MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Changes at Clipcanvas  (Read 10500 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« on: April 22, 2013, 14:23 »
0
I've just received an e-mail from Clipcanvas.

Quote
For us, the past year may be characterised by nice growth during last autumn, with increasing sales and an influx of more great content, while the past months have not been so great. For those of you who have been relying on us for a long time, and given us your support, we are grateful.

We find ourselves in a position where we either have to pack it up or dig in and walk on to our final battles. The main reason for this relates to i) a difficult European market with falling sales, ii) continued but unsuccessful efforts in securing sufficient funding for new development initiatives and growth, and iii) increased costs relating to a growing content base. Video is not inexpensive to handle and this has now drained our resources to the point where we are unable to solve our predicament unless we take some drastic measures. For this, we are sorry. We have been working to get our heads above water for a long time now, and it is quite horrible for us to find ourselves in this position.

Given the current circumstances, we are suggesting to do the following to increase our revenues and reduce our costs:
- reduce the royalty rate paid out to all producers from 50% to 40% for the next 12 months, starting on April 30th;
- allow certain producers with a good track record to publish and manage their own content directly;
- close certain producer accounts that either do not represent content we think makes much sense, or those accounts that contain a lot of very similar/spammy/crowding out type of content, and subsequently delete those clips and portfolios entirely;
- update our main design, user interface and SEO profile to better represent a modern look to attract more general interest and to increase our conversion rates and sales; AND
- integrate automation for payouts so you no longer need to request your payments in order to get paid.

Other and more positive changes will be considered as soon as we feel confident the current and suggested changes are having a positive effect. We still believe we're in it for the long haul, so we're not happy about some of the changes we need to make at this point either.

We do understand that we're completely dependent on your continued support. If we don't have your support, then please walk away now. We have fought for a long time to generate more sales for all of us, and made our processes both leaner and more efficient, but competition is becoming increasingly intense and we're afraid we might topple over if we don't make these unpopular decisions now. We think it would be really sad to see either you or us go, and we hope you feel the same.

The effect of the current and proposed changes will secure our future existence and hopefully establish a platform from where we can build a better and more sustainable marketplace. The alternative is closing down shop or selling out to someone who would probably decide to make those changes anyway...we prefer the first alternative.

We are not pertaining to be idiots and we are not trying to screw you over. We have just ran out of other viable options. While we realise this is most unwelcome just now, or at any time ever probably, but we would still like to suggest that things may look entirely different in 12 months time from now, and hope that you will give us your support one final time. For those of you familiar with running a business, we hope you see the logic in the measures we are taking, understand the position we are in and what we are trying to achieve.

Finally, we believe there is a good space for Clipcanvas in this industry. It makes sense to keep a mix of players around and for them to develop alongside each other. Some perform exceptionally, while others need to work harder to catch up. We hope you believe we should be one of those that perform and deserve to be part of your main outlets, and that you'll consider the real alternative looming, before you decide if life is better without us hanging around. We will work harder, if possible.

Sorry to bring you this news.

Personally I like Clipcanvas and I'll stay with them...

I'm not selling a lot with them, but I think that they deserve our support...


« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2013, 16:41 »
0

Personally I like Clipcanvas and I'll stay with them...

I'm not selling a lot with them, but I think that they deserve our support...

Sorry for sounding to harsh but support for what? Because they are unable to generate traffic and because of it we should take a pay cut?
We've seen this many times, agencies asking for support when times are tough but ignoring the hand that feeds them when everything is going well.

Sending out an email like this is not very encouraging for contributors.



« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2013, 16:45 »
+5
This is the most honest email I've received from an agency in a long time.

« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2013, 16:54 »
0
This is the most honest email I've received from an agency in a long time.
Although the language turns a bit rudimentary towards the end  ;D I think they are trying their best to do a good job.

I haven't sold anything with them in a long time so I hope I don't belong to those people that get their accounts closed...  :P

Other than that, I would support them, in fact I'm submitting clips to them right now.

« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2013, 17:33 »
+2
Giving the low sales they probably should look into making internal company changes such as faster approval times and evaluate the sales and marketing department.

They have the product but if they can't sell now how does it change if the contributors support them?

Reading through the email again, yes it is honest but what it boils down too is they are taking 10% of my Clipcanvas income because they are unable to attract new clients. 

« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2013, 19:45 »
+1
Percentage reductions are like taxes. They never go away.

« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2013, 20:35 »
+1
I was surprised to get this email from ClipCanvas as my sales with them have been growing significantly over the last year and have become a solid monthly earner.  They have always seemed to be a great group of people and I have liked working with them.  While I appreciate their honesty, a reduction in contributor royalties is a slippery slope and does not bode well for their long term survival.  If an agency needs to cut royalties in order to survive then maybe they shouldn't survive.

« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2013, 21:28 »
0
I was surprised to get this email from ClipCanvas as my sales with them have been growing significantly over the last year and have become a solid monthly earner.  They have always seemed to be a great group of people and I have liked working with them.  While I appreciate their honesty, a reduction in contributor royalties is a slippery slope and does not bode well for their long term survival.  If an agency needs to cut royalties in order to survive then maybe they shouldn't survive.

Very well said.
+1

« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2013, 03:30 »
0
I like Clipcanvas but this is a big concern.  Sales are good with Pond5 and SS.  I think the only reason why CC would be struggling is because buyers have gone to the other sites.  How are they going to get them back by given us a commission cut?  It takes time to upload clips and I'm not encouraged by the language in this email.  Sites don't usually start struggling then suddenly bounce back.  I'll leave my portfolio there and hope for the best but is it worth spending time uploading new stuff if it looks like they might not have a long future?

« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2013, 22:19 »
+2
like stockmn, my sales at clipcanvas have been good, so I'm not buying this. They're just doing what iStock did, but being very nice about. There's no excuse for promising a certain commission, and delivering something different. ClipCanvas has joined the ranks of microstock sites I can't trust or recommend to others.

« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2013, 00:03 »
+2
Okay... So is CC management taking a voluntary %20 cut in salary to match contributor losses?

KB

« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2013, 09:25 »
0
I'm curious about this: When the buyer pays with Paypal, they've been splitting the PP fee 50-50. When the buyer gets a discount, they split that 50-50. Will they now be splitting these 60-40, as they should? I didn't see any mention of that in their letter, but I hope that's what they'll be doing.

I have to admit when I had my first sale, I was a bit disappointed that my cut of the 39 Euro sale (50% at that time, of course) turned into a net of only 13.70 Euros. But at least they spell everything out, unlike some sites.


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
13 Replies
10343 Views
Last post December 10, 2011, 11:25
by stocker2011
4 Replies
6723 Views
Last post November 12, 2010, 03:13
by sharpshot
15 Replies
11528 Views
Last post November 09, 2013, 05:26
by sharpshot
1 Replies
3586 Views
Last post May 13, 2013, 20:43
by stocker2011
66 Replies
22757 Views
Last post October 27, 2014, 18:14
by KB

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors