Author Topic: The Future Big 5 (Read 18663 times)

Kngkyle · « **on:** February 17, 2007, 22:08 »

Lets hear what everyones future big 5 predictions are in terms of profitability. Lets say 1 year from now.

1. Shutterstock
2. Dreamstime
3. Istockphoto
4. StockXpert
5. Fotolia
--- And I will add a couple more for the heck of it.
6. Lucky Oliver
7. Bigstockphoto

Void · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2007, 22:12 »

1 shutterstock
2 istock
3 fotolia
4 bigstock/ or 123
5 dreamstime/ or stockxpert

Egypix · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2007, 00:56 »

Istock
Shutterstock
Fotolia
Dreamstime
StockXpert

fotografer · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2007, 03:31 »

Quote from: hamdan on February 18, 2007, 00:56

Istock
Shutterstock
Fotolia
Dreamstime
StockXpert

I agree with this order

leaf · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2007, 04:48 »

I think there is a clear big 4

dreamstime
fotolia
shutterstock
istock

but in fifth place, it is tough. Bigstock maybe??

Daneel · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2007, 05:39 »

Hi!

I think it will be:
- Shutterstock
- Dreamstime
- Fotolia
- Bigstockphoto
- StockXpert / Lucky Oliver

I've signed up to both stockxpert and bigstockphoto at about the same time (about 1 mounth ago). StockXpert's recent rejection rate makes it a worse performer than Bigstockphoto for me.

I just signed up with iStock - so I can't do any predictions for them yet. But the fact that they make uploading hard for photographers makes me think that they won't be in the top 3 in the future.

All the best,
Michael

Bateleur · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2007, 05:45 »

Quote from: leaf on February 18, 2007, 04:48

I think there is a clear big 4

dreamstime
fotolia
shutterstock
istock

but in fifth place, it is tough. Bigstock maybe??

I agree.

But maybe that question should be put to the customers, rather than contributors, to get a more accurate ranking.

Amongst my circle of acquaintances (some in design, some not) iStock is far and away the most well-known of the microstocks. Even teachers and business people know of iStock (and sometimes pinch images from them, I've found).

grp_photo · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2007, 06:04 »

Stockxpert
iStock
MicroCorbis
Shutterstock
Dreamstime

Kngkyle · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:32 »

I think Dreamstime and Shutterstock will be the two big rivals a year from now. I just can't see Istockphoto being so popular much longer. It's a pain to upload, the commission is poor, and the prices are quite a bit higher than Dreamstime and Shutterstock. If Istockphoto was a starting out site today with their current prices and commissions I bet it would be a flop.

ichiro17 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:46 »

iStock will most likely remain tops for a long time...or top 2 or 3 for sure. Getty will whip out some stuff hopefully in the near future that will make it better for contributors but as for the price, they charge a premium but they have some of the best photographers under exclusivity agreements - which is a rare resource that SS or DT doesn't have. Andresr is one hell of a photographer but he himself and Phil Date and a few others cannot give enough pictures to keep a site afloat.

From recent observation, iStock is gaining a lot of momentum lately and I'm thinking of going exclusive eventually.

epixx · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:52 »

Based on my own sales, it will be:

1. Shutterstock
2. Dreamstime
3. iStock
4. Fotolia
5. Bigstock

If I had been asked three months ago, I would have put StockXpert on a strong 4th, but for me, they are falling like a stone. The big positive surprise is Dreamstime. The are selling great, so they must be doing something right. Bigstock is also improving.

Tim Markley · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:55 »

I think istock will remain the big player. Their connection to getty really helps them. Dreamstime is also a solid contender. After these two Fotalia,Stock Expert are the next tier. Then who is fifth and sixth is wide open with Stock exchange,Bigstock and others in play.

With the addition of lots of other players it will interesting to watch who fall out of the second tier. Which one of these can make the jump into the first tier. Canstock has been around the longest of these tier two companies but it does not appear to have gained ground. LO and 123 will be interesting ones to watch.

I think microstock will see growth for the next several years. The model is sound and it is obvious that microstock has had an impact on the image business. As more designers and markets in Asia start to tap into this we all can experience success. But like any business there is a saturation point and an inevitable contraction of the players in the field. I would be surprised to see more than four or five real players in five years.

I also would bet that companies continue to try to lock up talent. If the same picture is on 5 sites then the buyers have no incentive to work exculusively with one image source.

hatman12 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2007, 13:42 »

I agree wholeheartedly with your 'lock-up' view. This is why IS are giving so much extra to their exclusives - more uploads, greater marketing, exclusive deals. higher commission etc..

The trend can only continue.

leaf · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2007, 16:16 »

Yeah, istock does sure have an ace card with their exclusive photogs. They have a lot of good submitters and their deal with getty and being able to submit to getting I am sure helps attract a few photogs. I wonder if we will see any other strict exclusive deals in the future.

litifeta · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2007, 18:08 »

fotolia is really starting to happen for me now. SS is by far the seller, but getting them to accept anything is a nightmare. For me, I still use DT as my benchmark.

Really starting to get both bored and annoyed with iStock.

And simply cannot get accepted into StockXpert. But from what I hear it might not be worth the hassle

epixx · « **Reply #15 on:** February 18, 2007, 20:30 »

Quote from: tsmarkley on February 18, 2007, 09:55

I also would bet that companies continue to try to lock up talent. If the same picture is on 5 sites then the buyers have no incentive to work exculusively with one image source.

Since I'm also a buyer of images, I have the opposite view. If most agencies have the same images, there's not much point in shopping around. If they all have different images, I will have to search more than one place to find what I want. The fact that an image is exclusive to IS doesn't help me much anyway. As long as it isn't exclusive to me as a buyer, I couldn't really care less.

epixx · « **Reply #16 on:** February 18, 2007, 20:36 »

In addition to a few large, international agencies, I think we will see smaller ones catering for local markets and special areas. We have that in traditional stock already, and they obviously have an important function. An agency in Bigtown, USA will never be able to get a grip of what's going on in Smalltown, Northern Norway. There are different tastes, different needs, local motives etc.

Typically, around 50% of what I sell on Scanstock are Norwegian motives. In Asia, a similar situation will probably arise. Almost all of the Asian motives in the agencies are more or less tourist related. For those of us who live here, it looks kind of odd. Asian customers aren't more interested in buying images of temples than western buyers are in images of churches.

bryan_luckyoliver · « **Reply #17 on:** February 18, 2007, 21:14 »

Where will growth occur over the next couple years? As designers become aware of their options, movement between agencies will slow down. Getty has figured this out. Saturation in one market means that growth has to occur in another. Getty brought images online. Who will connect image buyers online?

The largest business growth in the next few years will be small businesses and consumers. Publishing tools will continue to make it easy to 'do it yourself'. Companies positioned for this area will see growth. These segments are difficult because the image needs vary, the price point is aggressive, and the marketing needs to be both broad and vertical.

CJPhoto · « **Reply #18 on:** February 19, 2007, 02:27 »

Quote from: bryan_luckyoliver on February 18, 2007, 21:14

The largest business growth in the next few years will be small businesses and consumers. Publishing tools will continue to make it easy to 'do it yourself'.

This is why IS tie up with microsoft office is interesting. And Corbis (owned by Bill Gates) going into microstock.

Powerpoint presentations/photos on cover pages in the small business must be a big market.

Daneel · « **Reply #19 on:** February 19, 2007, 02:53 »

Quote from: litifeta on February 18, 2007, 18:08

fotolia is really starting to happen for me now. SS is by far the seller, but getting them to accept anything is a nightmare. For me, I still use DT as my benchmark.

That's strange. For me I'm getting ~90% acceptance rate with SS. Dreamstime and Fotolia are easy too, but not as easy as SS. The only agency which constantly rejects my photos for "Please submit better quality photos" is StockXpert. Dunno why they don't like my shots.

All the best,
Michael

Beppe Grillo · « **Reply #20 on:** July 11, 2013, 06:17 »

1. Shutterstock
2. Fotolia
3. 123 RF
4. iStock
5. Dreamstime

I think that SS will stay the first for a while
With the last changes iS will go down very fast
Dreamstime will continue to lose positions.

I have nothing, no real statistics, to say that, but I have this very strong feeling…

Ron · « **Reply #21 on:** July 11, 2013, 06:22 »

Quote from: hatman12 on February 18, 2007, 13:42

I agree wholeheartedly with your 'lock-up' view. This is why IS are giving so much extra to their exclusives - more uploads, greater marketing, exclusive deals. higher commission etc..

The trend can only continue.

This was the consensus 5 years ago. Contrast.

travelwitness · « **Reply #22 on:** July 11, 2013, 07:13 »

For me in monthly earnings.

1 iStock
2 Fotolia
3 Stocksy
4 Shutterstock
5 Dreamstime

iStock 2800 images
Fotolia 400 images
Stocksy 200 images
Shutterstock 400 images
Dreamstime 300 images

Once my port is uploaded in full iStock will drop into last place.
RPI at Shutterstock and Fotolia combined have the same RPI when I was exclusive at iStock
RPI at Stocksy is heading to equal iStock exclusive RPI on its own.

To put it into context earnings from Fotolia with 400 images are about 70% of iStocks with 2800 images.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #23 on:** July 12, 2013, 09:32 »

ANCIENT THREAD ALERT

(But someone once believed in LuckyOliver!)

grsphoto · « **Reply #24 on:** July 12, 2013, 10:37 »

It is interesting to see how off some people were... and the demise of iStock has been predicted for so long.

For profit I am betting/ hoping my Symbiostock site will be in the top 5.

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: The Future Big 5 (Read 18663 times)

Kngkyle

Void

Egypix

fotografer

leaf

Daneel

Bateleur

grp_photo

Kngkyle

ichiro17

epixx

Tim Markley

hatman12

leaf

litifeta

epixx

epixx

bryan_luckyoliver

CJPhoto

Daneel

Beppe Grillo

Ron

travelwitness

BaldricksTrousers

grsphoto

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