MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: RPD in SS and AS  (Read 6597 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« on: August 01, 2020, 08:21 »
+1
RPD - last 3 months in my portfolio (20K+ files, 97% still images)

           SS      AS
May     0.73    0.95
Jun      0.84    1.00
Jul       0.65    0.92

In June SS was outperforming AS in total earnings, May and July almost the same.


« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2020, 08:35 »
+1
total microstock earnings from the first 7 months of 2020 compared to 2019:
-1% with ~1800+ files uploaded this year

It's actually much better than in previous 3 years or so.
I am just trying to find some good news here ...
« Last Edit: August 01, 2020, 08:40 by PixelsAway »

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2020, 09:28 »
+7
total microstock earnings from the first 7 months of 2020 compared to 2019:
-1% with ~1800+ files uploaded this year

It's actually much better than in previous 3 years or so.
I am just trying to find some good news here ...

Right, RPD is better at AS, but earnings are better at SS.

While I'm easily down 60% and that's all agencies, not the latest protest hate site  ;) some people have been doing better. From a superficial, (opinion not scientific) general read, more people are not. I honestly think the answer is down to current news or trending materials, newer images, trending colors and designs and what's needed now, not old worn out Microstock cliche images.

What's odd for me, is the Editorial hasn't lost anything, some are years old, out of date, but my personal stock "best sellers", have lower downloads, everywhere.

I'm tired...  :-\ Unmotivated, with little energy to push on regardless and make new images. That's not just the 10 slap, but everywhere for everything stock, for me.

Nice to hear a few people are holding up. I know some personally who are maintaing, and the only reason I can see is this. They do exceptional, well thought out work.


« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2020, 10:20 »
+7
"I'm tired...  :-\ Unmotivated, with little energy to push on regardless and make new images. That's not just the 10 slap, but everywhere for everything stock, for me." I've got a few images waiting to be keyworded I really can't be bothered right now. Realistically I'm not good enough or motivated enough to make it feel worthwhile.

« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2020, 11:47 »
+1
Staying motivated is a challenge!

If stock photography is your job you need a hobby or personal project - I am just starting medium format film photography.

« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2020, 19:16 »
+2
total microstock earnings from the first 7 months of 2020 compared to 2019:
-1% with ~1800+ files uploaded this year

It's actually much better than in previous 3 years or so.
I am just trying to find some good news here ...

Right, RPD is better at AS, but earnings are better at SS.

While I'm easily down 60% and that's all agencies, not the latest protest hate site  ;) some people have been doing better. From a superficial, (opinion not scientific) general read, more people are not. I honestly think the answer is down to current news or trending materials, newer images, trending colors and designs and what's needed now, not old worn out Microstock cliche images.

What's odd for me, is the Editorial hasn't lost anything, some are years old, out of date, but my personal stock "best sellers", have lower downloads, everywhere.

I'm tired...  :-\ Unmotivated, with little energy to push on regardless and make new images. That's not just the 10 slap, but everywhere for everything stock, for me.
...

partly it's covid - there's mental toll that flies under our personal radar: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-depression-anxiety.html

i don't track RPD, but my # of downloads is off about30% across all agencies, so it's not just SS policy, that makes it worse, but the problem is deeper and likely related to the economic devastation - millions more unemployed and federal benefits stopped yesterday, millions losing health case, no-eviction mandates expiring, ...

given this, it's not surprising that the image market has imploded - a similar but smaller process took place during the 200+ financial crisis; this time any recovery looks to be much slower

« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2020, 02:02 »
+2
total microstock earnings from the first 7 months of 2020 compared to 2019:
-1% with ~1800+ files uploaded this year

It's actually much better than in previous 3 years or so.
I am just trying to find some good news here ...

Right, RPD is better at AS, but earnings are better at SS.

While I'm easily down 60% and that's all agencies, not the latest protest hate site  ;) some people have been doing better. From a superficial, (opinion not scientific) general read, more people are not. I honestly think the answer is down to current news or trending materials, newer images, trending colors and designs and what's needed now, not old worn out Microstock cliche images.

What's odd for me, is the Editorial hasn't lost anything, some are years old, out of date, but my personal stock "best sellers", have lower downloads, everywhere.

I'm tired...  :-\ Unmotivated, with little energy to push on regardless and make new images. That's not just the 10 slap, but everywhere for everything stock, for me.
...

partly it's covid - there's mental toll that flies under our personal radar: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-depression-anxiety.html

i don't track RPD, but my # of downloads is off about30% across all agencies, so it's not just SS policy, that makes it worse, but the problem is deeper and likely related to the economic devastation - millions more unemployed and federal benefits stopped yesterday, millions losing health case, no-eviction mandates expiring, ...

given this, it's not surprising that the image market has imploded - a similar but smaller process took place during the 200+ financial crisis; this time any recovery looks to be much slower
Covid is often accelerating a trend that is already there from 5 years to three months. In the UK this is things like closures of bland "me too" Restaurant chains. Mstock has been on a downward path for contributors for some time. Strangely though my image sales are holding up numbers wise and with the obvious exception of SS RPD too.

« Reply #7 on: August 02, 2020, 05:21 »
0
In my case, for the last five months

SS: 0.54 0.64 0.61 0.33 0.38
AS: 0.89 0.87 0.75 1.28 0.97

Total earnings difference for AS:
+35% +43% -11% +187% +132%

AS used to have 40% higher RPD, now it is +216% (approx. +160% if I subtract ELs at AS from June).

Snow

« Reply #8 on: August 02, 2020, 09:06 »
+3
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

Clair Voyant

« Reply #9 on: August 02, 2020, 09:52 »
+1
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

That is how microstock took off... the clueless.

Snow

« Reply #10 on: August 02, 2020, 10:24 »
+1
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

That is how microstock took off... the clueless.

Hah I guess you're right!
But then that would make me one of them  :-\
For me it never felt right submitting to Microstock and I'm still trying to cut down on time and effort to make it still worth it. Funny thing is they expect you to do the opposite ::)

Clair Voyant

« Reply #11 on: August 02, 2020, 11:31 »
+2
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

That is how microstock took off... the clueless.

Hah I guess you're right!
But then that would make me one of them  :-\
For me it never felt right submitting to Microstock and I'm still trying to cut down on time and effort to make it still worth it. Funny thing is they expect you to do the opposite ::)

I came quite late to the party of microstock mainly due to the financial pressure it was placing on a once wonderful sustainable industry. I ended up submitting as IS exclusive selling rejects from GI and it was okay for a while considering I was selling myself short, but I could never understand why anyone in their right mind would give their work to a subscription site notably SS and sell themselves even shorter. Oddly enough... and people forget this, IS was the only microstock agency holding out for higher prices and finally succumbed to subscription pressures and racing to the bottom. IMHO the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back. It's all way too corporate to make it beneficial to any contributor.


« Reply #12 on: August 02, 2020, 14:10 »
0
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

That is how microstock took off... the clueless.

Hah I guess you're right!
But then that would make me one of them  :-\
For me it never felt right submitting to Microstock and I'm still trying to cut down on time and effort to make it still worth it. Funny thing is they expect you to do the opposite ::)

I came quite late to the party of microstock mainly due to the financial pressure it was placing on a once wonderful sustainable industry. I ended up submitting as IS exclusive selling rejects from GI and it was okay for a while considering I was selling myself short, but I could never understand why anyone in their right mind would give their work to a subscription site notably SS and sell themselves even shorter. Oddly enough... and people forget this, IS was the only microstock agency holding out for higher prices and finally succumbed to subscription pressures and racing to the bottom. IMHO the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back. It's all way too corporate to make it beneficial to any contributor.

The old subscription model is dead, now we have Freepix Payment per Download.

Snow

« Reply #13 on: August 02, 2020, 14:51 »
0
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

That is how microstock took off... the clueless.

Hah I guess you're right!
But then that would make me one of them  :-\
For me it never felt right submitting to Microstock and I'm still trying to cut down on time and effort to make it still worth it. Funny thing is they expect you to do the opposite ::)

I came quite late to the party of microstock mainly due to the financial pressure it was placing on a once wonderful sustainable industry. I ended up submitting as IS exclusive selling rejects from GI and it was okay for a while considering I was selling myself short, but I could never understand why anyone in their right mind would give their work to a subscription site notably SS and sell themselves even shorter. Oddly enough... and people forget this, IS was the only microstock agency holding out for higher prices and finally succumbed to subscription pressures and racing to the bottom. IMHO the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back. It's all way too corporate to make it beneficial to any contributor.

Oh but people don't want to hear that anymore, they only want to hear positive stories!
It doesn't matter if it's bad, just cover it up and make it good news.
Micro truly is all about happy smiling people isn't it.

I forgot about IS being the last to succumb to the subscription model.
I've quit them years ago and most likely won't go back. For those already in and still making good money (more then a few hundred) it would probably make sense for them to stick around.

It's sad that to read all the negative but it's the truth.

ps. sorry to hijack your thread PixelsAway. I'll refrain from posting here to keep things positive.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2020, 14:54 by Snow »

« Reply #14 on: August 03, 2020, 01:00 »
0
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.
Does $100 earnt in Sods buy more burgers than $100 from subscriptions?

Snow

« Reply #15 on: August 03, 2020, 02:35 »
+1
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.
Does $100 earnt in Sods buy more burgers than $100 from subscriptions?

Ah yes another smartass. Instead of ignoring I will satisfy your needs for today, here goes:

33 x $5,22 = $172,26

Are you with me so far?

I said it would be worth it if it was one or two sales: $172,26 / 2 = $86,13

Do you prefer one sale at $86,13 or $5,22?

Its not the total amount I am talking about, its the price per product or the royalty we receive from it. Dont care? only total earnings count? well you should because that is the reason this business is going down. Not going down for you? well goodie! it is though for the other 95% of contributors but thats probably irrelevant.

Why not take 172 x 1 dollar clips and then receive nothing but dollar clips, no matter the volume?

« Reply #16 on: August 03, 2020, 03:12 »
0
You are not comparing like with like of course one sale worth more is better. Yes if I sold more than  172 times as many at that price I'd take it.


Snow

« Reply #17 on: August 03, 2020, 03:19 »
0
You are not comparing like with like of course one sale worth more is better. Yes if I sold more than  172 times as many at that price I'd take it.

Oh I know you would  ::)

« Reply #18 on: August 03, 2020, 06:54 »
0
July 2020

Adobe Stock RPD $1.48 (from 20 sales)

Shutterstock RPD $0.29 (from 73 sales)

Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #19 on: August 03, 2020, 12:15 »
+1
SS = 10,424 images
AS = 3,469 images

« Reply #20 on: August 03, 2020, 12:18 »
0
RPD - last 3 months in my portfolio (90% illustration, very large portfolio). SS July had a lot of SOD (more than 100 during the weeke-end) at the end of the month which made the RPD jump up, I was not expecting any miracle from SS.

           SS      AS
May     0.77    0.88
Jun      0.66    0.87
Jul       0.86    0.99

Cobra

« Reply #21 on: August 03, 2020, 19:02 »
0
SS = 10,424 images
AS = 3,469 images

You're a raising star amongst us! Plus a good author- great monthly articles and book for newbie's to learn how to make $$$ in this tough business! keep up the super work sir!

« Reply #22 on: August 03, 2020, 19:05 »
0
July
SS $0.289
AS $0.893

but actual $ from SS were 3x AS

wds

« Reply #23 on: August 03, 2020, 21:23 »
+1
There is someone over at SS forum who is thrilled to have 33 x $5.22 clip sales and others seem to be in awe. If it was one or two clip or image sales (SOD) for that total amount then sure not bad but 33 clips. I've noticed over the years that many don't even have a clue how much they could or should be making. They even think they are doing well with this kind of performance.

The next generation of Microstockers I guess and it looks like this is the kind of contributors SS want to go forward with, the clueless.

That is how microstock took off... the clueless.

Hah I guess you're right!
But then that would make me one of them  :-\
For me it never felt right submitting to Microstock and I'm still trying to cut down on time and effort to make it still worth it. Funny thing is they expect you to do the opposite ::)

I came quite late to the party of microstock mainly due to the financial pressure it was placing on a once wonderful sustainable industry. I ended up submitting as IS exclusive selling rejects from GI and it was okay for a while considering I was selling myself short, but I could never understand why anyone in their right mind would give their work to a subscription site notably SS and sell themselves even shorter. Oddly enough... and people forget this, IS was the only microstock agency holding out for higher prices and finally succumbed to subscription pressures and racing to the bottom. IMHO the genie is out of the bottle and there is no going back. It's all way too corporate to make it beneficial to any contributor.

The only way "there is no going back" may not be true is if ultimately, the agencies find they have pushed pricing so low that they themselves can no longer sustain a business.

« Reply #24 on: August 03, 2020, 22:01 »
+5

The only way "there is no going back" may not be true is if ultimately, the agencies find they have pushed pricing so low that they themselves can no longer sustain a business.

whole point is they HAVEN'T reduced prices, just the amt paid to contributors - they continue to make the same as before


 

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors