Saint Patricks day and the forthcoming Easter holidays may also have something to do with it

Bang on. A very unpredictable period for all of us because of holidays. Me? Not bad, not good. P5 has been the only stinker....but that's been the norm all year not just the holiday period.

Lately, yes. But even more annoying is that they appear to upload fine, thumbnails, meta all there. Only after submitting them do they get rejected for a File Transfer Error.

Good point and its becoming more and more frequent.

Almost all of the contributor feel a drop in their sales comparing to last years. Far too many footage on stock market I guess.

....and I'm wondering if there's a slow shift from HD to 4K that many are feeling. If your contributed footage is strictly HD you're limiting sales potential.

All the beautiful things in the world you can film, and that is what you chose? 

Terrorism is a hot topic. I understand why you'd pick the subject.....and the clip(s) were accepted elsewhere?

Thanks for the heads up. Appreciated.

Relax, Jonbull. We're just getting started. Last month was abysmal for me with the SS until the final day when sales went through the roof. Don't judge a month by the first few days.

BTW. "Ferburay" is actually spelled "February".   

I contacted them. They've referred the issues to contributor support for further investigation. I'd suggest others do the same so they know it's not a one off.

As I have as well. Encouraging everyone who has been affected to do the same.

Have you checked this site out? It describes the 16 best agencies to submit to with clips. Agencies new to me and worth investigating.

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/best-stock-video-sites-that-will-make-your-clients-happy/

Depositphoto is, in my opinion, the most perplexing agency in the business.

For years, as an "also ran" business, they accepted just about everything you
submitted. It worked for me because, as a street photographer, DP was one of my best agencies selling less mainstream subject material.

DP always mirrors its business with Shutterstock. What the SS does, DP will always follow. Lately they're rejecting just about everything I'm submitting. Much like the SS did a few years back.

And as a result? DP was once sitting around 13-15 in the "earnings rating" that you see on the right side of the page. They're now hovering around "5".

Unfortunately, unlike the SS, Depositphoto is a follower and not a leader.

The music you used for the promotional material....is that yours or did you pay the owner?

I can't see any harm in your effort although I think if you had used a much broader range of clips you might attract more buyers. Ducks, a pond, rain and the mood you created is limiting.

Class action lawsuit?

Well...I'm going to offer that it's just you. It took a little getting used to but I don't have any problem with the new set-up.

Plenty of amateurs produce extermely good work. Olympic sports athletes are amateurs.


Better not tell all those "amateur" hockey players representing their countries in the Winter Olympics. Hockey players that are multi-millionaires playing in the NHL.

An amateur submitting video clips is a person who doesn't use a tripod. Has no idea what an "establishing shot" is or "pre-roll" footage. Pans and tilts simply for the sake of panning and tilting without using subject matter within the frame to change framing. ie. a bird in flight, traffic, pedestrians, water flowing, etc.

Yes. There are clips shot by people who have no background experience or expertise that are presentable to buyers....but the vast majority of clips that buyers have to wade through is cr"p.....pure and simple. And that`s the problem. Agencies like IS, SS and P5 are far more concerned with volume than they are with quality.

If a company hires professional cameramen and editors to produce their presentation, are they going to use amateur footage supplied by agencies.