I don�t write much on this forum, I�m eleven years in this, and Iet me tell you, you have no idea how much money is in the unlimited subscription model!


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It's all yours.

   
Dear Shutterstock Contributor,

Starting today, your Shutterstock account has been included in a small Contributor pilot group that will power the launch of our new "Unlimited Download Subscription" - an offering designed to capture an emerging market of individual users. As part of this pilot group, you will be the first to benefit from this additional licensing opportunity, while your content will continue to be available across the Shutterstock library for all customers to license.

What is Unlimited Licensing and how does it benefit you?
What is Unlimited?: Shutterstock Unlimited is a subscription service for individual customers, offering them the chance to license digital assets for a fixed monthly fee. Only select contributors are invited, which ensures a high-quality selection of content for customers while giving you more visibility in the marketplace.

Subscriber Share model: With Shutterstock Unlimited, you�ll earn based on a "Subscriber Share" revenue model. 50% of net subscription revenue is shared among contributors, with your share determined by the value your content brings to each subscriber. The more essential your assets are to them, the more you earn. See here for more information.

Tracking Earnings: Unlimited earnings is a monthly subscription plan and your payments can be found under "Subscriptions" on our Earning Summary.

Opt-in/Opt-out: Your account has been automatically opted in and customers will begin purchasing subscriptions in a few weeks. We have added an option in the contributor account settings so you can easily manage your Unlimited subscription options, allowing you full control over your participation.

Our ultimate goal with the Unlimited Download Subscription is to build a sustainable, thriving marketplace where you can continue to succeed over the long term. We�re excited to have you as part of this journey!

P5 non existent for me in 2025 so far.

Hamburg 05.04.2025 The Hamburg-based photo agency Zoonar has completely redeveloped its website and expanded its offering for photographers and customers. Zoonar has been given a new look and at the same time installed new languages, functions and servers. 

Since this is a completely new development, some internal processes have also changed, so registered photographers will have to get used to it a bit. Image management now allows for quick batch processing, partner management is more clearly structured, and sales are listed in more detail. The image shops also have a new concept. Search terms are now stored in the shop categories, allowing photographers and designers to dynamically group their images. The contractual provisions have not been changed. Zoonar continues to pay 50% to its suppliers. A small special feature is that Zoonar is now able to block the crawlers of AI companies in order to better protect the works of its suppliers

New features include the Zoonar stories. These are connected photo series, photo reports or slideshows that are to be marketed to partners and customers in thematic groups. This offering will be gradually expanded. It is not yet possible to create your own stories. However, photographers can already send texts (in English or German) to the editorial team, which will then enter the respective stories. Later on, producers will also be able to create stories themselves.  The Zoonar editorial team will then select some of them for direct marketing on a weekly basis. 

Zoonar also uses the stories to give photographers tips for marketing their images. For example, interested photographers can find an article on the topic of AI photos on the new Zoonar homepage. Further articles are planned and will follow shortly.

What sets Zoonar apart from the competition? How will you acquire customers? Are you going into AI? What is your unique identifier? From my recollection, the old Zoonar was a small player is a giant pond and sales were scarce. How will that change?

Solved.

I would also add that since 2020, agencies such as shuttersh!t have found a way to tweak the algorithm, so that you never reach your financial goal and end up perpetually chasing the carrot. This benefits them because month after month you're filling up their database with media for AI training, which can be sold and marketed to 3rd party companies in a myriad of ways (hummm very lucrative), while at the same time they get to continually pay you the bare minimum.

So far this year zero P5 sales.  about 4000 assets.  Ever since SS took over sales stopped for me.  Here we are in 2025 and still not a single sale.

that's great, I didn't know that it was so easy there...

I received a request via Dreamstime to sell all rights to a cartoon illustration...So I am thinking carefully about the idea of selling all rights......I had the image on a few agencies...and 123 was one of them.

I've gotten so many of those over the years and not a single one has ever come to fruition.

I have been uploading to Stock sites for about 2 years. I have about 1000 videos on Pond5. Mostly travel videos. Up until now, my video has only been sold once. I received funding payments 3 times. So there are almost no sales. Is this normal?

It has become the new norm for me as of Jan 2024. While I was getting 3-5 video sales a month with about 1500 videos in 2022, 2023, the sales stopped in Jan when Shutterstock got involved. It's now just a dead site for me and I suspect sales/royalties will be further eroded in the not too distant future, probably later this year. So the very few sales you make now will have reduced royalties.  I am glad MS is just passive income for me.

Quote from: stoker2014 on January 01, 2025, 04:48

As of January 1st, they changed the way they calculated royalties, so there will be less money now.
 

"While this will mean higher earnings for some, it will might also mean less for everyone others." That is a big comic punchline !
"Please note that following this update, it may take 2 to 3 months for the earnings estimates on your dashboard to reflect accurate data again."

These guys are funny

What they REALLY mean to say (see above)

Ive just had my first ever 0 sale P5 month.

I have been skunked 10 of 12 months in 2024.  I have about 2,500 vids and 3,000 images.

You are literally seeing the future of Microstock happen right before your eyes.  It's just incremental.

Quote from: stocker2011 on November 18, 2024, 08:02

I thought being exclusive at P5 was for selling content exclusively for the price you set with a 60% commission rate.

Being P5 Exclusive does not lock in a content price set by a contributor.

P5's contributor contract allows P5 to determine the actual sales price - regardless of what price a  contributor sets - Exclusive or not.   

I believe most all stock agency contributor contracts have this type clause.  It allows the agency to negotiate the selling price with a buyer to make the sale.

It's also known that being exclusive does not give you favorable placement in search. As an exclusive you still compete on a level playing field with non-exclusives. I have shared a while back with P5 that they should consider a search boost to exclusives if they wanted to attract more of them.