just got an invitation from a microstock friend, anybody heard of them before? looking at their FB page they started back in Feb 2012 but looks like going live in a few days/weeks, have been trying to understand who are the owners but nothing so far...

domain registered back in September 2010

p.s: have 5 invitations, if anybody wants one please PM with email (just to let you know I will get 5% referral, agency is only open for now with invitation)

The owner is James Scarbrough

http://companies.findthecompany.com/l/29901465/Solid-Stock-Art-Llc-in-Sandy-UT

thanks Kenny

Sounds decent. I'm curious about the pricing. I think the closed system is a good idea for a new site. I guess it depends on how many people they plan to bring on board.

I logged back in to check the pricing and it hasn't changed. My take was that it's too cheap given the very broad license terms; their argument was that designers are abusing the standard licenses anyway so you're better off charging them a little more and making it legit

indeed, that is my "only" concern regarding them and yes the potential buyers

I put all my metadata into my images anyway; they can't know the details about many types of shots - locations, species, ethnicity, etc. - so I wasn't sure how good a job they could do. I didn't see the value of PNG conversion for all files - which at the time they were planning; those files with transparency seem to be the primary target for PNG. Perhaps now it's just for selected files.

100% agree, how can someone do a title and an accurate catalogue of keywords for a work that don�t belong to them.....

I have sent in my request to join them and they accepted me. But before I sign up I want to read their terms, but it seems wherever I click on, I cant find a proper read of their terms. Anyone else?

Should I join them?

We've Launched!

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how desperate are contributors to make some dosh? I need a few $ but I cannot understand why contributing to an agency with such a wide license....

and again I ask myself, how far can we go before agencies end up business with us?

we seen many cases of kicking out for less but contributors willing to offer XS licenses for FREE and this new one giving EL for 2$ look they are still safe...

$2 EL .....no comments....

Quote from: brmonico on February 15, 2013, 12:37

Quote from: luissantos84 on February 15, 2013, 12:13

and again I ask myself, how far can we go before agencies end up business with us?

we seen many cases of kicking out for less but contributors willing to offer XS licenses for FREE and this new one giving EL for 2$ look they are still safe...

$2 EL .....no comments....

ah we get 1$

This is their reply when I asked them about it. I am not going to join them.

Our one royalty free license � comparable to an extended license at competitors � gives us a leg to stand on in the industry. We strongly feel that our one license approach is the next stage in the life of the stock art industry.

Our goal is to create a family with Solid Stock Art and to never forget that it�s all about the artists. We�re not looking for ten million random images; we want an elite group of artists who will upload with us to provide the public high-quality stock art at reasonable prices. We will lock down artist registration from time to time to keep our artist pool small.

This is about Solid Stock Art

Quote

We strongly feel that our one license approach is the next stage in the life of the stock art industry.

I certainly hope not. That would be awful.

I see licensing as a differentiator.  A one size fits all approach may simplify things in their mind, but I think it's failure in the making. I won't upload there that's for sure.

Quote

We strongly feel that our one license approach is the next stage in the life of the stock art industry.

I certainly hope not. That would be awful.

Is anybody submitting there? Any experience? Any sales?

I thought I would give them a try. I've had several sales and have an RPD of around the $10 mark, way above any of the other micros.

I thought long and hard about whether or not to sign up because of the wider ranging license but in the end thought it was worth a try because of the decent prices and higher compensation levels. I figure that a lot of buyer will not be making use of the extra terms plus some will be buying that would not have bought an extended license on the other sites and would still me making extended license use of the image.

I am not uploading on an ongoing basis, just uploaded some work to see how it goes. I want to wait to make sure they don't pull any Pocketstock style scams (promising higher prices then selling even cheaper than the competition) or start selling subs with these license terms. If they do I am pulling the lot out.

I haven't tried them but I see a few top contributors doing such, anyway to keep a 10$ RPD looks quite hard not to mention such a wide license, don't think this is the right approach if we want stock "sustainable" in the future, we are talking about "an EL" for a > 20 MP (16$ our share) or a 500px for 1$

the site looks amateur, even i am not a professional designer i find something is wrong with it ha.

I thought I would give them a try. I've had several sales and have an RPD of around the $10 mark, way above any of the other micros.

I thought long and hard about whether or not to sign up because of the wider ranging license but in the end thought it was worth a try because of the decent prices and higher compensation levels. I figure that a lot of buyer will not be making use of the extra terms plus some will be buying that would not have bought an extended license on the other sites and would still me making extended license use of the image.

How large is your portfolio with them?

Quote from: luissantos84 on February 15, 2013, 12:58

Quote from: brmonico on February 15, 2013, 12:37

Quote from: luissantos84 on February 15, 2013, 12:13

and again I ask myself, how far can we go before agencies end up business with us?

we seen many cases of kicking out for less but contributors willing to offer XS licenses for FREE and this new one giving EL for 2$ look they are still safe...

$2 EL .....no comments....

ah we get 1$

We will lock down artist registration from time to time to keep our artist pool small.

[/quote]

Are you serious!  Why as an artist would I spend a lot of time uploading (and yes it's an investment of time) my portfolio only to have it "locked down" possibly at sometime?

anyone have any sales here... Should I spend my time and upload my images here?

why would you or other? they are offering EL in every license

http://www.solidstockart.com/royalty-freedom

I was emailing back and forth with Taylor back in July. I think he really wants Solid Stock Art to work and be a place that contributors want to be a part of. But like I told him, to me we're just too far apart in what we can do. I'm not looking to get involved in any new companies where I'm getting a worse deal than I get at most other places. And even at the highest price point, at Solid I'd be getting something like $24 for what amounts to an EL when I'm getting $28 at SS. And that's only for the stuff that's priced at the highest level. A lot of my stuff I'm sure would be priced lower.

To his credit, though, Taylor was responsive to the criticism I had about the licensing terminology, particularly the frequent use of the word "unlimited" in describing the license. I suggested that the term "unlimited" sends the wrong message, making customers think they can do anything with the images they purchase. They have since changed much of the terminology on the site and made it more clear that there are indeed limits to the license.

This site is sooo going bankrupt.. 

do they think we are in 2004 or what?

no newcomer is going to conquer "2013 contributors" with sad and depressing business models like this..

we live in a time where if you are an agency you have to:

- offer %50-70 royalties to contributors,
- let them set their own prices, (their prices are very low if EL's are included)
- have licensing terms that are not a disgrace,

if you want to attract serious contributors.. otherwise you are going to be stuck being a "hobbyist magnet" which will not take you too far..

Check this out:
http://www.solidstockart.com/stock-photo-illustration-quality
A page on their site where 'quality' is spelled wrong at every turn: the labels say Quailty (?) and they frequently spell it as 'quaility'. Very unprofessional.

Secondly, they falsely claim to pay out the highest royalty percentage in the industry (50%), while for example GLStock pays 52%.

Thirdly, they say: "At Solid, you search for "apple tree", you'll get images of an apple tree. Not pine trees. Not a bowl of apples."
When I search for apple tree, I'm getting:
- a bunch of apples without the tree: http://www.solidstockart.com/stock-photo-fresh-tropical-wax-apples-for-sale-at-the-farmers-market-136553
- a woman holding an apple: http://photo.solidstockartcontent.com/stock-photo-close-up-portrait-of-smiling-blonde-woman-in-black-ruffle-dress-with-gloves-holding-green-apple-438811.png
- a grunge tree icon: http://www.solidstockart.com/stock-photo-grunge-tree-icon-with-reflection-385492
- a woman with a bowl of apples: http://www.solidstockart.com/stock-photo-autumn-country-woman-with-wicker-basket-361419
- more bowls of apples: http://www.solidstockart.com/stock-photo-ripe-apples-in-the-grass-next-to-a-wicker-basket-full-of-apples-136369

I'm uploading images there because:

1) No subscription plans. I do science fiction and fantasy renders, which I think is too niche and doesn't have the volume for $.42 returns. That's what I probably got when one of my renders appeared on a Penguin/Roc cover.

2) They don't make me convert my renders to JPEG and remove the transparency. My transparent PNGs are displayed on a nice checkered background.

That said, I'm not expecting a huge amount of sales right away.

so are you happy having clients using your pictures as EL if needed without paying something like 85$ at SS?

In short: yeah I've given this a lot of thought.

In short: royalties from 4$ (1200px and Solid collection) to 16.495$ (5600px and Solid collection)

we have all gave this a big thought and selling an EL in every purchase doesn't look reasonable, not to mention it is undercutting all other agencies we are contributing already, close to 10% of my income at SS come from EL

Sure. Whatever works best for your situation, but remember I spent two posts explaining how mine is a bit different.

appreciated your explanation, cheers!

Well 3200x2700 px = 9x12 @300dpi, for reference