Thanks for sharing your success story and experience, well deserved! I have subscribed.

I also have a YouTube channel which only has over 900 subscribers. https://www.youtube.com/@charlinex5186

My channel has not reached monetarization but I am learning a lot and trying to improve.

Now I aim at improving the quality with more editing and story-telling.

I agree with you that we do need to find other ways to supplement our stock video revenues. Besides that, YouTube allows us to build a personal brand, while stock agencies don't often give us any credits.

Do you know how I can contact Adobe support to reset my password?

I clicked on the "Reset Your Password" link, but it doesn't go anywhere.

Do you know the email to contact the support?

Many thanks.

I made another cross-platform attempt to incorporate my video clips, fine art and stock images in this YouTube vlog. Will it drive traffice to my website?
https://youtu.be/miUEtRZtZ2c?feature=shared

I created this 4K YouTube video showcasing the beauty of the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, Canada. This high-quality footage captures the lush tropical indoor gardens inside the conservatory, where colorful butterflies flutter freely in their natural habitat. The video features sharp, close-up images of many butterfly species, including the Blue Morpho, Malachite, Lime Swallowtail, Banded Orange, Isabella, Blue Cracker, Julia, Blue Moon, Rice Paper, Blue Frosted Banner, and more. These vibrant butterflies can be seen feeding on the vivid purple Porterweed, striking red ginger flowers, and bright yellow Lantana.

Throughout the video, you'll also see beautiful interactions between the butterflies and visitors. As I entered the conservatory, a Blue Morpho landed directly on my lens, offering an amazing close-up view. A couple of Rice Paper butterflies also took a special interest in a woman�s red hair, staying there for a long time, adding a magical touch to the experience.

I agree with what you said.

Since SS and P5 are all part of the Getty family, I wonder if I should also make my video clips exclusive.

On the other hand, I hesitate to leave Adobe. Even though I only have a small video portfolio with Adobe, I don't know if I should put all my video eggs in one basket. As we know, all empires would eventually fall.

Thanks for the comments.

After uploading to YouTube for over a year on a consistent basis, I realize the following:

1.  Even if people are watching my videos, they may not subscribe. Even if they subscribe, they may not continue to watch.

2. Even if I eventually get over 1000 subscribers, 4000-hour watch time and start to monetize, the earnings are likely small and the monetization will cease if I stop contributing as required.

3. By linking my YouTube channel to my fine art pages, at least some people will take a look at my photos and find something that they like.

4. By linking my photo to my relevant video, people may be interested in the context and environment why and how the photo was taken.

5. Don't forget, FAA is the only place we have the control over pricing, though FAA offers promotional discounts from time to time.

Does it make sense?

Making another post

Thanks, Pete, I feel so honored!

In addition to selling through FAA for prints, I only sell RM through Alamy and RF through Getty/IS. Both are exclusive. If my images are available through any other sites, they are absolutely not authorized.

But before I was exclusive, I sold images through multiple agencies.

Without knowing specifics, such as which images and where they were sold, I don't know how to correct the errors if there are any.

By not even addressing me by name, and slapping US$250 without warning and specifics, does Alamy have any respect for its long-time contributors?

That's so heavy-handed, unethical, and unfair. Is it even legal? I don't know why we deserve such contempt on top of the rate cuts and devaluation of our work.

Do you know how I can contact any Alamy executives?

That's interesting that they identified the image for you.

Why don't they tell me then?

I am still waiting to hear from the infringement team.

I will decide if I will change my exclusive status after I hear from Alamy.

Recently Alamy sent me a generic letter without any specifics. It has charged US$250  Exclusivity Administration Fee (EAF) on my sales.

But it doesn't bother to tell me which image(s) were in violation.

I have been an Alamy contributor for almost 18 years. Initially, there was no such thing as exclusive to Alamy. Since I became exclusive, I have always been careful to mark my submission to Alamy with a special code. Could there be a mistake somewhere? If there is, it would be an advertent error.

But my images have been stolen many times.  Is it possible that someone stole my images and sell them through other agencies?

I sell prints through FAA. But it is permitted, according to my understanding.

Alamy should have the decency to give me the specifics so I can assess the situation. Maybe it is wrong and I can help find the thief.

The following is the email from Alamy:

Hi There,

 Exclusivity Admin Fee on your sales report

We�re adding an Exclusivity Administration Fee (EAF) on your sales report due to you incorrectly marking images in your account as being 'Exclusive to Alamy' 

This is a fee that is charged in one of two scenarios: 

We have found a potential infringement, and we've opened up a legal case to make a claim but then had to close the case because the image has been incorrectly marked as being �exclusive� to Alamy ($150 charge)
We have searched for a potential infringement but the image is found to be available on another stock site so the image has been incorrectly marked as being �exclusive� to Alamy ($50 charge)
The reason we are adding this fee to your account is because there is a considerable investment in looking for infringements, whereby each �exclusive� image we search for incurs a cost.

As the image has been incorrectly marked as being �exclusive� we are now passing on a proportion of the cost already spent to your account, as outlined in the contributor contract:

2.10. Notwithstanding clause 16.7, by marking Content as Exclusive, you grant Alamy the right to chase third party infringements of the Content without Alamy having to consult you. Where pursuing such infringements if it is found that the Content is available on another licensing platform, Alamy has the right to recoup any fees (including reasonable administration fees where escalated to legal action), that Alamy has incurred in the pursuit of any action taken.

An image should not be marked as exclusive if:

o            It�s available on another stock agency site

o            It�s an exact reproduction (in all or part) of a work of art (this does not include having additional unique or incidental features in the image, for example a person standing in front of a painting. The general rule of thumb is that to be exclusive an artwork can�t take up any more than 1/3 of the image frame.)

o            It�s not protected by copyright

o            It�s in the public domain (for example, copyright has expired on a photograph from 1880)

o            Copyright ownership is unknown

 

For the image(s) which should not be marked as �exclusive� we have added the Exclusivity Admin Fee to your account and have removed its exclusive status.

It�s important that your images are marked correctly � we'd prefer to work with you so that these costs are avoided in future, and we can help you claim for images that are genuinely exclusive to Alamy.

To avoid further charges being made on �exclusive� images being incorrectly marked, please can you now review and check whether all the other images in your account should be marked as exclusive. Please remove the �exclusive� status if you find that they should not be marked as �exclusive� according to the terms outlined above.

If we find new cases of images being incorrectly marked as exclusive incurring further costs, after two months from the date of this email, then we will apply the corresponding fees to your account and we will also remove the exclusive status for all the images found in your account and remove any default settings for exclusive status.

If you need more time to amend your images, or if you have any questions about this please contact [email protected]

Thanks

Alamy

I received a reply a few days ago, but it didn't address any particulars. It only said that I had to update my tax form.

I wrote back with the particulars, including that my tax form expiration date would be Dec. 31, 2024, I updated my tax form in mid-November, and, in the Statement, the only deduction was $0.24 which does not match the actual deduction. They haven't responded yet.

My payment is also less than what is shown on the website.

I just updated my tax form, probably a week ago. The website said that I had until December 30, 2024, to do so.

I don't get it.

How do I contact the support?

I only sell videos. Today my balance has increased over $100. Is it from Firefly? 

No statement for me yet.