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Topics - blvdone
1
« on: April 10, 2024, 19:28 »
Wow. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adobe-buying-videos-3-per-213215719.html"(Bloomberg) -- Adobe Inc. has begun to procure videos to build its artificial intelligence text-to-video generator, trying to catch up to competitors after OpenAI demonstrated a similar technology. The software company is offering its network of photographers and artists $120 to submit videos of people engaged in everyday actions such as walking or expressing emotions including joy and anger, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The goal is to source assets for artificial intelligence training, the company wrote. Over the past year, Adobe has focused on adding generative AI features to its portfolio of software for creative professionals, including Photoshop and Illustrator. The company has released tools that use text to produce images and illustrations that have been used billions of times so far. Still, OpenAIs demonstration of its video-generation model Sora reignited fears among investors that the longtime creative software leader could be disrupted by the new technology. Adobe has said its working on video-generation technology, with plans to discuss more about it later this year. For More: OpenAI Sprinting to Keep Up With Startups on AI-Generated Video Adobe is requesting more than 100 short clips of people engaged in actions and showing emotions as well as simple anatomy shots of feet, hands or eyes. The company also wants video of people interacting with objects such as smartphones or fitness equipment. It cautions against providing copyrighted material, nudity or other offensive content. Pay for the submission works out, on average, to about $2.62 per minute of submitted video, although it could be as much as about $7.25 per minute. Asked for comment, an Adobe spokesperson pointed to prior statements from executives that the company is developing video-generating features. The listing highlights the massive amount of data needed to build AI models underlying popular content creation products such as ChatGPT. There has been much debate and controversy over the source of that data. OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati said in a viral interview clip with the Wall Street Journal last month that she wasnt sure whether Sora was trained on user-generated videos from Googles YouTube as well as Meta Platforms Inc.s Facebook and Instagram. Adobe has sought to differentiate its models by training them primarily on its vast library of stock media for marketers and creative agencies. In cases where its stock library falls short, it has procured images directly from contributors. It has also offered pay for contributors to submit a mass amount of photos for AI training such as images of bananas or flags. Those jobs have paid in the range of 6 cents to 16 cents per image, according to listings seen by Bloomberg. (Updates with company comment in the seventh paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
2
« on: April 04, 2024, 13:16 »
So, I've been experimenting with my prices because of slow sales this year. I tried the low price strategy that seemed to be working, but at the end, didn't really increase my monthly revenue because with low price, you have to sell many more. Then, I tried high price strategy of $299/HD and $399/4k, but after a few sales, didn't really work out for me maybe because it's too high. And it seems like I finally found a good pricing strategy that seem to be promising. I have realized that each clips have different pricing power due to quality/popularity. So, I priced my best selling clips at $149/HD and $199/4K. And the rest of them at $74/HD and $149/4k. What I have realized from those price experiment is, right now on Pond5, buyers don't really buy a clip because it's cheap. They know StoryBlocks and some other cheap sites offer unlimited download for $10/month or something. Also, cheap video subs are now available on Shutterstock and Adobe Stock. So, the buyers who search Pond5 are here to find clips they couldn't find on those cheap sites. My bestseller clips at 2x the HD price of the rest of my clips are doing well. Also, due to HD price and 4K price closer, buyers tend to buy $199/4k instead of $149/HD. If they want cheaper alternatives, I have many similar clips at $74/HD and $149/4k. I have realized bestselling clips have stronger pricing power. You need to identify those bestsellers with strong pricing power to take advantage of current situation, I think. I see many and some high quality contributors pricing their videos at ridiculous $25/HD and $27/4K, but I think they are losing a lot of potential revenue.
3
« on: March 22, 2024, 06:08 »
4
« on: March 21, 2024, 08:19 »
So, since I had massive rejection on GigaPixel4x upscaled photos of Midjourney generated AI images, I compared different options and found Midjourney's own 2x upscaling to be the most natural looking. I've been uploading the 2x Midjourney upscaled photos and are getting good acceptance rates on Adobe Stock these days, but my concern is 2x upscale may not be big enough for some buyers. So, my current option is to have Midjourney 2x upscaled photos to 2x upscale on Gigapixel AI on standard setting. It seems like the standard setting mostly just double pixel count without overly make the photos look artificial. What's your best option in upscaling AI images? Do you think 2x upscale is enough for long run? I'm worried I may need to re-upload 2x upscaled photos in 4x upscale to increase sales for buyers who want more pixels. I was thinking maybe the buyers will do own upscaling if they want to. But 2x upscaled photos look the most natural without looking artificial.
5
« on: March 07, 2024, 06:37 »
It sucks on Dreamstime they have $100 payout minimum. I'm at $91 now, but what if they go out of business? They may just get away with not paying any contributors below $100 sales balance in a broad daylight. Sales revenue is rightfully ours. Any amount should be claimed by us. It would be a flat-out theft of our money if that happens.
6
« on: March 02, 2024, 10:07 »
I just found out there are many video watermark removers out there these days. Unlike Pond5 and Shutterstock that let you download only half the HD resolution preview clip with watermark, Adobe Stock let everybody download full 4K or HD resolution preview clip in full length with watermark. Watch this video of video watermark remover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoZlXOibKugAlso there are many videos out there showing how to remove watermark. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=remove+watermark+from+videoI don't sell videos on Adobe Stock anymore. So, I'm not worried about my 4K or full HD videos downloaded with watermark and then watermark removed by somebody who may upload them to other sites. Or anybody can download the 4k preview, remove watermark and use it and say "Oh, I bought the clip". Stock agencies got to think about how to combat this problem. Adobe Stock should stop full 4K or HD resolution preview download and reduce preview resolution to 1/2 HD at max. If clips were proven to be stolen this way, there could be a massive class action lawsuit by contributors. Got to prevent the potential disaster by limiting preview download to lower resolution. I've never felt comfortable about full resolution preview download on Adobe Stock, but now the concern is real due to AI enhanced watermark removal out there. Matt, could you respond to this and also let Adobe Stock know this serious concern???
7
« on: March 01, 2024, 07:25 »
I don't contribute to Storyblocks because of their unlimited download model that's dangerous for mass theft, but one long-time contributor is reporting 90% drop in revenue in recent months since Storyblocks changed how to calculate contributor payout. Anybody seeing the same trend there? This is the video of the contributor reporting revenue collapse. https://youtu.be/QfjeJWJs1ag?si=8ABhb7qj1WncwEub&t=77
8
« on: February 29, 2024, 10:37 »
I'm wondering if there's any other stock sites worth uploading AI photos to make some money.
9
« on: February 27, 2024, 10:43 »
Things are changing fast in stock image/video industry due to increasing number of subscription model sites and introduction of AI image/video generator. Stock agencies have come and gone in the past too, but we may be experiencing a major shift in the industry. Already some are reporting huge sales drop on 123RF which used to be one of the major stock photo agency. Which agencies do you think will disappear in 3 years? My guess is, 123RF Alamy MotionElements Dreamstime DepositPhotos Bigstockphoto YayImages EyeEm ClipDealer Dissolve and many other smaller agencies I'm not familiar with. When stock agencies disappear, they often disappear without paying the amount they owe you. So, be careful. https://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-discussion/revostock-closed-the-store-with-no-payments-to-contributors/
10
« on: February 26, 2024, 12:13 »
Probably Midjourney's bot scanned all the thumbnail photos with watermark on many stock image sites. Have you had this experience on Midjourney or other AI generative software/app?
11
« on: February 26, 2024, 08:11 »
So, I went through my portfolio the other day and found AI generated photos don't necessarily sell better than real photos in my case. I think it varies depending on contributors, but in my case, I think real photos are actually more likely to sell. However, it's way more efficient to create AI generated images and upload than shooting real photos. So, that's where AI generated photos win as a business for me. It's cost effective. I don't have to hire models, go out on a shoot, find location and pay for the locations etc. While some AI generated photos have sold well, most of them never sold. Many photos that I imitated bestselling photos didn't sell at all. Those are too saturated in the market because everybody makes them. So, I think you'll need to find you own niche as well rather than just prompting imitating other bestselling photos. It's supply and demand balance.
12
« on: February 26, 2024, 07:57 »
My ranking as of now is 1,220th with 9,808 photos in my Adobe Stock portfolio. Last week was at about the same ranking too. My lifetime ranking is around 1,600th. So, I made a progress after adding 3,000 AI generated photos since last September or so. I think many with higher ranking have a lot less photos/images on their portfolio than I do.
13
« on: February 22, 2024, 22:56 »
There are about 200 videos on this channel, but each video is more than 10 clips edited into 5-10 minutes piece. https://www.youtube.com/@freecreativefootagelibrary5492/videosI suspect most if not all were downloaded on Envato Elements unlimited download plan. I don't sell on those unlimited download sites. So, I don't have to worry about it much, but if you sell on those sites, check the videos. You may find multiple videos of yours. If you find your video, file a copyright infringement claim via YouTube. They probably will delete the videos and close the account. Here's what the thief wrote on video description. "CREDIT- We did purshase this footage and we payed for it to help content creators . ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ You can use this footage for your project or commercial purpose even don't ask for any permission. Want to use this footage? Follow Instructions. 1. Subscribe Our Channel (it will be highly appreciated) 2. Download Video And Edit it with your favourite programm 3. STAY HEALTHY" But here's the point. He/she downloaded those clips from unlimited stock sites and created those 5-10 minutes videos with music. That's not illegal. That's actually exactly how stock videos are supposed to be used. So, I'm not sure if YouTube will hear your case and delete those videos. It's just a part of selling your stock videos on unlimited download sites, I guess. So many people will have your clips for free via those who post on YouTube after mass download.
14
« on: February 22, 2024, 14:54 »
I'm seeing my sales decline in February 3 weeks in a row. I was happy with sales increase due to adding AI generated images, now I'm worried this may come to a crushing end as general population start to generate their own AI images. Anybody can do it. Are you optimistic about everybody and anybody start generating AI images? We may be doomed. All my effort making AI images may end up being wasted after months of good run.
15
« on: February 19, 2024, 20:15 »
17
« on: February 18, 2024, 14:14 »
So, I haven't been selling my videos at all on Shutterstock for about 2 years maybe since they started video subs. I had more than 13,000 videos on Shutterstock. Due to low sales on Pond5, I decided to give Shutterstock a try again because I can still be Pond5 exclusive getting 60% royalty even if I sell the same video clips on Shutterstock due to the SS takeover of P5. However, I don't want my 4k clips to be sold for the same cheap price as HD on their video sub plan, so I decided to delete all my 4k clips on Shutterstock. I deleted about 9,000 4k clips today. I have nearly 30k clips on Pond5 Exclusive now. So, for Shutterstock, I only have older clips in HD only. I'll probably decide if I un-publish my videos again on Shutterstock after several months. I hope this move will give me a little more income without negatively affecting my Pond5 income. As for the Adobe Stock, I deleted all my videos last May because of low sales due to video subs. Now they announced they give 4k for the same price as HD on video sub, I would only upload very limited number of HD clips there because I don't want to lose 60% royalty advantage on Pond5 Exclusive. I can't let my P5 royalty cut to 2/3 by uploading to Adobe Stock. It's difficult to navigate this and I don't know the answer honestly but just trying to find the best way to maximize my income. I hope Shutterstock would promote/advertise Pond5 more. They'll make more $$ from higher price sales on Pond5 too. It may become all irrelevant after high quality AI videos, but I'm just trying to survive here. It's getting more and more difficult. Majority of top stock video producers have already quit making new videos in the last few years since SS video sub started.
18
« on: February 11, 2024, 09:48 »
With the new 4k inclusion on their plans, 4k video is given for $23.39 or less as low as $9.99/4k or HD on their $249.99/month to month plan or $7.99 on their $199/month annual commitment plan. Do you still want to give away your videos at such a garbage price??? I don't. I deleted all my videos on Adobe Stock last May and went 100% Pond5 Exclusive getting 60% royalty on reasonable competitive price I set by myself. Who would pay for your same clip on Pond5 if they can get them dirt cheap on Adobe Stock? All they gotta do is to google your contributor name to find out if you sell much cheaper on Adobe Stock, Shutterstock or Storyblocks. Customers aren't stupid. I strongly recommend only upload HD videos on Adobe Stock from now on and delete all 4k clips and re-upload HD version only. Yes, they still offer on-demand single clips sale price of $79.99/HD and $199.99/4k, but who would pay that when you can get the cheapest month to month plan at $69.99 and get 3x 4k clips. Only some very not smart people would pay that.
19
« on: January 17, 2024, 02:45 »
So far this month in January 2024. This is sad. It's on pace for only 1/2 the January 2023 sales. Shutterstock used to be the King. Whatever gone wrong there.
Shutterstock used to pay us $0.38 minimum for subscription sale like Adobe Stock does. Since they introduced wonderful $0.10 photo sub commission, contributor enthusiasm seem eroded. Probably Shutterstock nowadays doesn't get as many quality photos or videos as Adobe Stock does. They still own Pond5 now. So, they get the best stock videos on Pond5. But for the photos, Adobe Stock is the King now, no question. They totally had a wrong approach toward contributors belittling us while Adobe Stock is trying to work with us. Big mistake.
20
« on: January 13, 2024, 05:47 »
Rejections are mostly due to "QUALITY ISSUES", but I don't see any quality difference between the rejected photos and accepted photos of the same themes. So, I'm just confused. Maybe it's just that they already have many photos of the same theme?
21
« on: January 11, 2024, 13:01 »
It's nice. I didn't have many $1 or more royalty last year for a photo sale, but this year, I see $1.40 commissions. That resulted in increase of royalty per photo sale by 20-25% it seems. I don't know what changed on Adobe Stock, but it's nice and I like it. Anybody seeing the same thing?
22
« on: November 14, 2023, 17:30 »
Any thoughts on this? https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shutterstock-unveils-trust-best-class-172000781.html"Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK), a leading global creative platform connecting brands and businesses to quality content, today announced TRUST, an official guiding framework that embodies Shutterstock's long-standing values and commitment to using AI responsibly in its products and workflows. TRUST, an acronym for Training, Royalties, Uplift, Safeguards and Transparency, reflects the core commitments that Shutterstock has actively upheld over the last two decades. In an unregulated and rapidly evolving industry, this framework can also serve as an action-driven checklist for companies experimenting with AI technologies and reiterates Shutterstock's lifelong, contributor-centric operating principles." https://www.shutterstock.com/business/TRUST"Royalties that compensate artists fairly We support artists with fair compensation. We also empower their creativity through AI tools designed to supportnot replacetheir unique talents."
23
« on: November 04, 2023, 08:55 »
regular photos I shot on cameras. Anybody else feel the same?
I pay $120/month on Midjourney and also bought Gigapixel AI to create those AI photos. So, it's a confirmation that what I'm doing is working for me. That doesn't mean I stop shooting stock photos with my camera, but it's good to see people are actually buying my AI generated photos.
24
« on: November 04, 2023, 08:07 »
I uploaded a bunch of new model released photos on Shutterstock. The AI reviewer rejected most photos with same framing with different facial expression or facial direction. The Shutterstock AI reviewer is incapable of distinguishing between different facial expression of a model in the photos. It just take 1 photo of the same framing and reject all others with different facial expression. This must be doing a lot of damage to Shutterstock itself because they are missing out on potential good selling photos of variable facial expression unless you re-submit them. It's really stupid what Shutterstock is doing with AI reviewer imo. Only good thing is their review time is so fast on the same day within hours unlike Adobe Stock review that's taking over a month these days. Shutterstock contributors don't care much because all we get mostly are $0.10 per sale. So, it's a bad cycle of low motivation and bad review process Shutterstock has created in the name of efficiency and maximizing profit. It's backfiring on them. Their market value is 1/3 of its peak now. It's a sweat shop operation now except their enterprise business that's reportedly growing.
25
« on: October 03, 2023, 16:25 »
I just chatted with one of my regular models. She said there arent many model gigs out there. Now Im trying to catch up with this AI generated stock photos boom using Midjourney. I pay about $30/month to generate any kind of stock models instantly although Midjourney generated people often have similar look unless you figure out different prompts to generate different looking person. $30/month vs paying $30/hr or more for stock models to do stock shoot in this tough inflation economy. Im seeing my model stock photo sales going down and seeing a few AI generated model photos sold. My main thing is stock videos. So I would definitely hire actual models to do shoots, but if I was strictly stock photo creator, there would be much less shoots using actual models.
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