Here's the weird thing. It seems that if you upload a file with the (IPTC) keyword: "isolated on white", by the time the file is submitted, there will be three separate keywords: "isolated", "on", and "white". Yet you can go into the content editor and add the complete keyword "isolated on white" and it remains as one keyword as intended. So it would seem that the fact that the system breaks up multi-word keywords into individual keywords is in fact an error. It would also seem that in order to fix this, the contributor would have to individually manually edit every file (with multi-word keywords) in the content editor after it has been accepted.

It seems when I upload files with embedded IPTC keyword data, multi-word keywords seem to be broken up.
For example, the keyword "isolated on white" gets broken up into three keywords: "isolated", "on", "white".
What may I be doing wrong here?

I am frustrated by the fact that on upload, Fotolia uses the Title field rather than the Description field if your file has IPTC data. Today I accidentally discovered that if the Title field in your file is blank, than Fotolia in fact uses the Description field from the file!

Now to figure out the least painful way to make use of this fact!

Don't know what it is, but I would complain to Nikon and have them take care of it.

Any indies reporting who are former iStock exclusives within the last 2 or 3 years care to comment on their exclusive vs. indy results?

I find it hard to believe that this would have a significant impact on sales.

After over a month now, I'm not seeing any real change...disappointing

All these RPI comparisons are completely useless for the OP.
I assume an IS-exclusive dropping exclusivity would want to upload their portfolio in a reasonably short period of time. It would make sense. And this is the problem. Their files would compete with one another. The download numbers would be divided by all the images of one subject and as a result none of the images would take off. Most of the images would be soon burried in the endless gazillions of SS images.

The trick at SS is getting to the first page, preferably to the top of the first page. Yes, it's true for most agencies, but not to the same extent as at SS.

It's much easier to achieve good results at SS when you slowly feed them and don't compete with your own images. See if one image of a subject takes off. If yes, then don't compete with it, let it accumulate download numbers and establish itself high in the search results.

If you upload hundreds or thousands images in a short period of time that is one great way to fail at SS.

IMHO the last good moment to join SS was around 2011 or 2012.
My RPI used to be around $1, now it is lower.

It used to be fairly easy to reach the first page, now it's no longer the case with over 300.000 images added every week.
Do the OP a favor and don't compare established ports with portfolios of newcomers to SS, no matter how good they are.

Help me understand this (I am not trying to be facetious, I am seriously trying to understand). I have heard about the recommendations to "slowly feed them" so your files do not "compete with one another".
But, aren't your files competing with all the "300,000 images added every week" (not to mention the entire SS portfolio) anyway?
Isn't that a far more dominating factor than the relative handful of images if one was to upload their entire portfolio within a few weeks?

The only way it would seem to make sense to slowly upload is if SS was playing games within a given contributors portfolio based on its size and upload rate.

What am I missing?

So far I have been disappointed with the average return per download.

Okay, clearly it's way too early for meaningful trends, but just curious how folks are doing after the first week of the new iStock?
For me, it's been about a wash in terms of downloads and $$$. Downloads a little higher, $$$ a little less. A bit disappointed in $$$/download. I am iS exclusive.

The increase in DLs seems to be making up for the lower cost of the larges. I mostly sold larges in the E+ and Vetta. My first sale yesterday was a Vetta large for 8.00 vs 28.00 for the same image last week. Today they are snatching the S+  up so it may even be a record day. Also seeing an old file that normally sells 2X a year sell 2X today is encouraging. I have a small port of specialty images. I wonder how the people with more sizable portfolios are doing. I am not buying into the complaint that they are too expensive. For those doing high volume small images there is the subscription plans. This is the best bargain in stock now and the word seems to be getting out.

I have seen no bump in DLs. Of course it is only day 2.

We have to give this a few months to see the real impact of these changes. The changes are quite significant, not just a simple price change. There will most likely be short term (major changes in pricing impacting current customer purchases) and long term (market share) impacts. We have to give it time.

My view is simple. (As hard as it is), ignore all this stuff and just look at your monthly bottom line in $$$$ and make the appropriate decisions for your own situation. iS is gonna do what they are gonna do.
 Having said that, I thought it is interesting that they are yet again grandfathering RC levels. That suggests that if they actually adhered to the RC system, they would expect many upset contributors, which in turn suggests that in fact many contributors are sinking.