Don't know if it will help...but at least it's awareness...

http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2166530/french-organisation-launches-controversial-campaign-photographers-rights?WT.rss_f=All+the+latest+articles+from+BJP&WT.rss_a=French+organisation+launches+controversial+ad+campaign+for+photographers%27+rights

Recycled news. Not Eds fault but they filed a lawsuit claiming it was against the trade laws as people were being paid less than what it cost them to produce the images. It was against microstock. I wonder where that one went away to?

Or maybe it's just an annual Spring rite in France.

March 15th 2011

http://blog.melchersystem.com/2011/03/05/the-last-salvo/

"The Union des Photographes Professionels , UPP (Union of professional photographers) just recently held a round table 0n the damages of royalty free, it�s damages to the photographic trade and what they intend to do about it."

Quote from: RacePhoto on April 10, 2012, 05:46

Recycled news. Not Eds fault but they filed a lawsuit claiming it was against the trade laws as people were being paid less than what it cost them to produce the images. It was against microstock. I wonder where that one went away to?

Or maybe it's just an annual Spring rite in France.

March 15th 2011

http://blog.melchersystem.com/2011/03/05/the-last-salvo/

"The Union des Photographes Professionels , UPP (Union of professional photographers) just recently held a round table 0n the damages of royalty free, it�s damages to the photographic trade and what they intend to do about it."

fully agree on the damages of RF.
there's no business logic about RF being cheaper than RM ! RF gives you much more freedom so it should cost more, period.

as for photographers being screwed by stock agencies it only happens in some cases and cheap publishers are to blame.

Come on, that's not my point. The French are claiming it's some violation of laws and trade.

People sell for what they want to and these people are seeking to start a legal action to prevent free trade and free rights of artists to sell for what they want.

Yes I think the agencies are raping the artists, low commissions, low pay, but at the same time, people aren't quitting the slave labor either. No one is holding our work hostage, people submit it free will.

Free market world economics. I can't help it if people are willing to compete with their own income and support parasites. But still, it's free will, so there we are. If you don't like it, stop participating and go do something else.

Quote from: RacePhoto on April 11, 2012, 03:09

Come on, that's not my point. The French are claiming it's some violation of laws and trade.

People sell for what they want to and these people are seeking to start a legal action to prevent free trade and free rights of artists to sell for what they want.

Yes I think the agencies are raping the artists, low commissions, low pay, but at the same time, people aren't quitting the slave labor either. No one is holding our work hostage, people submit it free will.

Free market world economics. I can't help it if people are willing to compete with their own income and support parasites. But still, it's free will, so there we are. If you don't like it, stop participating and go do something else.

free market only favours big companies, not the single photographer.

don't forget it's because of free market that microstock is killing the stock industry and so many small agencies had to close down due to unfair competition by Getty.

same happens in many other creative markets, the artists are always the last ones seeing the money.

Last ones to see the money or never see the money. Keep in mind I was a musician for 40 years. Believe me, agents make money, the people who hired us made money, the studios made money and for some people, after a years work, we owed $5000 and the IRS wanted to collect taxes on the "earnings".

If there was no microstock, someone who invent it tomorrow. I think you are placing the blame on the wrong people. It's all about technology and the Internet and digital cameras. Heck, Kodak filed for bankruptcy, Polaroid stopped making film and cameras, do you blame Microstock for that too? The world is digital. We can sell a license from back roads of Arkansas at 11PM and it's appearing on the web in a news article in China in 15 minutes.

Old traditional stock is like old traditional corner drug stores. Old traditional gas stations. Old traditional grocery stores, and a long list of obsolete ways of marketing or doing business. Hey, when was the last time you went to the local camera shop and bought something? Tell me about microstock killing things. You have trouble finding a camera store in anywhere but major metropolitan area, and darn few in those. Did MicroStock kill camera stores too?

That's what changed! The old catalogs of stock and good old boys club of only the accepted insiders was blown up like a cheap firecracker, and now we have a world market, where anyone who can create, can sell. It's not done by mail, on paper, books of slides, or in person it's all on computers.

Sure I'd like better pay and higher prices, but when you have 30,000 photographers shooting sliced vegetables, women with phones, business handshake and some actually interesting creative work, all day long, every day from around the world. Supply has exceeded demand by a huge margin. The PRICE IS GOING TO DROP! Simple supply and demand. The private work from individuals is now freed from it's chains of obscurity. Anyone who can make a good photo, can present it to the market.

That and people willing to compete against themselves for pennies, mass marketing for the lowest commissions, diluting any value or individuality they could possibly have. It's over and dead.

That's what happened. The old school closed because it was replaced, not because someone forgot where they put the keys. 

Two ways to deal with it. Deal with it and get over the old days, work on selling within the system as it exists now. Or get out of the business because it's not what it was and never will be again.

(not saying I like the situation, but please face reality, that's the way it is.)