Microstock Photography Forum - General > Newbie Discussion
boycott shutterstock
Uncle Pete:
--- Quote from: marthamarks on October 02, 2021, 18:25 ---
--- Quote from: sergio76 on October 01, 2021, 12:50 ---I've uploaded some photos on Shutterstock..then when I realized I was earning only $ 0.10 per photo..ok well, bye bye Shutterstock. I've already read a thread in another forum where many people complained about this. In my opinion, earning $ 0.10 per photo is comparable to the illegal exploitation of workers. Especially when behind a shot there is a preparation and maybe even a cost. How much does Shutterstock make from the subscriptions that editorial or advertising agencies make monthly or annually, then paying his contributors only $ 0.10 per photo?
--- End quote ---
A whole lot of us here had this exact conversation 1.5 years ago. Just about everybody complained. The obvious question then was: what do we do now?
Some decided to stick with SS. Others stopped uploading. Others (like me) withdrew completely.
We all have our reasons for doing what we do/did, but the issues you describe and the question you ask are still 100% valid.
--- End quote ---
To each our own, and everyone can decide for themselves. :)
sergio76: Claiming that SS only pays 10c is ignoring the whole picture. I had an $18 and a $13 download last month for example.
Of course, yes we are underpaid and not treated very well. The reset in January is a travesty, no one can really look forward to making gains, when everything is taken away again, every year. Our reward for hard work is, "go back to level 1".
I'm still asking if everyone who says Boycott Shutterstock is also boycotting iStock for paying us 2 cents or less? Do we hold all agencies to the same standards on an equal basis? What of the new revenue sharing plans and the unknown in that. Who's money are we sharing or getting a share of? I mean, maybe I should join into that and get your money? Isn't that sharing?
sergio76:
--- Quote from: Uncle Pete on October 04, 2021, 17:06 ---
--- Quote from: marthamarks on October 02, 2021, 18:25 ---To each our own, and everyone can decide for themselves. :)
sergio76: Claiming that SS only pays 10c is ignoring the whole picture. I had an $18 and a $13 download last month for example.
Of course, yes we are underpaid and not treated very well. The reset in January is a travesty, no one can really look forward to making gains, when everything is taken away again, every year. Our reward for hard work is, "go back to level 1".
I'm still asking if everyone who says Boycott Shutterstock is also boycotting iStock for paying us 2 cents or less? Do we hold all agencies to the same standards on an equal basis? What of the new revenue sharing plans and the unknown in that. Who's money are we sharing or getting a share of? I mean, maybe I should join into that and get your money? Isn't that sharing?
--- End quote ---
ok, 13 or 18$ on many photos do you have and above all how many times does it happen? however, my bad opinion on ss is not just about the 0.10$, I also happened to have some non-approvals uploaded photos because the moderator sayed me that contained "noise", when the photo was taken with a canon 6D full frame at 100 iso, where they saw the noise only they knew. Or that the description of the photo wasn't pertinently, or that my photo was similar to others already present in the ss database..in short, if I already have to be paid so little and then on 5 photos that I upload I wasting time writing a description and adding tags, after 3 of them are reject with these reasons, for me ss remaining a big rip off... on pond5 at the moment I have 700 photos and only 3 have been rejected and two of them because wasn't present a release, so not a really reject. ss wants the highest quality and then pays you nothing, as they say here in my country "they have seen a beautiful world"...
--- End quote ---
Year of the Dog:
--- Quote from: sergio76 on October 05, 2021, 07:02 ---
--- Quote from: Uncle Pete on October 04, 2021, 17:06 ---
--- Quote from: marthamarks on October 02, 2021, 18:25 ---To each our own, and everyone can decide for themselves. :)
--- End quote ---
sergio76: Claiming that SS only pays 10c is ignoring the whole picture. I had an $18 and a $13 download last month for example.
Of course, yes we are underpaid and not treated very well. The reset in January is a travesty, no one can really look forward to making gains, when everything is taken away again, every year. Our reward for hard work is, "go back to level 1".
I'm still asking if everyone who says Boycott Shutterstock is also boycotting iStock for paying us 2 cents or less? Do we hold all agencies to the same standards on an equal basis? What of the new revenue sharing plans and the unknown in that. Who's money are we sharing or getting a share of? I mean, maybe I should join into that and get your money? Isn't that sharing?
--- End quote ---
ok, 13 or 18$ on many photos do you have and above all how many times does it happen? however, my bad opinion on ss is not just about the 0.10$, I also happened to have some non-approvals uploaded photos because the moderator sayed me that contained "noise", when the photo was taken with a canon 6D full frame at 100 iso, where they saw the noise only they knew. Or that the description of the photo wasn't pertinently, or that my photo was similar to others already present in the ss database..in short, if I already have to be paid so little and then on 5 photos that I upload I wasting time writing a description and adding tags, after 3 of them are reject with these reasons, for me ss remaining a big rip off... on pond5 at the moment I have 700 photos and only 3 have been rejected and two of them because wasn't present a release, so not a really reject. ss wants the highest quality and then pays you nothing, as they say here in my country "they have seen a beautiful world"...
--- End quote ---
You don't like SS because they rejected you, you are new and don't know how to pass. 700 on Pond 5 where you make nothing with no downloads, but you are accepted. How many on SS do you have?
Uncle Pete:
The quoting got mixed and messed up, Martha didn't ask about RPD, I did. And I know she would never support or have any downloads on SS, as she left when they stabbed us. I kept my account, because I make some money, and I already had the work done, the images are out in the wild and pulling back doesn't hurt SS, only myself.
With that: A Microstock agency boycott does nothing, they never have. Not IS, not DT, Not DP, not FT and least of all SS. The only way artists can make any change or be effective in improving the earnings, with a protest or boycott, is if we have power over the agency, that forces them to change.
No power, no financial threat = No Change.
Now back to the RPD point. As much as I hate 10c downloads and the reset,
--- Quote from: sergio76 on October 01, 2021, 12:50 ---I've uploaded some photos on Shutterstock..then when I realized I was earning only $ 0.10 per photo..ok well, bye bye Shutterstock. I've already read a thread in another forum where many people complained about this. In my opinion, earning $ 0.10 per photo is comparable to the illegal exploitation of workers. Especially when behind a shot there is a preparation and maybe even a cost. How much does Shutterstock make from the subscriptions that editorial or advertising agencies make monthly or annually, then paying his contributors only $ 0.10 per photo?
--- End quote ---
If someone uploads and keeps their account open, then they are not exploited, they are a willing victim. People who leave have made their own decision to not take the micro payments.
Again, we don't earn 10c per download, that's a false claim.
My RPD is less, and in fact my number of downloads and my income is less on SS than it was, before the change. But a small percentage of something is more than 100% of nothing.
RPD this year
Sept = $1.03
Aug = .68
July = $1.57
June = .27
May = .62
April = .64
March = .24
Feb = .30
Jan = .33
Nothing to cheer about, compared to higher numbers before the changes, but NOT 10C.
And I'll admit that RPD is a terrible, useless statistic, because we earn dollars not some statistical number. But in this case, the claim that we get 10c a download vs the truth, I needed to go look for real numbers. $50 EL skewed July up, and some downloads in the teens, elevated Sept. I'm probably averaging around 45c RPD and I'm not going to spend more time, calculating the exact number. Used to be closer to 75¢
H2O:
Shutterstock are nothing more than a bunch of crooks, having spent over 10 years uploading to them, keyboarding and all the effort that I have put into my Port on this site, I'm reluctant to disable my work.
So I have decided to just let it sit there, but I haven't uploaded anything new since the commission cuts last year.
I suspect that many other contributors will have done exactly the same thing.
Personally, I'm still uploading to Adobe, but I'm also moving into other areas to sell my work.
The reality in my opinion is Shutterstock will slowly die, a great shame really.
They are a classic example of greed over good.
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