Author Topic: sjlocke was just booted from iStock (Read 128045 times)

cobalt · « **Reply #550 on:** March 11, 2013, 13:57 »

The usual - Shutterstock, Fotolia, dreamstime, pond5 and maybe later some of the smaller ones. I am also on clipdealer and clipcanvas with my videos, so I´ll probably upload photos there as well (if they take photos).

I am not in a hurry. I know it will take two years to recover my income and my main focus for the year will be video, the way I planned it at the beginning of the year.

I would also like to try selling from my own site, but that is probably a project for 2014.

You can follow my journey to independence on my facebook page, if you are interested: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cobaltstockcom/169793413171571

tickstock · « **Reply #551 on:** March 11, 2013, 14:03 »

Quote from: cobalt on March 11, 2013, 13:57

The usual - Shutterstock, Fotolia, dreamstime, pond5 and maybe later some of the smaller ones. I am also on clipdealer and clipcanvas with my videos, so I´ll probably upload photos there as well (if they take photos).

I am not in a hurry. I know it will take two years to recover my income and my main focus for the year will be video, the way I planned it at the beginning of the year.

I would also like to try selling from my own site, but that is probably a project for 2014.

You can follow my journey to independence on my facebook page, if you are interested: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cobaltstockcom/169793413171571

You see those companies as "genuinely trying to build a longterm business."? I wouldn't categorize Fotolia that way at all or Dreamstime, they both have done similar things to what Istock has done. Dreamstime with their levels and lowering royalty rates and Fotolia changing the goal posts and some people here claim they punish higher royalty earners in the search. I'd like to see Pond5 do well but without rejecting anything or fixing their terrible keyword spam problem I don't have much confidence in them in the long term.

ShadySue · « **Reply #552 on:** March 11, 2013, 14:04 »

@Cobalt:
I had no idea you had handed in your crown. Good luck in all your future efforts: one more faithful servant they let slip through their fingers.

I haven't heard about the online dating thing, though. Got a link?

cobalt · « **Reply #553 on:** March 11, 2013, 14:32 »

@ticketstock

the other sites are not cozying up to Google and handing over files for 12 dollars to 425 million people.

The Getty/Google deal changed things quite dramatically and not just for me. I know the other stock agencies are no angels, but here in Germany Fotolia is the biggest and best known site by far and I know a lot of people who sell really well there. Since I live here, I can shoot local content and Fotolia allows me to keyword in German, I hope to take advantage of that. Shutterstock also seems to be interested in expanding their presence here and Pond5 just bought a European agency. On the other hand the istock office in Berlin was closed...so as a European contributor...which agencies should I be interested in? The ones that invest in Germany/Europe, or the ones that move away?

And all the other agencies are TALKING to me. I have now been trying for over a month to communicate directly with gettyimages about my house contract and I simply cannot get a reply even to easy questions. And what Getty does, soon will be done on istock. They have already killed the telephone support and many contributors report being stuck in an endless loop between forums and the ticket system. Again, I know this can happen on other sites as well, but if you are exclusive, communication problems are just beyond frustrating.

I had no intention of going independent when the year started, I could have easily been happy between video independence and photo exclusivity.

But with all that happened...I might as well be independent and have more control over my work. All the drama on istock is so distracting, I really want to focus on production.

@Sue just a silly marketing thing about how the bad best match match was like a bad experience with an online dating site and then they sent out a bonus code...forget it, it was silly. But we have seen things like these several times.

Anyway, thanks for the kind wishes, also on my website. It will be a long journey, but so many people are going independent, I won´t be climbing up that mountain alone.

ShadySue · « **Reply #554 on:** March 11, 2013, 14:35 »

Quote from: cobalt on March 11, 2013, 14:32

@Sue just a silly marketing thing about how the bad best match match was like a bad experience with an online dating site and then they sent out a bonus code...forget it, it was silly. But we have seen things like these several times.

Oh, I did see that - silly and unprofessional.

tickstock · « **Reply #555 on:** March 11, 2013, 14:41 »

Quote from: cobalt on March 11, 2013, 14:32

@ticketstock

the other sites are not cozying up to Google and handing over files for 12 dollars to 425 million people.

The Getty/Google deal changed things quite dramatically and not just for me. I know the other stock agencies are no angels, but here in Germany Fotolia is the biggest and best known site by far and I know a lot of people who sell really well there. Since I live here, can shoot local content and Fotolia allows me to keyword in german, i hope to take advantage of that.

And all the other agencies are TALKING to me. I have now been trying for over a month to communicate directly with gettyimages about my house contract and I simply cannot get a reply even to easy questions. And what Getty does, soon will be done on istock. They have already killed the telephone support and many contributors report being stuck in an endless loop between forums and the ticket system. Again, I know this can happen on other sites as well, but if you are exclusive, communication problems are just beyond frustrating.

I had no intention of going independent when the year started, I could have easily been happy between video independence and photo exclusivity.

But with all that happened...I might as well be independent and have more control over my work. All the drama on istock is so distracting, I really want to focus on production.

@Sue just a silly marketing thing about how the bad best match match was like a bad experience with an online dating site and then they sent out a bonus code...forget it, it was silly. But we have seen things like these several times.

Anyway, thanks for the kind wishes, also on my website. It will be a long journey, but so many people are going independent, I won´t be climbing up that mountain alone.

As long as you are going into it with eyes open then you're probably making the right decision. From what I hear Fotolia is pretty good for German contributors, as long as you have local content. Dreamstime and Fotolia should also be good about keeping all the distractions to a minimum since nothing negative can be posted on their forums. Again good luck, I'll be following how it's going for you.

aeonf · « **Reply #556 on:** March 11, 2013, 17:55 »

Good luck Cobalt!
We have 3 more weeks to go.
Very excited as well!

gostwyck · « **Reply #557 on:** March 12, 2013, 07:31 »

Quote from: aeonf on March 11, 2013, 17:55

Good luck Cobalt!
We have 3 more weeks to go.
Very excited as well!

You too? Could have sworn you were always telling us how fantastic exclusivity with Istock was.

Looks to me that the predicted mass-exodus from exclusivity is now well underway. I wonder if Istock will try and sweeten the terms or take any other action in an attempt to stem the flow?

Mantis · « **Reply #558 on:** March 12, 2013, 07:41 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on March 11, 2013, 13:55

if I may add Tyler too (http://www.istockphoto.com/Stalman)

I wonder what the facts behind this one are?

pro@stockphotos · « **Reply #559 on:** March 12, 2013, 09:00 »

Quote from: Mantis on March 12, 2013, 07:41

Quote from: luissantos84 on March 11, 2013, 13:55
if I may add Tyler too (http://www.istockphoto.com/Stalman)

I wonder what the facts behind this one are?

Looks like exactly the photo type stocksy seeks. It's funny there is no delay in closing "this" account by IS.

loop · « **Reply #560 on:** March 12, 2013, 09:09 »

Quote from: Mantis on March 12, 2013, 07:41

Quote from: luissantos84 on March 11, 2013, 13:55
if I may add Tyler too (http://www.istockphoto.com/Stalman)

I wonder what the facts behind this one are?

I thinks he's an administrator at Stocksy, as well as Ivar. Not sure they have been boted, maybe they just resigned.

vlad_the_imp · « **Reply #561 on:** March 12, 2013, 09:17 »

Quote

Looks to me that the predicted mass-exodus from exclusivity is now well underway.

Yes, right.

ShadySue · « **Reply #562 on:** March 12, 2013, 09:27 »

Quote from: gostwyck on March 12, 2013, 07:31

Quote from: aeonf on March 11, 2013, 17:55
Good luck Cobalt!
We have 3 more weeks to go.
Very excited as well!
You too? Could have sworn you were always telling us how fantastic exclusivity with Istock was.

Times change.

Quote

Looks to me that the predicted mass-exodus from exclusivity is now well underway. I wonder if Istock will try and sweeten the terms or take any other action in an attempt to stem the flow?

Seems highly unlikely. They've already said they're going out to tryto recurit newbies, so 15%; and a long standing question in the exclusive forum, "Dear iStock, what do you think about exclusivity", with an OP on Jan 17th specifically asking what iStock sees as reasons why people should become/remain exclusive has not been answered.

Sadstock · « **Reply #563 on:** March 12, 2013, 10:21 »

Quote from: loop on March 12, 2013, 09:09

Quote from: Mantis on March 12, 2013, 07:41
Quote from: luissantos84 on March 11, 2013, 13:55
if I may add Tyler too (http://www.istockphoto.com/Stalman)

I wonder what the facts behind this one are?

I thinks he's an administrator at Stocksy, as well as Ivar. Not sure they have been boted, maybe they just resigned.

Based on personal experience, they both have strong relationships with Bruce and reasonably similar photographic styles, so it is no surprise to me that they would be involved in Stocksy as more than contributors

aeonf · « **Reply #564 on:** March 12, 2013, 11:28 »

Quote from: gostwyck on March 12, 2013, 07:31

Quote from: aeonf on March 11, 2013, 17:55
Good luck Cobalt!
We have 3 more weeks to go.
Very excited as well!

You too? Could have sworn you were always telling us how fantastic exclusivity with Istock was.

Looks to me that the predicted mass-exodus from exclusivity is now well underway. I wonder if Istock will try and sweeten the terms or take any other action in an attempt to stem the flow?

The magic word here is "was".
I was exclusive as long as it made financial sense and always thought it's a good idea choosing to be exclusive or not based on numbers and not emotions. The people running IS don't have much common sense IMO so numbers are going down.
I still think that for people that are making over 35% of their income from IS, exclusivity makes sense.
I personally think (or hope) I can make more as an indy. Time will tell.

I can also tell you that I met with one of the big 4 agencies and they claimed that in recent weeks they have been contacted with dozens of exclusives looking to become indy.

tickstock · « **Reply #565 on:** March 12, 2013, 11:42 »

Quote from: aeonf on March 12, 2013, 11:28

Quote from: gostwyck on March 12, 2013, 07:31
Quote from: aeonf on March 11, 2013, 17:55
Good luck Cobalt!
We have 3 more weeks to go.
Very excited as well!

You too? Could have sworn you were always telling us how fantastic exclusivity with Istock was.

Looks to me that the predicted mass-exodus from exclusivity is now well underway. I wonder if Istock will try and sweeten the terms or take any other action in an attempt to stem the flow?

The magic word here is "was".
I was exclusive as long as it made financial sense and always thought it's a good idea choosing to be exclusive or not based on numbers and not emotions. The people running IS don't have much common sense IMO so numbers are going down.
I still think that for people that are making over 35% of their income from IS, exclusivity makes sense.
I personally think (or hope) I can make more as an indy. Time will tell.

I can also tell you that I met with one of the big 4 agencies and they claimed that in recent weeks they have been contacted with dozens of exclusives looking to become indy.

Will you be posting your results?

aeonf · « **Reply #566 on:** March 12, 2013, 11:48 »

^^^ sure will.
Will open a thread once it is relevant, I am sure many others considering this move will find the information useful.

shudderstok · « **Reply #567 on:** March 12, 2013, 12:17 »

Just to play devil's advocate here...
Sean would have never left IS on his own accord, and Sean is not IS. The industry does not care about Saint Sean. Getty/IS (love them or hate them) knows the game well and we are all expendable. The market is way over saturated with really great and amazing images and it's truly a buyer's market. Very few of us (including myself) are bringing anything new to the table of the stock industry, and Getty knows this, and for that matter so does every other agency out there. Stock photography has always been a numbers game with total ebb and flow. With the advent of digital photography, the internet, and microstock - which were total game changers in the industry, the game is now totally beneficial to all the successful agency owners and becoming less so to the demise of the photographers who produce the work and carry the burden of expense to do so. I am saying this from having 25+ years experience as a successful full time stock photographer. that's my two cents.

cthoman · « **Reply #568 on:** March 12, 2013, 12:22 »

Quote from: shudderstok on March 12, 2013, 12:17

Just to play devil's advocate here...
Sean would have never left IS on his own accord, and Sean is not IS. The industry does not care about Saint Sean. Getty/IS (love them or hate them) knows the game well and we are all expendable. The market is way over saturated with really great and amazing images and it's truly a buyer's market. Very few of us (including myself) are bringing anything new to the table of the stock industry, and Getty knows this, and for that matter so does every other agency out there. Stock photography has always been a numbers game with total ebb and flow. With the advent of digital photography, the internet, and microstock - which were total game changers in the industry, the game is now totally beneficial to all the successful agency owners and becoming less so to the demise of the photographers who produce the work and carry the burden of expense to do so. I am saying this from having 25+ years experience as a successful full time stock photographer. that's my two cents.

Contributors are buyers and designers as well, and these things can and do upset them.

wds · « **Reply #569 on:** March 12, 2013, 12:24 »

Quote from: shudderstok on March 12, 2013, 12:17

Just to play devil's advocate here...
Sean would have never left IS on his own accord, and Sean is not IS. The industry does not care about Saint Sean. Getty/IS (love them or hate them) knows the game well and we are all expendable. The market is way over saturated with really great and amazing images and it's truly a buyer's market. Very few of us (including myself) are bringing anything new to the table of the stock industry, and Getty knows this, and for that matter so does every other agency out there. Stock photography has always been a numbers game with total ebb and flow. With the advent of digital photography, the internet, and microstock - which were total game changers in the industry, the game is now totally beneficial to all the successful agency owners and becoming less so to the demise of the photographers who produce the work and carry the burden of expense to do so. I am saying this from having 25+ years experience as a successful full time stock photographer. that's my two cents.

All makes sense, but you could have said the same thing two years ago and it would have made as much sense then also. However, for a bunch of exclusives at iStock, there is a world of difference between 2 years ago and now.

shudderstok · « **Reply #570 on:** March 12, 2013, 12:46 »

Quote from: wds on March 12, 2013, 12:24

Quote from: shudderstok on March 12, 2013, 12:17
Just to play devil's advocate here...
Sean would have never left IS on his own accord, and Sean is not IS. The industry does not care about Saint Sean. Getty/IS (love them or hate them) knows the game well and we are all expendable. The market is way over saturated with really great and amazing images and it's truly a buyer's market. Very few of us (including myself) are bringing anything new to the table of the stock industry, and Getty knows this, and for that matter so does every other agency out there. Stock photography has always been a numbers game with total ebb and flow. With the advent of digital photography, the internet, and microstock - which were total game changers in the industry, the game is now totally beneficial to all the successful agency owners and becoming less so to the demise of the photographers who produce the work and carry the burden of expense to do so. I am saying this from having 25+ years experience as a successful full time stock photographer. that's my two cents.

All makes sense, but you could have said the same thing two years ago and it would have made as much sense then also. However, for a bunch of exclusives at iStock, there is a world of difference between 2 years ago and now.

I have been saying this, or most of this for more than two years (delete the Sean part), just not here on this forum.

gostwyck · « **Reply #571 on:** March 12, 2013, 13:43 »

Quote from: shudderstok on March 12, 2013, 12:17

Just to play devil's advocate here...
Sean would have never left IS on his own accord, and Sean is not IS. The industry does not care about Saint Sean. Getty/IS (love them or hate them) knows the game well and we are all expendable. The market is way over saturated with really great and amazing images and it's truly a buyer's market. Very few of us (including myself) are bringing anything new to the table of the stock industry, and Getty knows this, and for that matter so does every other agency out there. Stock photography has always been a numbers game with total ebb and flow. With the advent of digital photography, the internet, and microstock - which were total game changers in the industry, the game is now totally beneficial to all the successful agency owners and becoming less so to the demise of the photographers who produce the work and carry the burden of expense to do so. I am saying this from having 25+ years experience as a successful full time stock photographer. that's my two cents.

You talk of Getty as if it were a living, breathing entity with it's own vast and superior brain. It isn't. Getty is just another business staffed by normal people who come and go all the time. Decisions are made by individuals within the business (often for political or self-interest reasons) and sometimes those individuals make good decisions and sometimes they make bad decisions. Occasionally they make very bad decisions. IMHO terminating Sean's membership of Istock is a prime example of the latter.

Getty will lose Sean's 13,000 images and the significant revenue that they generate. Much worse than that one or possibly several of their competitors will gain them instead. That might be all it needs for major accounts to explore new outlets for their requirements. I wonder how many of Sean's images are currently within lightboxes awaiting purchase when a planned project goes ahead?

As well as the loss of goodwill from contributors (many of whom are also buyers) how many more exclusives will choose to give up their crowns now? It makes folks nervous when they know that their entire income can be wiped out with 30 days notice on trumped-up charges and with no possibility of appeal and little or no protection from the law. Much safer being independent and having several sources of income. So that's another gain to Istock's competitors.

The Istock forums have gone quiet too. Very quiet. That's another loss to IS/Getty of valuable feedback, their finger on the pulse of their contributors' mood as well as a big help in the 'crowd-sourcing' initiative. It will never be the same again.

Then there's Stocksy. Previously Sean might have only have had a luke-warm and slightly sceptical interest in it, especially with the restrictions imposed by his exclusive status. Now Getty have freed him from such constraints he will be able to give Stocksy his 100% effort. Getty will find out that they were far better having Sean as their friend (and a handy revenue and ideas generator) than their competitor or as their competitors' asset.

You'll see. It might take a couple of years or more to play out but I can assure you that it is now 'game-on'.

tickstock · « **Reply #572 on:** March 12, 2013, 14:03 »

Quote from: gostwyck on March 12, 2013, 13:43

Then there's Stocksy. Previously Sean might have only have had a luke-warm and slightly sceptical interest in it, especially with the restrictions imposed by his exclusive status. Now Getty have freed him from such constraints he will be able to give Stocksy his 100% effort. Getty will find out that they were far better having Sean as their friend (and a handy revenue and ideas generator) than their competitor or as their competitors' asset.

I doubt Sean will have very many images at Stocksy unless they make an exception for him, they seem to be looking for artistic images not traditional stock images which Sean does so well. Maybe he'll change it up a little now but my guess is he will continue to put most of efforts into creating the type of work that has made him so successful already.

Freedom · « **Reply #573 on:** March 12, 2013, 15:38 »

With Sean's talents and abilities, I have no doubt he is going to do very well regardless if his status is exclusive or indie. With his sense and sensibility, lol, you never know what comes the next. Maybe after all, he will still be an exclusive?

By the way, I am never clear whether or not he was going to be terminated as an exclusive or as a contributor. At first, I thought, from the title of the thread, he was "booted", which means his account is going to be deleted. It does not look like to be the case now.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #574 on:** March 12, 2013, 15:47 »

Quote from: Freedom on March 12, 2013, 15:38

With Sean's talents and abilities, I have no doubt he is going to do very well regardless if his status is exclusive or indie. With his sense and sensibility, lol, you never know what comes the next. Maybe after all, he will still be an exclusive?

By the way, I am never clear whether or not he was going to be terminated as an exclusive or as a contributor. At first, I thought, from the title of the thread, he was "booted", which means his account is going to be deleted. It does not look like to be the case now.

As of now, they are going to close my portfolio, just a few weeks later than originally stated, due to a technical issue.

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Author Topic: sjlocke was just booted from iStock (Read 128045 times)

cobalt

tickstock

ShadySue

cobalt

ShadySue

tickstock

aeonf

gostwyck

Mantis

pro@stockphotos

loop

vlad_the_imp

ShadySue

Sadstock

aeonf

tickstock

aeonf

shudderstok

cthoman

wds

shudderstok

gostwyck

tickstock

Freedom

Sean Locke Photography

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