Published yesterday by Reuters

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog said on Monday it will launch an investigation into the proposed merger between U.S.-based Getty Images (GETY.N), and rival Shutterstock (SSTK.N) after remedies offered by the companies failed to address its concerns. Getty and Shutterstock offered a "complex package of remedies" late in the Phase 1 investigation, but the regulator said these did not fully address concerns the deal could lead to higher prices and lower quality editorial and stock imagery.

Getty shares fell over 7% while Shutterstock dropped 2% in U.S. premarket trading.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had heard concerns from businesses, trade associations and industry stakeholders including the News Media Association over the merger of the world's largest photo licensing platforms.
Getty Images said in a statement it had offered comprehensive remedies to avoid a Phase 2 review and was disappointed by the CMA's decision, while both companies said they remain committed to the merger and will continue engaging with the regulator.
The CMA said in late October the merger could substantially harm competition in editorial and stock photography markets and reduce service quality for UK media organisations and creative businesses.

Getty and Shutterstock struck a $3.7 billion deal in January to form a stock-image powerhouse at a time when generative AI tools are increasingly disrupting the industry.

They might have to let go of a few of their agencies.

Perhaps pond5 can be indie again. That would be a great bonus for the market.

The merged company will have a bear monopoly on editorial. I can understand the regulators.

Quote from: cobalt on November 06, 2025, 14:58
They might have to let go of a few of their agencies.

Perhaps pond5 can be indie again. That would be a great bonus for the market.

The merged company will have a bear monopoly on editorial. I can understand the regulators.

level
So, you're happier getting 10¢ per download and having your account reset to the base, every January, instead of getting 15% or 20% of the sale price? You're happy with SSTK cutting prices and cutting our earnings, every year, because they are trying to be lower price than all the competition, which includes the smaller and always present parasite agencies that do nothing for us, but offer the buyers the lowest prices.

Shutterstock owns Pond5, look how that has helped us? Look how SSTK has managed to gut Bigstock and turn it into a zombie agency. The merger would end the profit taking and resets which have come at our expense.

This merger could end the race to the bottom, instead of greasing the wheels by preventing businesses to function in a free trade market, where the best prosper and survive, and the others, move on. In other words, politics and governments, meddling with free trade, free markets, and open business operations.

Quote from: cobalt on November 06, 2025, 14:58

Perhaps pond5 can be indie again. That would be a great bonus for the market.

Indeed, reactivating pond5 would be nice!

Quote from: danielvisuals on November 07, 2025, 00:38

Quote from: cobalt on November 06, 2025, 14:58

Perhaps pond5 can be indie again. That would be a great bonus for the market.

Indeed, reactivating pond5 would be nice!

More likely would be that they would sell it off to someone else. And that buyer, will only want the agency, so they can draw any value out of it. This is not a growth market, the boom is over. No one will buy an agency to build it up for the future.

Another likely possibility would be, close down Pond5 and just have the site link to Getty Images Video.

In my experience every time this kind of thing happens my income drops.

Quote from: Stonefirewon on November 08, 2025, 07:47
In my experience every time this kind of thing happens my income drops.

Yes, that's been what Microstock has been known for, since about 2015.  Every time they come up with "exciting news" or a improvement that's supposed to make things better for us, it's really the opposite. Bottom line, and the absolute truth, they don't care about us personally, at all. We are an expense and a nuisance, but also a necessity. When the agencies need to improve their earnings or profits, the first cut is the artists.

The only thing I can say in favor of iStock/Getty, is when they have bought or merged, they have cut the waste and fat, from the staff and corporate, not just taken all they can from the contributors. Getty has consolidated and compressed it's offerings by reducing redundant agencies and websites. That's their history. They want a brand identity, where everything is all in one, not scattered in different fronts.

Just like all the rest and the others, when the cuts started for us, the first to go was referrals, they don't need more artists. Next was the levels of reward, where we worked our way up to higher commissions. But the final at Getty is, 15% and 20%, not dimes and resets. WE know what we'll get, not some mystery commissions, based on a fake promise, where the prices and commissions are so low (on SSTK) that they had to set a 10¢ minimum, or we'd be getting even less.

That's why I'd favor a merger. I think Getty is more up front about what they are doing and paying. Adobe is pretty good at that too, I don't want to leave them out. Both places, tell us what we're going to get, a minimum percentage and no complicated undisclosed rate and pay.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 08, 2025, 16:44

But the final at Getty is, 15% and 20%, not dimes and resets. WE know what we'll get, not some mystery commissions, based on a fake promise, where the prices and commissions are so low (on SSTK) that they had to set a 10¢ minimum, or we'd be getting even less.

Istock have 10c minimum purchase price for subscriptions, and I get plenty of amounts on my royalty statement of 2c, 4c, 6c, etc. At least Shutterstock give a 10c minimum commission and Level one is set to 15%, which matches Istock for photos, but also has the opportunity to increase. I spend a good part of each year at 35%.

Don't get me wrong, as I am far from happy with Shutterstock commissions but, for the last 5 years, my annual RPD is higher on Shutterstock than it is on Istock. Of course, I'd love to go back to the heady days of the old Shutterstock rates, but the world has moved on, and that's never coming back.

A merger will only result in more profit for the combined company, and smaller crumbs for us.

@uncle pete

I am not on shutterstock, they kicked me out because I took part in the protests, remember? likejsnover?

But I keep reading that for money shutterstock is improving because they are seeing more higher individual sales.

istock sometimes sells my stuff for 2 cents, but the average is 66 cents compared to 83 cents on adobe.

For non exclusive that is a decent average.

Did you close your shutterstock port if you are so much against them?

My experience with SS is that income has plummeted compared to other agencies.

Quote from: wds on November 09, 2025, 13:54
My experience with SS is that income has plummeted compared to other agencies.

I see the same, with the same images, plus adding a small number more.

Quote from: cobalt on November 09, 2025, 11:57
@uncle pete

I am not on shutterstock, they kicked me out because I took part in the protests, remember? likejsnover?

But I keep reading that for money shutterstock is improving because they are seeing more higher individual sales.

istock sometimes sells my stuff for 2 cents, but the average is 66 cents compared to 83 cents on adobe.

For non exclusive that is a decent average.

Did you close your shutterstock port if you are so much against them?

Closing my account doesn't hurt them, it only hurts me. I spent all the time for years and years, uploading images, especially the Editorial, how does it make sense for me to kill my ROI and get nothing? Yes, some people did get banned, but it took quite an effort.  I'm sure you read the SS forum, before it was killed for it's own sake. No good moderation, spam, some accounts near the end, were just hammering the forum with spam, it wasn't just about the negativity or protest leaders. Whatever it ended up, the forum sure wasn't anything good for the image or face of SSTK.

Nothing sells for 2 cents on iStock. Lets get to the facts please. The connect credits are not sales. They might be uses, views, one time on streaming, but they aren't the usual downloads. We get 15% for photos and 20% for illustrations. We get 10¢ for S/O on SSTK because the actual amount would be under that.

Quote from: kuriouskat on November 09, 2025, 09:51

Istock have 10c minimum purchase price for subscriptions, and I get plenty of amounts on my royalty statement of 2c, 4c, 6c, etc. At least Shutterstock give a 10c minimum commission and Level one is set to 15%, which matches Istock for photos, but also has the opportunity to increase. I spend a good part of each year at 35%.

Don't get me wrong, as I am far from happy with Shutterstock commissions but, for the last 5 years, my annual RPD is higher on Shutterstock than it is on Istock. Of course, I'd love to go back to the heady days of the old Shutterstock rates, but the world has moved on, and that's never coming back.

iStock has about the same RPD for me, but much less in the way of DLs. However, that has been changing. IS I am getting more, from my tiny 1,100 collection there, than I do from 6,500 on SSTK. One is going up, the other just keeps getting worse. Here's how sad things are. IS Sept. 15 DLs for $17.12 while SSTK October 15 DLs $2.84! Easy to see which one, makes the most money. I don't buy a burger and a beer on RPD or RPI, just real money earned.

Quote from: kuriouskat on November 09, 2025, 09:51

A merger will only result in more profit for the combined company, and smaller crumbs for us.

You know that for a fact? Do you have a crystal ball or are you reading tea leaves?  If they make more and they pay us more, we all win. Look at the latest from Pond5. SSTK is a sinking ship, and they can't bail fastest enough. That's why the merger. To save the business. SSTK has been the leader in the race to the bottom, ever since they started with 25¢ paid per download. Things did improve for some years and then, bang, they snatched it all away from us. Now we get 10 cents.

Quote from: wds on November 09, 2025, 13:54
My experience with SS is that income has plummeted compared to other agencies.

Also Pond5

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 09, 2025, 17:18

Quote from: kuriouskat on November 09, 2025, 09:51

A merger will only result in more profit for the combined company, and smaller crumbs for us.

You know that for a fact? Do you have a crystal ball or are you reading tea leaves?  If they make more and they pay us more, we all win. Look at the latest from Pond5. SSTK is a sinking ship, and they can't bail fastest enough. That's why the merger. To save the business. SSTK has been the leader in the race to the bottom, ever since they started with 25¢ paid per download. Things did improve for some years and then, bang, they snatched it all away from us. Now we get 10 cents.

Of course none of us know the future, but I feel pretty confident in saying that these huge corporations, such as Getty and Shutterstock, will be looking to maximise profits and minimise costs. It is the CFO's fiscal duty to do so, and his first consideration will be keeping the shareholders happy.

With what is available already online, improvements in AI content, and and influx of 'content creators' from around the world, our declining earnings don't necessarily translate into declining earnings for Shutterstock. They may have fuelled the race to the bottom, but many of us have made a very nice living from their commissions for many years. I'm not happy with how things are now, and certainly wish that the clock could be turned back, but I wouldn't be writing them off as a sinking ship just yet.

Quote from: kuriouskat on November 10, 2025, 08:19

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 09, 2025, 17:18

Quote from: kuriouskat on November 09, 2025, 09:51

A merger will only result in more profit for the combined company, and smaller crumbs for us.

You know that for a fact? Do you have a crystal ball or are you reading tea leaves?  If they make more and they pay us more, we all win. Look at the latest from Pond5. SSTK is a sinking ship, and they can't bail fastest enough. That's why the merger. To save the business. SSTK has been the leader in the race to the bottom, ever since they started with 25¢ paid per download. Things did improve for some years and then, bang, they snatched it all away from us. Now we get 10 cents.

Of course none of us know the future, but I feel pretty confident in saying that these huge corporations, such as Getty and Shutterstock, will be looking to maximise profits and minimise costs. It is the CFO's fiscal duty to do so, and his first consideration will be keeping the shareholders happy.

With what is available already online, improvements in AI content, and and influx of 'content creators' from around the world, our declining earnings don't necessarily translate into declining earnings for Shutterstock. They may have fueled the race to the bottom, but many of us have made a very nice living from their commissions for many years. I'm not happy with how things are now, and certainly wish that the clock could be turned back, but I wouldn't be writing them off as a sinking ship just yet.

I'd agree with most of that, except the sinking ship. If they were doing well and growing, they wouldn't be interested in a merger. Getty is beating them, note our earnings going down, Pond5 going down, the entire Microstock marketplace except maybe, Alamy, Adobe and Getty/iStock, has been suffering and is in trouble. Alamy isn't entirely Microstock and Getty sure isn't either. Adobe has CC and brings in buyers through that program.

SSTK stock, and you're right about investors, that's what makes the business function. Investors bring the money, in order for the business to grow and make more money. Without growth, the operations are stagnant. No growth = no investors.



In Other Words



Stock photography and footage provider Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) announced in Q3 CY2025, with sales up 3.8% year on year to $260.1 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.99 per share was 13.9% below analysts' consensus estimates.

And sure thing, I'm happy with what I did make and would hope that somehow, at some point, the sinking earnings would stop falling. How long can the pay we get, keep declining? I see the merger as an answer and what could stop the drop. 

double up

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 10, 2025, 15:56

In Other Words



Stock photography and footage provider Shutterstock (NYSE:SSTK) announced in Q3 CY2025, with sales up 3.8% year on year to $260.1 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.99 per share was 13.9% below analysts' consensus estimates.

And sure thing, I'm happy with what I did make and would hope that somehow, at some point, the sinking earnings would stop falling. How long can the pay we get, keep declining? I see the merger as an answer and what could stop the drop. 

Hi Pete

Yes, sinking ship indeed. 

But I want to know is what happened to subscriptions??? (not to mention ODDs and ELs) There just doesn't seem to be hardly any subs anymore? Where are those buyers going - or don't people buy subs much nowadays?

Mind you I stopped uploading, except for a couple of things, two years ago.

Quote from: AM24 on November 11, 2025, 02:16

Hi Pete

Yes, sinking ship indeed. 

But I want to know is what happened to subscriptions??? (not to mention ODDs and ELs) There just doesn't seem to be hardly any subs anymore? Where are those buyers going - or don't people buy subs much nowadays?

Mind you I stopped uploading, except for a couple of things, two years ago.

That came with the 10¢ minimum and the reset. It seems that some new image/video packages were less expensive, which encouraged buyers to switch over from subscriptions. And, as a result, we get less of the Subs. Nice trick from SSTK to promise us something, then discount another offer, so the buyers are moved to a different rate. In the end, Subs have died off and we get less.

No I don't have a crystal ball either, but I'm still hopeful, that if the merger goes through, Getty will stop the fall and stop creating new cheap image packs, that sell us out. SSTK has taken advantage of us by switching buyers to lower prices, which pay us less. So little that they had to create the 10¢ minimum. I know it's gone, but the 25¢ was entry level, and many people were getting 38¢ per Sub. Now SSTK pays us over what we are due, because the value for contributors has been degraded to pennies.

I'm glad the subs are gone. Seeing $0.10 after $0.10 after $0.10 was really demotivating. Rpd is a lot higher now and sales are so,so. But sometimes the endless streaks of 10 cents was horrible and mind killing.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on November 11, 2025, 15:38

Quote from: AM24 on November 11, 2025, 02:16

Hi Pete

Yes, sinking ship indeed. 

But I want to know is what happened to subscriptions??? (not to mention ODDs and ELs) There just doesn't seem to be hardly any subs anymore? Where are those buyers going - or don't people buy subs much nowadays?

Mind you I stopped uploading, except for a couple of things, two years ago.

That came with the 10¢ minimum and the reset. It seems that some new image/video packages were less expensive, which encouraged buyers to switch over from subscriptions. And, as a result, we get less of the Subs. Nice trick from SSTK to promise us something, then discount another offer, so the buyers are moved to a different rate. In the end, Subs have died off and we get less.

No I don't have a crystal ball either, but I'm still hopeful, that if the merger goes through, Getty will stop the fall and stop creating new cheap image packs, that sell us out. SSTK has taken advantage of us by switching buyers to lower prices, which pay us less. So little that they had to create the 10¢ minimum. I know it's gone, but the 25¢ was entry level, and many people were getting 38¢ per Sub. Now SSTK pays us over what we are due, because the value for contributors has been degraded to pennies.

Thanks Pete! Now it all makes sense.

Don't count on Getty doing anything to benefit anyone but themselves (and by that I mean the big investors and the top brass).

If a merger goes through, expect some more "exciting news" a little later.

Quote from: pancaketom on November 11, 2025, 22:39
Don't count on Getty doing anything to benefit anyone but themselves (and by that I mean the big investors and the top brass).

If a merger goes through, expect some more "exciting news" a little later.

I'd agree, that's what usually happens. But I'm also hoping that a change away from what SSTK has heaped on us, would be a change for the better. Just sticking with what's going on from SSTK because people have difficulty accepting change, doesn't work to alter anything. It's just the status quo, or resigning oneself to the system, forced on us, by SSTK.

Just to explain, and this could be different for others, the Subs are better value for me, than the SO sales, but there are less and less subs now, and 75% of my SO are  10-15 cents. What I see is, the sales by SSTK have been shifted to lower pay and commission, for us.

I'm repeating, (sorry?) any 10¢ sale commission, is something so low, that SSTK had to increase it to make the credit 10 cents. That's terrible. While IS is paying us 15% of what the sale price is, for the image. RPD on Getty, for me, is currently running, at least double of what I get now from SSTK.

Yeah, let me double down on that and agree again. "If a merger goes through, expect some more "exciting news" a little later." Yes, whatever they do, will be for the benefit of the board and the shareholders, that's the way business operates, But that doesn't mean that they can't improve, over what we are getting from SSTK and still have that profit more for them or make them more money.

I'd rather see the change and the merger and see what happens, than just laying down and saying, sure, SSTK is screwing us, and lets not look forward to possible benefits and changes, We'll just say, that's the way it is and take the terrible pay, that we get tossed at us.



Some people gave up and said, they would rather take nothing, than work for what SSTK offers us. That's how bad things are.

News

"DOJ approves $3.7B Getty Images, Shutterstock merger
After a review of the $3.7B merger proposal, the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the merger of Getty Images (GETY) and Shutterstock (SSTK). Additionally, the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act has expired.
The conclusion of the DOJ investigation clears the way for the two companies to merge once the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the UK delivers their final decision by April 19. The CMA recently issued its interim report on the merger on February 19.
"Based on the merits of the transaction and market realities, Getty Images and Shutterstock remain hopeful that the CMA will reach a conclusion consistent with the DOJ and other regulators around the globe," the companies said in a joint statement.
The combined entity of Getty Images (GETY) and Shutterstock (SSTK) will operate under the Getty Images name and trade on the NYSE under the GETY ticker.
Shares of both were briefly jolted higher on the news but have surrendered gains, leaving Getty Images (GETY) in the red for an eighth consecutive day and Shutterstock (SSTK) fractionally lower on the day".

March around the 15th or 16yh will be the 4th quarter reports, which should be interesting.

They are still waiting for the CMA to give their decision.

Seems like a long time waiting, and one way or another, I'm looking forward to a decision and a conclusion.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on February 25, 2026, 23:33
News

"DOJ approves $3.7B Getty Images, Shutterstock merger
After a review of the $3.7B merger proposal, the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the merger of Getty Images (GETY) and Shutterstock (SSTK). Additionally, the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act has expired.
The conclusion of the DOJ investigation clears the way for the two companies to merge once the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the UK delivers their final decision by April 19. The CMA recently issued its interim report on the merger on February 19.
"Based on the merits of the transaction and market realities, Getty Images and Shutterstock remain hopeful that the CMA will reach a conclusion consistent with the DOJ and other regulators around the globe," the companies said in a joint statement.
The combined entity of Getty Images (GETY) and Shutterstock (SSTK) will operate under the Getty Images name and trade on the NYSE under the GETY ticker.
Shares of both were briefly jolted higher on the news but have surrendered gains, leaving Getty Images (GETY) in the red for an eighth consecutive day and Shutterstock (SSTK) fractionally lower on the day".

March around the 15th or 16yh will be the 4th quarter reports, which should be interesting.

They are still waiting for the CMA to give their decision.

Seems like a long time waiting, and one way or another, I'm looking forward to a decision and a conclusion.

The question now is how fast will Envanto, P5 and SS be absorbed/shut down.  I will miss the SS income but don't give two stihs about P5 and Envanto.

They do not necessarily need to close all of these sites. Each site may have its own client base, and not all clients would automatically migrate to a main platform if those sites were shut down. Many could choose alternative providers instead.

For this reason, I believe it would be risky for Getty to close all platforms and consolidate everything under a single site.

Quote from: DaLiu on February 26, 2026, 17:14
They do not necessarily need to close all of these sites. Each site may have its own client base, and not all clients would automatically migrate to a main platform if those sites were shut down. Many could choose alternative providers instead.

For this reason, I believe it would be risky for Getty to close all platforms and consolidate everything under a single site.

Right. We still sell every month on Bigstockphoto, even higher RPD than on SS: $0.38 is the lowest royalty.