MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Pixmac => Topic started by: lisafx on March 05, 2013, 10:49
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I signed into Pixmac today and there was a notice that they are merging with Pond5. Going forward we will now be receiving 50% royalties at PM, just as at Pond5.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to do a screenshot of the agreement before reading and signing it. Can anyone who has not yet signed post the screenshot or the exact wording of the announcement?
This looks like a good thing to me. I have been wanting to upload to Pond5 for awhile but hadn't found the time. Pixmac, OTOH, has my entire portfolio. Hoping this will be mirrored at Pond5. Not exactly sure how it will work.
Anybody have more details?
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Pond5 have bought them.
http://www.itespresso.fr/banque-images-pond5-rachete-concurrent-tcheque-pixmac-62539.html (http://www.itespresso.fr/banque-images-pond5-rachete-concurrent-tcheque-pixmac-62539.html)
La banque d’images collaborative américaine Pond5 a acquis, pour un montant non communiqué, le tchèque PixMac, qui lui aussi permet le stockage et la mise à disposition de photos et d’illustrations, sur le modèle de ce que proposent ses concurrents, comme Fotolia ou Shutterstock.
Lancé en 2008, PixMac propose en 17 langues une plate-forme de ventes et de téléchargement d’images avec un portefeuille de plus de 10 millions de photos et d’illustrations.
Cette acquisition va permettre à Pond5, fondé en 2006 par Tom Bennett, de se renforcer à l’international en s’implantant en Europe.
Cette place de marché de contenus audiovisuels en ligne vient d’ouvrir des bureaux en France et en Allemagne. Le rachat de PixMac, localisé en République Tchèque, va ainsi lui offrir la possibilité de conquérir de nouveaux utilisateurs, mais aussi de proposer des images dotées d’« une identité culturelle différente ».
Actuellement, Pond5 réalise plus de 80% de son chiffre d’affaire aux Etats-Unis.
La banque d’images propose aujourd’hui à la vente des vidéos libres de droit, des photos, de la musique, des illustrations, des effets sonores et même des modèles 3D, en visionnage, en téléchargement et en achat immédiat.
Elle compte 350 000 visiteurs uniques par mois, 260 000 utilisateurs enregistrés, plus de 9 500 contributeurs et a généré en 2012 un chiffre d’affaires de près de 10 millions de dollars.
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Hi Lisa,
You should get email about the news later today. The new agreement is here:
http://www.pixmac.com/page/contributor-agreement (http://www.pixmac.com/page/contributor-agreement)
Vita
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Odd timing.
A couple of weeks back I had decided to start uploading to Pond5 directly and had them remove my pixmac portfolio (which is only 300 of my images). At the time, Pond5 support said that they couldn't just move the Pixmac files into my Pond5 account - possibly now they can?
I also wonder about balances at Pixmac - I have 49.xx credits at pixmac and sales dried up ages ago. I was hoping to wait until a sale took me over the 50 credit mark, cash out and leave. I'm fed up with all these distributor deals where the buyer's money is spread around so many places that I see less of it. Possibly now this will work out better, although reviews at Pond5 make Veer look speedy, so I may not have much work up for a year or two :)
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As it turns out, I had made some Pixmac sales via Pond5 at the end of February so my balance was 53.xx and I was able to cash out - after providing two IDs!!
Is this the only site that requires two?? I have a passport and drivers license (both with the ID numbers blacked out) so I provided them, but in what universe is providing a passport not sufficient?
In the Pixmac sales report, there was a note by the new sales (on Feb 28th) saying they were from Pond5. I had a note from Pond5 support on Feb 18th saying they'd removed my Pixmac images, which they appear to have done.
If I continue to have images on Pixmac, that means the sales are at Pixmac prices (cheaper; 1-7 credits, $3.88 to $9.80) versus the $4.80 - $12 prices for the items I uploaded to Pond5 directly?
I wonder if there will be any way to merge things automatically?
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Hi Lisa,
You should get email about the news later today. The new agreement is here:
[url]http://www.pixmac.com/page/contributor-agreement[/url] ([url]http://www.pixmac.com/page/contributor-agreement[/url])
Vita
Congrats on the sale Vita. Will you be staying on, working on the transition, or retiring to a tropical island somewhere? ;)
I didn't see in the agreement where it addresses my question about whether my pixmac files will be imported to pond5. Can you tell me?
ETA: ^^nevermind. I found it on the FAQ page
http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5 (http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5)
Content uploaded to Pixmac will be available on Pond5 , and vice-versa.
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Thank you Lisa. Tropical island not yet :-) I'll stay and try to help out with design and usability - things I love the most. And yes, your files will be sold at Pond5 as well, if you agree to the new agreement. Later on ideally having one interface for both sites.
Thank you Jsnover as well. Speed of curatorial crew at Pond5 should be faster, it's already in the process. You can also opt-out from API partners at Pixmac.
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congratulations! is pixmac website closing down?
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Wow! They acquired the site, and they are actually improving it (better royalties and price setting). This may be a first.
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congratulations! is pixmac website closing down?
Q: What will the new company look like?
A: To begin with, the Pond5 and Pixmac websites will continue to function as separate entities, with features and functionality gradually being merged over time. Content uploaded to Pixmac will be available on Pond5 , and vice-versa. Pixmac employees will be joining the Pond5 team, and heading up Pond5’s newest office in Prague. Pixmac territory managers and reviewers will also be joining Pond5.
Our eventual goal is to create a single, unified global community of media makers, with the absolute best possible experience for our contributors and our buyers. In order to do this, we will be focusing our efforts on the Pond5 brand, and eventually migrating most functionality to the Pond5.com domain. This will be a gradual process, and may take some time to complete.
http://help.pond5.com/customer/portal/articles/1020009 (http://help.pond5.com/customer/portal/articles/1020009)
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I just received the email from Pond5 and with the information provided in the email and the FAQ section on Pond5 I am NOT happy.
Again, we're at the mercy of Pixmac's funny business (sorry, the past will haunt you).
Now my oh so beloved Pond5 that provided excellent results will depend on the distribution and sales reporting of Pixmac.
I'm devastated. :-\
I hope that at least Pond5 replaces all staff at Pixmac worldwide to regain control over their conglomerate of subsidiaries.
This sucks.
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I asked this question on Pond5 forum, but maybe I will receive a faster response here: I'm the impatient sort. ;)
Pixmac has already begun with updating agreements. I declined the new agreement mostly from confusion. If I have my images already posted here with pond5 and identical images at pixmac, I see no sense in accepting the new agreement. Am I correct in this assessment?
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Here is also the Pond5 press release:
http://microstockinfos.blogspot.com/2013/03/pond5-acquires-pixmac-and-expands.html (http://microstockinfos.blogspot.com/2013/03/pond5-acquires-pixmac-and-expands.html)
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As so often, when a buyout is announced and a somewhat new "partnership" emerges we, the contributors, are left in the dark how our share of the pie will be.
There are no numbers of commission % mentioned anywhere.
I can hardly believe that sales through the Pixmac affiliate network will still net us contributors 50% like the sales at Pond5!
Am I too pessimistic or is there really a chance this will be the first affiliate network that still works at 50% for the contributors?
I'm eager to see the numbers.
I'm off to write a nice email to Pond5 now.
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Zager,
Will Pixmac's existing partnerships with Depositphotos and Yaymicro continue?
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... If I have my images already posted here with pond5 and identical images at pixmac, I see no sense in accepting the new agreement. Am I correct in this assessment?
Would also like a reply to this. What happens if we have the same files at both sites?
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To Luis: Thanks!
To Sadstock: Yes, we believe so.
To click_click: You'll get 50% of net at both sites. It was mentioned in the Press Release. It's not affiliate network as such, it's acquisition.
To hotwalkn: Please accept the new agreement at Pixmac now, as it covers the changes in ownership of the site. If you would not accept the new terms, we will deactivate your content later. As you can see here: http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5 (http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5) (section: I’m a contributor on Pixmac, what does this mean for me?)
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What happens if we have the same files at both sites?
Please contact Lucy at: [email protected] and we'll handle that individually.
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To click_click: You'll get 50% of net at both sites. It was mentioned in the Press Release. It's not affiliate network as such, it's acquisition.
Zager, kindly post the URL where this is stated.
Both in the email I received from Pond5 and the FAQ on Pond5 I couldn't find that information that it's 50% net at both sites.
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To Luis: Thanks!
To Sadstock: Yes, we believe so.
To click_click: You'll get 50% of net at both sites. It was mentioned in the Press Release. It's not affiliate network as such, it's acquisition.
To hotwalkn: Please accept the new agreement at Pixmac now, as it covers the changes in ownership of the site. If you would not accept the new terms, we will deactivate your content later. As you can see here: [url]http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5[/url] ([url]http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5[/url]) (section: I’m a contributor on Pixmac, what does this mean for me?)
Thank you zagar, I have emailed as you suggested. :)
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To click_click:
This might work as an example:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/05/pond5-acquires-pixmac/ (http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/05/pond5-acquires-pixmac/)
I believe that emails from Pond5 doesn't mention the 50% split as it would not be news. Pond5 was and will continue to pay 50% as before. And Pixmac goes from 30-40% to 50% to match Pond5. We were editing the news for each site so it brings the important info, but we should probably mention that the 50/50 split stays. Sorry for that.
Here is Pixmac FAQ:
http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5 (http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5)
Here is Pond5 FAQ:
http://help.pond5.com/customer/portal/articles/1020009-pond5-pixmac (http://help.pond5.com/customer/portal/articles/1020009-pond5-pixmac)
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To Luis: Thanks!
To Sadstock: Yes, we believe so.
To click_click: You'll get 50% of net at both sites. It was mentioned in the Press Release. It's not affiliate network as such, it's acquisition.
To hotwalkn: Please accept the new agreement at Pixmac now, as it covers the changes in ownership of the site. If you would not accept the new terms, we will deactivate your content later. As you can see here: [url]http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5[/url] ([url]http://www.pixmac.com/infocenter/pond5[/url]) (section: I’m a contributor on Pixmac, what does this mean for me?)
Thank you zagar, I have emailed as you suggested. :)
spelled - Zager - sorry, my bad.
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To click_click:
This might work as an example:
[url]http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/05/pond5-acquires-pixmac/[/url] ([url]http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/05/pond5-acquires-pixmac/[/url])
I believe that emails from Pond5 doesn't mention the 50% split as it would not be news. Pond5 was and will continue to pay 50% as before. And Pixmac goes from 30-40% to 50% to match Pond5. We were editing the news for each site so it brings the important info, but we should probably mention that the 50/50 split stays. Sorry for that.
...
From Techcrunch:
Over the years, photo and video licensing company Pond5 has tried to differentiate itself with an artist-friendly licensing model, allowing its contributors to set their own terms and splitting sales with them 50-50. That’s a much more favorable revenue split than the competition, and as a result, the marketplace has done pretty well for itself. ...
English is not my native tongue so I might get things wrong but even on the Techcrunch web site it only states that Pond5 runs a 50/50 business. There is no clear communication that all future sales through Pond5 and their newly acquired affiliate network will still be handled at 50/50.
If however, as you mention, all sales that run through Pond5's future nervous system, will pay us 50% then praise the Lord!
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What's going to happen to my minus 18 credits with Pixmac? I uploaded to get the bonus but removed most of my portfolio when Pixmac started selling subs for very low commissions, had a problem with DT and some other incidents that knocked my confidence in them.
Can the negative credits be wiped from my Pixmac account now? After all these years, every time I sell something with Pixmac, it just reduces my arrears slightly.
I don't like the idea of the sites merging and my Pond5 balance decreasing.
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So if I am not on pixmac because I chose not to upload to them due to their not reporting commissions, I will be now mirrored there with my pond5 images?
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Is this the only site that requires two?? I have a passport and drivers license (both with the ID numbers blacked out) so I provided them, but in what universe is providing a passport not sufficient?
Does the driving licence need to have a photo? (Mine doesn't) (Just wondering?)
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I don't like the idea of the sites merging and my Pond5 balance decreasing.
True, that seems scary. Can you please contact Lucy at [email protected] to give you more info and possibly a solution? Just please, give her your username at Pixmac and we'll look at it.
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Is this the only site that requires two?? I have a passport and drivers license (both with the ID numbers blacked out) so I provided them, but in what universe is providing a passport not sufficient?
Does the driving licence need to have a photo? (Mine doesn't) (Just wondering?)
One phot ID is fine. We're going to re-make the system according the Pond5 one. And that would hopefully make things easier. I agree that what we have at Pixmac now is a bit vintage approach...
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Wouldn't it have been great if Pond5 had done like Veer and just payed contributors to upload instead of "buying" a collection at another agency?
The owner of Pixmac now cashes out so Pond5 can sell YOUR pictures from Pixmac on Pond5 and you, the content providers, gets nothing. This is business and I can understand the owner of Pixmac.
I also realize that many other factors are involved in the purchase from Pond5, but clearly expanding the collection must have been a major one. Or maybe I am wrong?
With 50% to contributors we better hope they make it big together! Good luck!
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This does show that Pond5 is making a healthy profit paying us 50% commission. Hopefully they will carry on growing and buy more sites that are paying us less and not doing as well.
This has to be better than when Getty bought StockXpert and closed it down.
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Hi all, Tom from Pond5 here.
Just to follow up on what Vita said, a few points --
• all Pixmac artists will earn 50% on all sales, independent of where the sales occur (Pond5 or Pixmac network)
• there's no need to upload to both sites, as content uploaded to one will be distributed via the other (assuming you click through the new agreement)
• Pixmac minimum payout is now $25, just like p5 -- and sharpshot, we'll make sure that the negative credits are cleared from your account :)
We're incredibly excited about this deal + delighted to have Pixmac on board!
Tom
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Hi all, Tom from Pond5 here.
Just to follow up on what Vita said, a few points --
• all Pixmac artists will earn 50% on all sales, independent of where the sales occur (Pond5 or Pixmac network)
• there's no need to upload to both sites, as content uploaded to one will be distributed via the other (assuming you click through the new agreement)
• Pixmac minimum payout is now $25, just like p5 -- and sharpshot, we'll make sure that the negative credits are cleared from your account :)
We're incredibly excited about this deal + delighted to have Pixmac on board!
Tom
Tom,
What if I don't want my images on pixmac? Their shady past getting caught red handed not paying out commissions is enough for me to not want my content there. Do I have a choice to not have my images on pond 5 mirrored on pixmac? If not I may have to close my 3000 image port at p5
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Hi all, Tom from Pond5 here.
Just to follow up on what Vita said, a few points --
• all Pixmac artists will earn 50% on all sales, independent of where the sales occur (Pond5 or Pixmac network)
• there's no need to upload to both sites, as content uploaded to one will be distributed via the other (assuming you click through the new agreement)
• Pixmac minimum payout is now $25, just like p5 -- and sharpshot, we'll make sure that the negative credits are cleared from your account :)
We're incredibly excited about this deal + delighted to have Pixmac on board!
Tom
Tom, Zager, and any one else
I don't currently contribute to either Pixmac or Pond5 but am interested. Any advice on which one I should submit to? Should I hold off until the upload systems merge?
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• there's no need to upload to both sites, as content uploaded to one will be distributed via the other (assuming you click through the new agreement)
...
Thanks for coming here to help us understand this transition, Tom.
I am in a slightly odd situation in that I have two different small portions of my portfolio (which totals about 2,500 images) on Pixmac and Pond5. 389 on pixmac and 25 on Pond5 with another 25 in the queue.
I'd like to have my images on Pond5 where the price I've chosen ($12 and down) is higher than what Pixmac is selling for.
1) Can you address the pricing plans for the two sites - are you planning to offer the same prices in both? And will Pixmac users have a choice of prices?
2) Where should I upload my files going forward (I'd prefer to use Pond5)?
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Hi all, Tom from Pond5 here.
Just to follow up on what Vita said, a few points --
• all Pixmac artists will earn 50% on all sales, independent of where the sales occur (Pond5 or Pixmac network)
• there's no need to upload to both sites, as content uploaded to one will be distributed via the other (assuming you click through the new agreement)
• Pixmac minimum payout is now $25, just like p5 -- and sharpshot, we'll make sure that the negative credits are cleared from your account :)
We're incredibly excited about this deal + delighted to have Pixmac on board!
Tom
Tom, I share your excitement. The more facts that are revealed, the better deal it seems to be for contributors.
If both sites, and the combined one in the future, continue with the ethical business practices and contributor benefits outlined in the FAQ then I think you will find most indie contributors will be behind you 100%.
Many of us have been looking for a fair trade solution to throw our support to, and this may well be what we've been hoping for! :D
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Thanks Lisa!
Jsnover / Sadstock, if you upload content to Pond5, you can set the price yourself, and this content will maintain its price when it's distributed on the Pixmac sites (which we expect to begin doing in a few weeks). Relatively soon Pixmac artists will be able to price their own content as well, but it may take a little while. Also, if you are interested in uploading anything other than photos/illustrations (video, music, etc), that should happen via Pond5. Conversely, if you have vectors, those can be uploaded at Pixmac but not currently at Pond5 (we're working on this now and should be able to accept vectors at p5 in a few weeks). Pricing will generally be the same on both sites, although there might be some variations based on different countries / currencies, in which case you would earn 50% of the selling price as well.
Mantis, you will be able to opt out of distribution on Pixmac, although I would not recommend that, as you will miss out on sales that you would not get otherwise, and from which you would earn the full 50% of the price you've set. Regarding the "shady history", we looked into this closely and found no evidence whatsoever of shadiness - this was an honest mistake. At both Pond5 and Pixmac we understand that artist trust is our number one asset, and wouldn't consider jeopardizing that.
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Yep. Usual stuff for sites. You go to investigate a site and sign up only to find they already have your work there. [Shakes Head]
I did find it odd that when I tried to sign up, it said my username was already taken. All I found was a 4@cthoman which looks like some kind of partner. Does anybody know a way to reclaim that on Pond5? I really need to take some time to get all these partners under control. I guess I could just start closing accounts.
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Thanks Tom. Pond5 is a pleasure to work with compared to most of the sites I use. Hopefully this buyout will be a success and a few more of the smaller sites will be gobbled up.
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This reinforces my love for Pond5. Truly contributor friendly. I hope many photographers continue to support them. Microstock would be much more worthwhile with these guys sitting in the Top Tier / Big 4. I can think of at least 2 members of the Top 4 that I would prefer to see replaced by them.
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Thanks for jumping in here and answering questions Tom and Zager. Congrats on the sale / purchase. By the looks of it, we are getting the best of both Pixmac and Pond5. Sounds good.
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This is very exciting! In a week from now I will be uploading photos to Pond5 as well. I have been quite impressed with my humble video portfolio and I love that I have so much control over prices, mediaboxes and the portfolio in general. (just a little unhappy with the visible downloads, but I keep hoping...)
Pond5 is a true marketplace and allows buyers and sellers to interact freely. And with 50% customers can get the files for much lower prices than on other agencies.
Very good news!! All the best for the merger!
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I have never been a Pixmac contributor, but Pixmac has a partnership agreement with Depositphotos. 276 of my images are on Pixmac through this arrangement. How is this going to work now, especially with the potential of duplication?
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Everything nice & fine,
But REVIEW TIMES, please ???
I have a lot of winter videos waiting for review and spring is already here.
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I have never been a Pixmac contributor, but Pixmac has a partnership agreement with Depositphotos. 276 of my images are on Pixmac through this arrangement. How is this going to work now, especially with the potential of duplication?
I'm wondering the same thing. I had been ready to sign up with Pond5. What's going to happen regarding duplicaate images? Can we have these Depositpotos partner program images removed if we upload direct to Pond5? I'd prefer to have control over content placement and pricing.
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Yes, CD123 and klsbear, you would be able to disable any ports that would duplicate your submitted content at PX+P5.
Vita
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Yes, CD123 and klsbear, you would be able to disable any ports that would duplicate your submitted content at PX+P5.
Vita
Can you explain how each of the three will interact and how we will block or allow from one to another? I'm totally confused.
I have never been a Pixmac contributor, but Pixmac has a partnership agreement with Depositphotos. 276 of my images are on Pixmac through this arrangement. How is this going to work now, especially with the potential of duplication?
You mean DP photos are on Pixmac and now Pond5 photos will go to Pixmac and I have no idea what they are doing with any of them? My DP photos will be on Pond5, so I don't need to do anything? We get paid one price at DP for a sale on Pond5 or Pixmac as a partner and another if it's directly from Pond5 or Pixmac.
Will everything from DP go to all, then it's easy, I only have to submit to one site?
What a mess!
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We would handle that individually. So if you have any ports at DP, FP or YAY and you don't want them distributed at Pixmac and Pond5, please contact Lucy at [email protected] to handle that for you. Sorry for confusion.
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I chose not to upload at Pixmac, due to the negative press they were receiving when I was looking at the site, and I haven't uploaded to Pond5 because 50% of my port is vectors. I do, however, have my full portfolio at DP but asked them to disable the partner program with Pixmac.
So, if I ask DP to enable the partner program with Pixmac does that mean that all of my port will be available on all three sites? Or would it be more beneficial to open a Pond5 account and upload directly?
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So, if I ask DP to enable the partner program with Pixmac does that mean that all of my port will be available on all three sites? Or would it be more beneficial to open a Pond5 account and upload directly?
Just guessing here, but if you enable the partner program at DP I assume DP will take their cut out of every sale. Opening an account at Pond5 looks like the better choice (and they said that the ability to upload vectors is coming...)
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I'd like to see all sites handle their partners like Yaymicro do. They have a page with them all listed and we can opt out of any of them.
Wouldn't it make sense to have a page like that for Pond5 and Pixmac? I've already sent a few emails to Pond5 in the past and they've removed duplicates but all of us emailing and several 3rd party sites being removed looks like a big admin mess compared to a simple form that makes it easy for everyone to opt out of sites that they already submit to.
This is a big deal for me and I hope Pond5/Pixmac take it seriously. Never understood why a site like Yaymicro can get it right and other sites make it much more complicated.
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I'd like to see all sites handle their partners like Yaymicro do. They have a page with them all listed and we can opt out of any of them.
Wouldn't it make sense to have a page like that for Pond5 and Pixmac? I've already sent a few emails to Pond5 in the past and they've removed duplicates but all of us emailing and several 3rd party sites being removed looks like a big admin mess compared to a simple form that makes it easy for everyone to opt out of sites that they already submit to.
This is a big deal for me and I hope Pond5/Pixmac take it seriously. Never understood why a site like Yaymicro can get it right and other sites make it much more complicated.
Agreed. YAYmicro is a great example of how to deal with affiliates transparently and effectively. All affiliate agencies are listed with the following information, along with an opt out button
Webpage: suchandsuch.com
Country: International
Commission to photographer: XX%
Commission YAY get from distributor : XX%
Price level: Microstock
Status: Active
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So, if we are already a contributor at pond5 and no account at Pixmac, do we need to open a Pixmac account for the mirroring processing? Because i don' see any advertising or option for opting in, in the pond 5 menu.
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Does this mean pond 5 will start taking vectors directly now? (Pixmac takes them I think but Pond 5 only if they are from a partner site?)
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Conversely, if you have vectors, those can be uploaded at Pixmac but not currently at Pond5 (we're working on this now and should be able to accept vectors at p5 in a few weeks). Pricing will generally be the same on both sites, although there might be some variations based on different countries / currencies, in which case you would earn 50% of the selling price as well.
That's directly from the source...
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Thank for that, interesting
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We would handle that individually. So if you have any ports at DP, FP or YAY and you don't want them distributed at Pixmac and Pond5, please contact Lucy at [email protected] to handle that for you. Sorry for confusion.
Thanks for the info Vita. I have just e-mailed Lucie about this. I haven't uploaded to Pond5, but believe I have images there through Depositphotos. I would obviously prefer my images on Pond5 come from Pixmac instead, because it will mean more royalties.
Very glad you guys will be taking care of this issue.
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What a cluster f*** ... Should not Pond5 be the focal point of questions and answers? They did purchase Pixmac, right?
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I wrote to Pond5 and they responded quite quickly and thoroughly with all the concerns that I addressed!
Please - anyone who feels that information is missing please write to Pond5 directly.
All that I know at this point is that Pond5 will take over Pixmac and pretty much internalize it so it eventually becomes Pond5 altogether.
As far as I have been informed by Pond5 we will ALWAYS receive 50% on all sites where our content will be sold - which is great.
Furthermore, also as I have been told that prices will also stay the same as they are now at Pond5 (which we can set - also great!).
Opt out will be available (in a few weeks) to all contributors who wish not to be involved in this scheme.
These are the facts I got from Pond5.
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What a cluster f*** ... Should not Pond5 be the focal point of questions and answers? They did purchase Pixmac, right?
Sorry, but perhaps you could define what you mean by clusterf***? As far as I can see this is the furthest thing from it. Questions are being answered by admins from both Pond5 and Pixmac in a very timely and thorough way.
Depending on which site you are currently on, I guess that's who you would be most likely to direct questions to. I'm on Pixmac, and that's where I read the news, so that's the forum I started the thread in.
If you don't want to read the answers on this thread or the linked FAQs, then you can contact Pond5 directly. As you can see by Click's experience above, they are quite willing to take your questions.
Get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning Warren??
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What a cluster f*** ... Should not Pond5 be the focal point of questions and answers? They did purchase Pixmac, right?
Sorry, but perhaps you could define what you mean by clusterf***? As far as I can see this is the furthest thing from it. Questions are being answered by admins from both Pond5 and Pixmac in a very timely and thorough way.
Depending on which site you are currently on, I guess that's who you would be most likely to direct questions to. I'm on Pixmac, and that's where I read the news, so that's the forum I started the thread in.
If you don't want to read the answers on this thread or the linked FAQs, then you can contact Pond5 directly. As you can see by Click's experience above, they are quite willing to take your questions.
Get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning Warren??
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=clusterfuck (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=clusterfuck)
Doesn't say anything about answering questions. 8)
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I think reading posts #43 through about #48 are a great definition of clusterf$ck. Trying to unravel all the various hands in the pot is a little confusing. Sure, questions are being answered, but this is what happened when partner programs came on the scene. If clusterf$ck is too strong a word, maybe snafu or fubar are preferable. ;D
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Well, I suppose for every silver lining there will always be a few people looking diligently for a dark cloud to go with it. ::)
@Warren, yeah, I know the accepted meaning of the term clusterf***. Seems to me if you are going to make baseless accusations you better be prepared to back them up...
With any acquisition there are going to be things that need ironing out. As long as there is communication from TPTB, and good customer and contributor support for any issues that arise, I can't see how it could be done better.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first merger/buyout I remember for a number of years that actually resulted in HIGHER commissions and better conditions for contributors.
If you are finding something to be pi$$ed about here, under the best of circumstances, maybe you don't have the stomach for this business anymore.
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May I jump in with a parachute question so u freely continue what u were dooing.. I would just
like to kindly ask any observer of this post with some extra time to give me an opinion.
Lets say one never joined either of up mentioned sites and one day one decides to join pond5
As I recall then it turns that submit process isn't something one would call lovely.
Would it be smart for that one to join Pixmac and uploads portfolio there ? Is that a lovely place to upload ?
Thanks for your time in advance.
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Well, I suppose for every silver lining there will always be a few people looking diligently for a dark cloud to go with it. ::)
@Warren, yeah, I know the accepted meaning of the term clusterf***. Seems to me if you are going to make baseless accusations you better be prepared to back them up...
With any acquisition there are going to be things that need ironing out. As long as there is communication from TPTB, and good customer and contributor support for any issues that arise, I can't see how it could be done better.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first merger/buyout I remember for a number of years that actually resulted in HIGHER commissions and better conditions for contributors.
If you are finding something to be pi$$ed about here, under the best of circumstances, maybe you don't have the stomach for this business anymore.
Maybe you need to chill, Lisa. I don't know what accusation I made, based or baseless? And Pi$$ed off ... where did that come from? I simply expressed an opinion about something in which I really have very little interest.
There does seem to be a lot of confusion. And not just about this sale. The entire industry is diluted and confusing. Who is partners with whom. And how much are we losing by selling thru partners? And, Zager sold his company. Why is he assuming the leadership role in this thread? What is his authority for making reassuring statements? Is he liable for any false statement about a company that he no longer owns?
Just like me -- I have no images at any of these sites -- Zager does not have a dog in this hunt.
As for YOUR rules. Is there consequences that I will suffer from refusing to engage in senseless argument? Hope not. I don't have the stomach for it. ;D
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We would handle that individually. So if you have any ports at DP, FP or YAY and you don't want them distributed at Pixmac and Pond5, please contact Lucy at [email protected] to handle that for you. Sorry for confusion.
Sounds good, but what if I do want everything from DP to be on Pond5 and Pixmac? How do I get it moved over? :D
Could save some time uploading and keywording if I knew that everything from DP went to the other two. Or does everything on Pixmac go to Pond5? Maybe everything on Pond5 will bridge over to Pixmac?
See where I'm getting confused? How do I control things, without everything being via email requests?
Thanks!
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I'd like to see all sites handle their partners like Yaymicro do. They have a page with them all listed and we can opt out of any of them.
We have a bit more simple, but a list of partners that you can opt-out from. You can find it in My Account > Settings > For contributors
Sounds good, but what if I do want everything from DP to be on Pond5 and Pixmac? How do I get it moved over?
If you have everything at DP, you don't have to care about anything.
For now it's not completed, but we are working on a system that will move all content from Pixmac to Pond5 and vice versa. You can consider both sites as one company with two sub-brands (like Fanta and Coca-Cola). Still, considering your royalties, it might make sense to upload directly to either Pixmac (if you have vectors) or Pond5 (if you have just photos). Later in time, the integration of the two sites would be better than it is now.
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I'd like to see all sites handle their partners like Yaymicro do. They have a page with them all listed and we can opt out of any of them.
We have a bit more simple, but a list of partners that you can opt-out from. You can find it in My Account > Settings > For contributors
Sounds good, but what if I do want everything from DP to be on Pond5 and Pixmac? How do I get it moved over?
If you have everything at DP, you don't have to care about anything. For now it's not completed, but we are working on a system that will move all content from Pixmac to Pond5 and vice versa. You can consider both sites as one company with two sub-brands (like Fanta and Coca-Cola). Still, considering your royalties, it might make sense to upload directly to either Pixmac (if you have vectors) or Pond5 (if you have just photos). Later in time, the integration of the two sites would be better than it is now.
I have most of my portfolio already on Pixmac, should I go ahead and upload everything to Pond5 as well, or is that not necessary? Thanks in advance.
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Well, I suppose for every silver lining there will always be a few people looking diligently for a dark cloud to go with it. ::)
@Warren, yeah, I know the accepted meaning of the term clusterf***. Seems to me if you are going to make baseless accusations you better be prepared to back them up...
With any acquisition there are going to be things that need ironing out. As long as there is communication from TPTB, and good customer and contributor support for any issues that arise, I can't see how it could be done better.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first merger/buyout I remember for a number of years that actually resulted in HIGHER commissions and better conditions for contributors.
If you are finding something to be pi$$ed about here, under the best of circumstances, maybe you don't have the stomach for this business anymore.
I agree, this is the best news I have seen here for a long time. I wish Pond5 could buy all the microstock sites and up commission to 50%. My only gripe is not having a nice opt out page for 3rd party sites with Pond5 that would make it simple for us and them but they will do it manually with one email. I've always had a quick response to the emails I've sent them and they have always done what I've asked quickly. Such a difference to sites that sometimes don't respond at all or send out a condescending cut and paste reply that makes me feel like they have no idea about their own business.
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I have just registered with Pond. I am not on Pixmac. I want to start uploading some content on these sites. Out of the two which has the easiest/quickest upload method.
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I have most of my portfolio already on Pixmac, should I go ahead and upload everything to Pond5 as well, or is that not necessary? Thanks in advance.
Not necessary to do anything. Just the acceptance of new terms is needed.
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I have most of my portfolio already on Pixmac, should I go ahead and upload everything to Pond5 as well, or is that not necessary? Thanks in advance.
Not necessary to do anything. Just the acceptance of new terms is needed.
Thanks, that's great. I already accepted the new terms.
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So, if we are already a contributor at pond5 and no account at Pixmac, do we need to open a Pixmac account for the mirroring processing? Because i don' see any advertising or option for opting in, in the pond 5 menu.
Please, can someone answer my question??? There is no new terms in Pond 5 site, does it means we must open an account in Pixmac or the files will be mirrored later automatically from Pond 5?
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So, if we are already a contributor at pond5 and no account at Pixmac, do we need to open a Pixmac account for the mirroring processing? Because i don' see any advertising or option for opting in, in the pond 5 menu.
Please, can someone answer my question??? There is no new terms in Pond 5 site, does it means we must open an account in Pixmac or the files will be mirrored later automatically from Pond 5?
Sorry for the delay Smithore. If you're at Pond5 there's no need to do anything now. The distribution to Pixmac will come later and you'll be informed.
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Thanks you so much Zager.
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I have just registered with Pond. I am not on Pixmac. I want to start uploading some content on these sites. Out of the two which has the easiest/quickest upload method.
I've never uploaded to Pond5, so I can't speak to that, but the upload process at Pixmac is easy - no categories necessary, and a decent batch function to assign releases and submit. Also, reviews have, so far, been within a few days.
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I have just registered with Pond. I am not on Pixmac. I want to start uploading some content on these sites. Out of the two which has the easiest/quickest upload method.
I've never uploaded to Pond5, so I can't speak to that, but the upload process at Pixmac is easy - no categories necessary, and a decent batch function to assign releases and submit. Also, reviews have, so far, been within a few days.
And the upload process is easy at Pond5 as well (at least for photos): no categories, and a batch too. I don't know about releases though.
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I'm on both Pixmac and Pond5 but I don't remember being asked to sign the agreement (unless of course I signed it without even reading!). Is there a place to check if I'm opted in?
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I'm on both Pixmac and Pond5 but I don't remember being asked to sign the agreement (unless of course I signed it without even reading!). Is there a place to check if I'm opted in?
Please check with Lucy at [email protected] with your username in hand. She'll tell you the status.
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I'm on both Pixmac and Pond5 but I don't remember being asked to sign the agreement (unless of course I signed it without even reading!). Is there a place to check if I'm opted in?
Please check with Lucy at [email protected] with your username in hand. She'll tell you the status.
Thanks!
I contacted Lucie and she solved the problem. I am posting her answer here since it may be useful for other people: "thank you for letting us know - we didn't send the info to Polylooks users by mistake. Now you should see it in your Pixmac account and be able to confirm the agreement."
My Pixmac account was in fact derived from Polylooks - a long gone German site.
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I don't know what accusation I made, based or baseless? And Pi$$ed off ... where did that come from? I simply expressed an opinion about something in which I really have very little interest.
There does seem to be a lot of confusion. And not just about this sale. The entire industry is diluted and confusing. Who is partners with whom. And how much are we losing by selling thru partners? And, Zager sold his company. Why is he assuming the leadership role in this thread? What is his authority for making reassuring statements? Is he liable for any false statement about a company that he no longer owns?
Just like me -- I have no images at any of these sites -- Zager does not have a dog in this hunt.
Sorry, but throwing around loaded, and insulting term like "clusterf***", not to mention accusing people of making "false statements", when you now admit you don't even have any experience of either of these sites is pretty baseless.
That kind of nastiness is the reason so many people don't post here. There used to be a lot of admins from various sites that posted in MSG and answered questions, but now very few ever do. If this is the way we treat Zager and Tom, who are willing to come in and help contributors with this transition, then I don't blame admins from the other sites for staying away.
When people who have no personal stake choose to hurl insults and profanities at the sites who are doing right by their contributors, I guess I can see why so many of the sites feel free to disregard us and treat us badly.
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I have just registered with Pond. I am not on Pixmac. I want to start uploading some content on these sites. Out of the two which has the easiest/quickest upload method.
I've never uploaded to Pond5, so I can't speak to that, but the upload process at Pixmac is easy - no categories necessary, and a decent batch function to assign releases and submit. Also, reviews have, so far, been within a few days.
Cheers. :)
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Sorry, but throwing around loaded, and insulting term like "clusterf***" when you now admit you don't even have any experience of either of these sites is pretty baseless.
That kind of nastiness is the reason so many people don't post here. There used to be a lot of admins from various sites that posted in MSG and answered questions, but now very few ever do. If this is the way we treat Zager and Tom, who are willing to come in and help contributors with this transition, then I don't blame admins from the other sites for staying away.
When people who have no personal stake choose to hurl insults and profanities at the sites who are doing right by their contributors, I guess I can see why so many of the sites feel free to disregard us and treat us badly.
Thank you Lisa, this is a great post.
I've personally learned a lot thanks to this forum and I recommend it to every CEO to get here and try to swim in these wild waters. My English improved a lot by reading posts here over and over. Even the negative ones are good to see. They make the discussion a bit more real as "positive only" discussions seem a bit unbelievable. That's the crazy virtual world we live in.
My suggestion/approach is that if I spot a question that I can answer I try to answer it openly and qucikly as possible (many books were written about that by the way). And if there's somebody just unhappy with microstock overall, and honestly, I can understand why, he might have difficult time recognizing what's a fair approach and what's just another BS.
So let's see if the merger will bring something positive to each contributing artist...
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I have recently uploaded my portfolio to Pond5. So, I went and checked Pixmac, and my portfolio appears there also, and says that it was ported over from FeaturePics.
My problem is that FeaturePics was one of the first sites I ever uploaded to, (years ago) and was still learning. A lot of my images were uploaded in RBG mode, instead of sRBG, and as a result they appear quite dull. As near as I can see, there is no easy way to delete these photos from Featurepics, or Picmac, and substitute the brighter versions that appear on Pond5.
I hope Pond5 doesn't use the older versions, over the newer versions, I uploaded last week.
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I have recently uploaded my portfolio to Pond5. So, I went and checked Pixmac, and my portfolio appears there also, and says that it was ported over from FeaturePics.
My problem is that FeaturePics was one of the first sites I ever uploaded to, (years ago) and was still learning. A lot of my images were uploaded in RBG mode, instead of sRBG, and as a result they appear quite dull. As near as I can see, there is no easy way to delete these photos from Featurepics, or Picmac, and substitute the brighter versions that appear on Pond5.
I hope Pond5 doesn't use the older versions, over the newer versions, I uploaded last week.
You can contact Lucy at [email protected] (http://[email protected]). She managed to delete my duplicate images from Depositphotos off of Pond5. I imagine she'd be the right person to handle this for you. :)
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Sorry, but throwing around loaded, and insulting term like "clusterf***", not to mention accusing people of making "false statements", when you now admit you don't even have any experience of either of these sites is pretty baseless.
That kind of nastiness is the reason so many people don't post here. There used to be a lot of admins from various sites that posted in MSG and answered questions, but now very few ever do. If this is the way we treat Zager and Tom, who are willing to come in and help contributors with this transition, then I don't blame admins from the other sites for staying away.
When people who have no personal stake choose to hurl insults and profanities at the sites who are doing right by their contributors, I guess I can see why so many of the sites feel free to disregard us and treat us badly.
I understand what you are saying, but I'm pretty sure you have the cart before the horse. The sites certainly felt free to disregard us and do stupid, shady, and downright immoral things LONG before contributors started treating them badly.
And I don't have to be a contributor to either Pond5 or Pixmac to read the threads and see how confusing it all is. I certainly hope both companies follow through with what they have promised. :-)
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this would be much more simple if they make it easier to understand like:
1 - contributor at Pond5 - what should I do? (step by step)
2 - contributor at Pixmac - what should I do? (step by step)
3 - contributor at both agencies - what should I do? (step by step)
4 - not a contributor - what should I do? (step by step)
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http://www.dreamstime.com/forumm_25551_pg1 (http://www.dreamstime.com/forumm_25551_pg1)
Some of us have not forgotten.
Trust is hard to come by in this business.
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[url]http://www.dreamstime.com/forumm_25551_pg1[/url] ([url]http://www.dreamstime.com/forumm_25551_pg1[/url])
Some of us have not forgotten.
Trust is hard to come by in this business.
have you got any royalties due to that (at DT) after that announcement? also wonder how is the legal action going...
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Hi folks, here's a general response to some of the recurring questions.
If you're an artist on Pond5, there's no need to upload to Pixmac -- we'll be mirroring opted-in Pond5 files on the Pixmac sites within the next month. Pond5 artists will be getting an update via email about the opt-in process within the next week or so.
If you're an artist on Pixmac, there's no need to upload to Pond5 -- all you need to do is sign in to your Pixmac account and click through the new agreement.
If you're an artist on both sites, please click through the new agreement on Pixmac, but feel free to upload via either site. Your earnings will go to the account at which the content was uploaded. We will remove duplicates, with direct uploads to Pond5 taking priority.
If you're not yet an artist at either site, we'd love to have you! You can upload photos at whichever one you prefer. If you are uploading vectors, it should be through Pixmac for the time being as we have not yet enabled this functionality on Pond5. If you have any media types other than images (video, audio, 3d, etc) you should upload via Pond5.
Note that we also have distribution agreements with Yaymicro, Featurepics, and Depositphotos (currently at Pixmac only), so you may see your images from those suppliers on Pond5 or Pixmac.
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Hi folks, here's a general response to some of the recurring questions.
If you're an artist on Pond5, there's no need to upload to Pixmac -- we'll be mirroring opted-in Pond5 files on the Pixmac sites within the next month. Pond5 artists will be getting an update via email about the opt-in process within the next week or so.
If you're an artist on Pixmac, there's no need to upload to Pond5 -- all you need to do is sign in to your Pixmac account and click through the new agreement.
If you're an artist on both sites, please click through the new agreement on Pixmac, but feel free to upload via either site. Your earnings will go to the account at which the content was uploaded. We will remove duplicates, with direct uploads to Pond5 taking priority.
If you're not yet an artist at either site, we'd love to have you! You can upload photos at whichever one you prefer. If you are uploading vectors, it should be through Pixmac for the time being as we have not yet enabled this functionality on Pond5. If you have any media types other than images (video, audio, 3d, etc) you should upload via Pond5.
Note that we also have distribution agreements with Yaymicro, Featurepics, and Depositphotos (currently at Pixmac only), so you may see your images from those suppliers on Pond5 or Pixmac.
I registered a long time ago but never got around to uploading. I might just take you up on that!
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
No idea, I was hoping an admin would chime in.
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
As I mentioned above, there's a simple batch process for attaching releases at Pixmac, if that helps :)
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
As I mentioned above, there's a simple batch process for attaching releases at Pixmac, if that helps :)
Thank you Lisa :D
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I've personally learned a lot thanks to this forum and I recommend it to every CEO to get here and try to swim in these wild waters. My English improved a lot by reading posts here over and over. Even the negative ones are good to see. They make the discussion a bit more real as "positive only" discussions seem a bit unbelievable. That's the crazy virtual world we live in.
I love msg. It is the perfect place to understand how social media and forum communication works. I believe anybody working on a site that sells on the internet should learn how to operate and communicate well on a site like this. And msg is a very friendly place, compared to all the other business forums I go to.
Companies where employees only work on their internal forums sometimes have no idea what the real world is like. Many come across as completly detached from the industry because they have isolated themselves in their own little "protected" bubble.
Companies whose CEO´s know how to communicate here, i have a lot of confidence that you guys understand how to do business on the internet. And that you also really care about your business.
So let us see what you can do together! :)
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
No idea, I was hoping an admin would chime in.
Model releases are easy in Pond5 once you figure out their system. When I uploaded my 3000 images there, I put each model in their own set and uploaded. For example, I created a folder on my computer for Jane Doe, one for Joe Blow, one for Ima Hooker, one for Sheza Teazer and one for Ivan Kutchkokov. I uploaded these image folders via FTP so ONLY the one specific model showed up in my "ready to edit" section. The you just easily attach that person's model release to that batch and submit. Makes things A LOT easier and less confusing. Only thing is that you have to do multiple uploads, but it is way speedier. Then when all the model shots are done, I upload ALL non release images as one batch and submit.
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I've personally learned a lot thanks to this forum and I recommend it to every CEO to get here and try to swim in these wild waters. My English improved a lot by reading posts here over and over. Even the negative ones are good to see. They make the discussion a bit more real as "positive only" discussions seem a bit unbelievable. That's the crazy virtual world we live in.
I love msg. It is the perfect place to understand how social media and forum communication works. I believe anybody working on a site that sells on the internet should learn how to operate and communicate well on a site like this. And msg is a very friendly place, compared to all the other business forums I go to.
Companies where employees only work on their internal forums sometimes have no idea what the real world is like. Many come across as completly detached from the industry because they have isolated themselves in their own little "protected" bubble.
Companies whose CEO´s know how to communicate here, i have a lot of confidence that you guys understand how to do business on the internet. And that you also really care about your business.
So let us see what you can do together! :)
Could not agree more.
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
No idea, I was hoping an admin would chime in.
Model releases are easy in Pond5 once you figure out their system. When I uploaded my 3000 images there, I put each model in their own set and uploaded. For example, I created a folder on my computer for Jane Doe, one for Joe Blow, one for Ima Hooker, one for Sheza Teazer and one for Ivan Kutchkokov. I uploaded these image folders via FTP so ONLY the one specific model showed up in my "ready to edit" section. The you just easily attach that person's model release to that batch and submit. Makes things A LOT easier and less confusing. Only thing is that you have to do multiple uploads, but it is way speedier. Then when all the model shots are done, I upload ALL non release images as one batch and submit.
Thank you for that. I already have most of my images organized into folders according to model releases needed for when I uploaded to photodune but had forgotten about it.
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What should I do if I upload to both sites? Upload only on Pond5 in the future?
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What should I do if I upload to both sites? Upload only on Pond5 in the future?
Yes and no. Tom must verify when P5 will be mirrored on PM. If they are mirroring now, then you only need to upload to P5 (or PM). If no, you would need to still do both.
Tom? Can you status?
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If you're an artist on both sites, please click through the new agreement on Pixmac, but feel free to upload via either site. Your earnings will go to the account at which the content was uploaded. We will remove duplicates, with direct uploads to Pond5 taking priority.
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If P5 doesnt change their editing process, especially the MR issue, I wont submit. I am not going to edit every single file separately to attach a MR, and all of their templates dont work for photos. How can a site that sells photos, not have a proper editing tool for photos, only focuses on audio and video.
I'm not with either agency but am thinking about uploading. Is pixmac easier to upload to as I looked at pond5 and the MR attatchment looked a bit complicated.
No idea, I was hoping an admin would chime in.
Model releases are easy in Pond5 once you figure out their system. When I uploaded my 3000 images there, I put each model in their own set and uploaded. For example, I created a folder on my computer for Jane Doe, one for Joe Blow, one for Ima Hooker, one for Sheza Teazer and one for Ivan Kutchkokov. I uploaded these image folders via FTP so ONLY the one specific model showed up in my "ready to edit" section. The you just easily attach that person's model release to that batch and submit. Makes things A LOT easier and less confusing. Only thing is that you have to do multiple uploads, but it is way speedier. Then when all the model shots are done, I upload ALL non release images as one batch and submit.
Thank you for that. I already have most of my images organized into folders according to model releases needed for when I uploaded to photodune but had forgotten about it.
You are most welcome. The one thing I would ask P5 to do is to show an "attachment icon" after you attach releases, like a little paper clip or something. Once you attach there is no confirmation symbol, so if you are loading a mix of model releases it is not visually possible to verify that you attached a model release. That, in and of itself, can make it confusing. Originally I found myself reattaching again and again because this old noggin couldn't remember if I attached or not. Thus, I started doing what I described above. I sure wish they'd fix that as a visual management feature.
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Please, Pond5 merge with IStock and of course, stay at 50% royalties.
Thank you.
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Please, Pond5 merge with IStock and of course, stay at 50% royalties.
Thank you.
Great post. Would give you more than one +1 if I could :)
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I want to ask, how it will be with payments from Pond5 after merge, for people based in European Union? Will be those payments handled through Pond5 company based in USA, or will be payments to European Union countries handled by Czech branch office now?
In some countries like the one where I live – Slovak Republic (European Union) - it makes a BIG difference, from bureaucratic, tax/law point of view, whether you make business with (whether you receive money from) company based in USA or company based in another member state of the European Union.
Czech Republic is member state of the European Union so from point of view of Slovak Republic (which is also member state of European Union), Czech Republic is another member state of European Union and thus paradoxically when you make business with (when you receive money from) company in Czech Republic (or any other member state of the European Union) it is MUCH MORE complicated from bureaucratic tax/law point of view! :( :o
On the other side to make business with company based in USA is something absolutely easy and simple from bureaucratic tax/law point of view when copared to making bussiness with company based in European Union.
So how it will be now?
Thank you for your answer!
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Hi jareso, it would be handled by Swiss (non-EU) company Pond5 GmbH.
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Hi jareso, it would be handled by Swiss (non-EU) company Pond5 GmbH.
That is great!
Thank you for fast answer zager! :)
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I don't have all my photos at Pond5 set at the same price. What happens when they go to Pixmac? Does Pixmac sell at the same price as Pond5? Thanks.
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I don't have all my photos at Pond5 set at the same price. What happens when they go to Pixmac? Does Pixmac sell at the same price as Pond5? Thanks.
Yes.
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That's excellent news, Zager, thanks!
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@ Zager
I have images on Pixmac through the pp only. I would like to upload directly but I also want to choose my own pricing. When do you think this option will be available for vectors? Also if I start uploading now will I have the option to change the pricing when it does become available or will it only work for new uploads? Finally (since I'm not on Pond5) can I change the price on all of my images easily or will I need to do it one at a time.
Thanks
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may not be able to answer but once merged will pond / pixmac continue with the partner (fotolia from memory) or will its own collection be big enough to do without it?
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How long does it take to review images there?
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Started uploading there on the weekend, the first batch has been accepted today, so quite reasonable. The more interesting question is, how long it takes to sell the first licences ;)
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I have images on Pixmac through the pp only. I would like to upload directly but I also want to choose my own pricing. When do you think this option will be available for vectors? Also if I start uploading now will I have the option to change the pricing when it does become available or will it only work for new uploads? Finally (since I'm not on Pond5) can I change the price on all of my images easily or will I need to do it one at a time.
Individual pricing at Pixmac should be available soon (guestimate 1-2 months). So the best option for vectors is to upload them to Pixmac and setup your own prices later. It makes sense to allow the prices to be set for existing files as well, in a comfortable way - thank you for suggestion.
may not be able to answer but once merged will pond / pixmac continue with the partner (fotolia from memory) or will its own collection be big enough to do without it?
We currently have 3 microstock partner agencies: FeaturePics, DepositPhotos & Yay Micro - they are available at Pixmac already and later we will add them to Pond5 as well.
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This is kind of off topic but I want to mention it since admins are looking at this thread.
It is soooooo annoying that Pond5 down cases all the IPTC data. I know most people don't seem to care but I can't stand looking at my titles and descriptions all in lower case feel compelled to fix them all.
Furthermore, I include city and country in my IPTC data but these always show up blank after upload in Pond5.
What is particularly frustrating about these issues is that it would probably take about 2 lines of code to fix all of them.
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This is kind of off topic but I want to mention it since admins are looking at this thread.
It is soooooo annoying that Pond5 down cases all the IPTC data. I know most people don't seem to care but I can't stand looking at my titles and descriptions all in lower case feel compelled to fix them all.
Furthermore, I include city and country in my IPTC data but these always show up blank after upload in Pond5.
What is particularly frustrating about these issues is that it would probably take about 2 lines of code to fix all of them.
+1
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I have uploaded most of my images to P5, but they are also on FP, do I need to do anything to insure that the images on Pixmac come from P5 instead of FP (at least the ones that are on both)?
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I'm contributor at DepositPhotos, but I have (only) 4 images at Pixmac via DP. Should I upload my images to Pixmac directly?
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I'm contributor at DepositPhotos, but I have (only) 4 images at Pixmac via DP. Should I upload my images to Pixmac directly?
It would be faster. We're importing DP images with a delay because of capacity priorities on servers on both sides. In case you have your files there for longer time (6+ months) please contact [email protected] to check that out.
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So content uploaded to Pixmac would be curated faster? Because it now takes a month+ to get anything curated on Pond5 and it's getting worse, not better.
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I'm liking this merger news, but reading through this thread has given me a slight headache. I've never registered with either Pond 5 or Pixmac, but I have portfolios on both DP and 123rf (according to an older thread, Pond 5 was, maybe still is, a partner with 123rf). Anyway, how can I find out if I have any images on Pond 5 or Pixmac? I did some searches for both my user name as well as some keyword searches for my images, but came up with nothing. Any suggestions, or should I e-mail them directly?
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Hi Sledge, please email Lucy at [email protected] with your username - Thx!
I'm liking this merger news, but reading through this thread has given me a slight headache. I've never registered with either Pond 5 or Pixmac, but I have portfolios on both DP and 123rf (according to an older thread, Pond 5 was, maybe still is, a partner with 123rf). Anyway, how can I find out if I have any images on Pond 5 or Pixmac? I did some searches for both my user name as well as some keyword searches for my images, but came up with nothing. Any suggestions, or should I e-mail them directly?
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Thanks Zager, I'll do as you suggested.
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I am a newbie here, so sorry for my ignorance here.
I am aware of the merging of Pixmac and P5, and i have a couple of question here.
1) Can we set our own Pricing for our images in Pixmac since P5 allow us to do so??
2) Pixmac are partners to FeaturePics, DepositPhotos & Yay Micro and now P5.
Instead of uploading to all sites, does it mean by uploading to Pixmac, all images are directly imported to the other 4 sites as well????
3) Now that Pixmac, FeaturePics, depositphotos, Yay micro, P5 and 123rf (P5 and 123rf are partners) are directly linked, how is our commission going to be calculated since some of the sites are subscription based?
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Hi Pixmac reps, can you guys please pop in here and give us an update on the Pond5 merger? It's coming up to nearly a month past the initial deadline you had set, and I am wondering when we can expect the actual changes to take place?
It's nice to see a handfull of sales coming from Pixmac lately, but sad to see they aren't reflecting the 50% that they should have by now.
Could you give us an update please? Thanks a lot.
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The merger was finished a few days ago. So you should receive 50% royalties already.
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The vector illustrations I have uploaded to Pixmac are not yet searchable via Pond5, am I correct?
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Any news on the merging? I sent Pixmac an email but I haven't received any kind of response.
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Just wondering ... did this merger develop as expected? Apologies if there's another thread I should be looking at? ???
It seemed like a nice-ish bit of news - one of the few good ones - thus the curiosity!
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When I cashed out at pixmac this week, the payment came from Pond5 - so in that sense they are merged.
In terms of the images or sites merging, they're still separate. Sales (for photos) don't seem to be great at either (although I have only a fraction of my stuff at either site - was sort of waiting for something to happen with the merger before doing more uploading, but...)
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When I cashed out at pixmac this week, the payment came from Pond5 - so in that sense they are merged.
In terms of the images or sites merging, they're still separate. Sales (for photos) don't seem to be great at either (although I have only a fraction of my stuff at either site - was sort of waiting for something to happen with the merger before doing more uploading, but...)
Same here. Never got a sales lift from the merger.
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When I cashed out at pixmac this week, the payment came from Pond5 - so in that sense they are merged.
In terms of the images or sites merging, they're still separate. Sales (for photos) don't seem to be great at either (although I have only a fraction of my stuff at either site - was sort of waiting for something to happen with the merger before doing more uploading, but...)
Thanks for the update :)
I wanted to give them a go and was wondering whether its better to go thru Pixmac or Pond5 (since I have mostly photos). But I guess that may be a premature question if the merger is still not fully implemented - and maybe hard to predict how exactly it will go.
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I stopped uploading pictures to Pixmac a long time ago because we were told that images would be mirrored at both so I just upload to Pond5. Unfortunately this hasn't happened yet as far as I'm aware and I'm wondering if it's ever going to happen or should I just start uploading to Pixmac directly again?
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The mirroring of accounts is a mess. I have requested to have mine looked into at least 3 times now and nothing has changed. I've also noticed they've now removed the link from your Pixmac Profile page to Pond5, so it's harder to see if your images have been mirrored or not.
The mirrored content is cheaper than I have set my Pond5 images at, so I'm not sure whether getting it all mirrored would be a good thing anyway. I thought initially we were told we were going to be able to control our pricing on both sites - am i remembering that right?
Sadly, the day this merger was announced this all seemed like an awesome move. But since then it appears little has been done and even less communicated to us as a community about it.
The staff at both sites are always friendly to deal with, but it just seems that little happens behind the scenes. (e.g.: does the pond5 site even mention that you can now upload vectors? I checked for weeks and could see nothing on there about it)
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The mirrored content is cheaper than I have set my Pond5 images at, so I'm not sure whether getting it all mirrored would be a good thing anyway. I thought initially we were told we were going to be able to control our pricing on both sites - am i remembering that right?
I think you're remembering correctly. It was my understanding that we would be able to control our own pricing on Pixmac as well.
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Hello everyone.
The merger is done from the legal point. We're now processing the technical part and yes it takes more time than we expected - sorry for that. On our list of top priorities is also other stuff such as curating speed and hiring staff to control fast growth.
The most important thing is that if you upload - primary is Pond5. We would use the Pond5 system and only pick the good features from Pixmac. You can upload to both sites, but long term it is more effective to keep P5 as the up to date port.