I don't think you can know that this is true without having access to day to day expenses at sites like istock, dreamstime, shutterstock etc. There is one person who has had access to this type of information and we know what his views on this topic are because he was willing to share his take on the subject with us.

Based on this input I do think these sites have room to compensate us fairly.

According to Shutterstock's numbers in their reports, they wouldn't have enough money to pay contributors 50%. They'd have to adjust their budget.

Soon there will be no big 4 agencies left which the MSG has not fallen out with. And then what ?

Then, you become me. 

Sorry, my bunker isn't going to fit everybody. 

These exchanges between contributors and agency employees are always entertaining. For the agencies, I'm looking for the same thing everyday. Around 50% royalties and an RPI in the $5-$10 range. Wake me up when you get there, otherwise don't bother me with your deals.

To me, it makes a lot more sense to be skeptical about a deal these days than to walk into it with blind faith. I'm kind of surprised people would agree to it, but I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.

Quote from: cthoman on May 28, 2014, 21:24

Welcome to the dark side. 

I do kind of wonder if it is good news or bad news sometimes when part of me thinks the whole thing could or maybe even should burn down.

I have to say, the dark side seems a little less stressful. Taking on a, "Screw it, let it burn," attitude is sort of therapeutic.

LOL. There is a certain peace in caring less. I guess I still care though. I feel more like a doomsday prepper hoping to survive the coming apocalypse. Not that this is it or at least it doesn't seem like it.

I'm starting to wonder if Lisa was right and I'm wrong. Maybe this whole thing really is already over and it doesn't matter what we do. Might as well just grab whatever we can get out of it before it goes under completely. Or speed it along and let it burn up faster and hope that something better rises up in place of it.

Not sure I'm totally there yet, but the thought has crossed my mind today.

Welcome to the dark side. 

I do kind of wonder if it is good news or bad news sometimes when part of me thinks the whole thing could or maybe even should burn down.

Insert clever "this bytes" joke here. 

It made me laugh that "Judy" was in quotes like it wasn't her real name. I pictured a little witness protection modified voice in the Q & A. All in all though, not a bad little article. I still have the issue of wanting to be paid more before I submit a ton more to SS, so Ron has a valid point.

If I was advising anyone starting in Microstock, I would say look no further than the Top 4 and Middle tier. It may be difficult to get on board some of these but if you do it will be worth it. Like many others I suppose, I spent much time and wasted energy trying out startup sites which yielded nothing.
Some sites work better for some people, I think it depends on your style of work.

The big 4 aren't really the big 4 anymore. I've left some of these sites for a few years and recently put some images back up to put a little more money in my pocket. They hugely underperformed my expectations from what I used to make at them. I think people vastly underestimate the value of placement of their images from being established and propagating over the internet through several years.

The moral being that when you join a new site, don't compare it to a site you've been at for years and years because if you quit that site you've been at for years and started fresh the results may be very similar to the new site or maybe even worse.

Here's the thread:

http://www.microstockgroup.com/new-sites-general/graphicstock-com/

I think they run videoblocks too. Same kind of deal.

Please show me the massive marketing campaigns? I don't see a massive effort. Why would they need to they are very well established thank you very much. What I see is dozens of millions of dollars from our image value going to a few corporate execs!

Just type in terms in Google as if you were searching for stock art and see what ads pop up. Surf the web and count how many ads you see for stock art sites as well. They pay for those ads.

100 images for $89 with rollover.
Limited time - for now.

Just got the e-mail.
We need to make sure that DPC gets shut down to stop the other guys from completely following suit.

Rollover images? Really? I guess it begs the question of these just being marketing gimmicks or legitimate perks. In other words, are buyers really going to use those extra image downloads?