wait a few months and see them screwing
you up even more after january with the excuse of bad economy downturn and yadda yadda... (FT did it already
in the past).

What options do you have after all ?
Macrostock ? Forget it, it's in deep sh-it exactly because of you microstockers accepting getting paid a pittance.

You created a monster, and now you pay the consequences on your skin.
There's justice in this world after all.

If the farewell post isn't final

what prophecies specifically are you right about. Honest, I mean there have been many general comments, I'm looking for some specifics.

I hate to disagree but your comment about 20% on IS isn't quite correct. Unless you meant only exclusives which are not the majority of contributors. Something like 25% last I checked, as high as 40%. But the other half of the people, non-exclusive, have just been moved down to 15% which stinks even more.

Can't argue that 25c from SS or ThinkStock isn't a pittance. Volume subs and from me they get images that are worth what they pay. Fair enough in my view.

Options? I have many, but I'm sure not posting them here for the smarter, better, harder working photographers and illustrators to jump on! I'm done giving away leads to the competition or helping people find outlets that pay more. It's no secret and most everyone has already seen the possibilities, they just don't want to face the change from the comfort of shotgun volume sales on Micro.

Oh yes, the answer? No microstock is not dead. The buyers have a nice source for materials, the few top agencies have a good selection and millions of inexpensive images that we provided them. Enough to last of years and years, plus the people who will still be uploading for "peanuts". Not dead for photographers or artists who can produce enough volume and are willing to take pennies for their work. It's just a storm going through right now and I'd predict that in a couple of months, when it blows over and everything settles down, it will be back to normal.

Then there will be other storms as the market adjusts and compensates for changes.

As far as unsustainable payments as IS claims and that payments will go up in 2012, I guess it's all about wait and see. Someone else calculated that 2% of the contributors (the exclusives mostly) account for 40% of the IS sales. The rich get richer and the rest will get their 15%.

What predictions and prophecies? Can you be specific?

luissantos84 · « **Reply #18 on:** September 09, 2010, 18:14 »

Quote from: RacePhoto on September 09, 2010, 18:07

Quote from: macrosaur on September 09, 2010, 00:28
The end of microstock ?

You guys must admit i was right in any of my prophecies !

Now feel free to move your portfolios on SS, FT, and DT, wait a few months and see them screwing
you up even more after january with the excuse of bad economy downturn and yadda yadda... (FT did it already
in the past).

What options do you have after all ?
Macrostock ? Forget it, it's in deep sh-it exactly because of you microstockers accepting getting paid a pittance.

You created a monster, and now you pay the consequences on your skin.
There's justice in this world after all.

If the farewell post isn't final what prophecies specifically are you right about. Honest, I mean there have been many general comments, I'm looking for some specifics.

I hate to disagree but your comment about 20% on IS isn't quite correct. Unless you meant only exclusives which are not the majority of contributors. Something like 25% last I checked, as high as 40%. But the other half of the people, non-exclusive, have just been moved down to 15% which stinks even more.

Can't argue that 25c from SS or ThinkStock isn't a pittance. Volume subs and from me they get images that are worth what they pay. Fair enough in my view.

Options? I have many, but I'm sure not posting them here for the smarter, better, harder working photographers and illustrators to jump on! I'm done giving away leads to the competition or helping people find outlets that pay more. It's no secret and most everyone has already seen the possibilities, they just don't want to face the change from the comfort of shotgun volume sales on Micro.

Oh yes, the answer? No microstock is not dead. The buyers have a nice source for materials, the few top agencies have a good selection and millions of inexpensive images that we provided them. Enough to last of years and years, plus the people who will still be uploading for "peanuts". Not dead for photographers or artists who can produce enough volume and are willing to take pennies for their work. It's just a storm going through right now and I'd predict that in a couple of months, when it blows over and everything settles down, it will be back to normal.

Then there will be other storms as the market adjusts and compensates for changes.

As far as unsustainable payments as IS claims and that payments will go up in 2012, I guess it's all about wait and see. Someone else calculated that 2% of the contributors (the exclusives mostly) account for 40% of the IS sales. The rich get richer and the rest will get their 15%.

What predictions and prophecies? Can you be specific?

half of FT royalties!

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Author Topic: Microstock is DEAD ? (Read 7835 times)

macrosaur

microstockphoto.co.uk

macrosaur

microstockphoto.co.uk

sharpshot

macrosaur

sharpshot

macrosaur

macrosaur

jbarber873

macrosaur

macrosaur

microstockphoto.co.uk

lisafx

microstockphoto.co.uk

macrosaur

helix7

RacePhoto

luissantos84

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