On 12.03.24 Adobe has blocked my account with a portfolio of over 50,000 images and over $2000 on it because of "terms violation".
I don�t work with AI Generators, I have no idea why the account was deactivated and what I can do to reactivate it.
 After using the contract form, I still haven't received a response (over a month). On Discord they just tell me to keep waiting.

I find it very unpleasant to keep someone in the dark for so long and to be at the mercy of it all

This is ridiculous.  Adobe needs to do better.

Quote from: alijaber on April 11, 2024, 08:22

Video sales for April:
Pond 5: 2 sales: 255$
SS: 14 sales: 62$
AS: 7 sales: 68$
Videohive: 1 sale: 9$

Thats exactly what i was talking about, even if you sell much more clips for a low price, the total income with highpriced content is much higher.
I sold 5 clips each for 299$ in the last 11 days, all exclusive on Pond5. So going all in exlusive with high prices on P5 worked out very well

Congrats!!!  That's the way to go.

I'm all in exclusive with 30k videos on Pond5.  I stopped selling on Shutterstock when they started video subs and saw my sales go down drastically.  Also deleted all my videos on Adobe Stock last year because 80+% of my video sales became cheap video subs.  It's not easy to just be Pond5 exclusive, but you'll get instant 50% raise in royalty from 40% to 60%.  That's a good feeling.  But also, I think pricing is important to maximize your revenue on Pond5.  Customers who come to Pond5 buy clips because they couldn't find them on StoryBlocks, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock and other cheap stock video sites.  They don't buy your video because it's cheap.  They buy it because they need it that they couldn't find anywhere else.  I started this new pricing strategy at the end of March.  It's working well since.

https://www.microstockgroup.com/general-stock-video/high-price-strategy-that-seems-to-be-working-on-pond5/msg602210/?topicseen#new

Had a nice day on Pond5.  Never sell your works cheap!!


My port.
https://www.pond5.com/artist/blvdoneprime

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, OpenAI�s 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 it�s 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 wasn�t sure whether Sora was trained on user-generated videos from Google�s 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

The solution actually would be pretty simple.
(a) Don't allow signups from east india (because that tends to be the "business model"). of course, it's not "only" east indians - but educated (& experienced) guess I'd say is about 60-75%. Another 30% tends to be from very specific arabic countries.
(b) Super easy to vet anyone from submitting another's work.

But - part of the "game" right now is a bunch of pyschos trying to push the "digitalID" - so they WANT people stealing - because then they can manipulate people into "demanding" that their content be kept safe... look @ blackrock/vangaurd/alladin project/wef/un/etc...

But it is actually quite easy to prevent that kind of thing from happening.

Many thieves are from Pakistan.

Evaristo tenscadisto and bennu99,

Thank you for your kind comments.

I reported 13 stolen clips in the complaint I submitted to Shutterstock. I hope that Shutterstock will take immediate action to shut down the account.

Although the money from Artlist is tempting, I'm seriously reevaluating whether it's worth it. Someone mentioned that checking for uploaded content on other stock agencies and submitting takedowns is part of the deal. It took me an hour to submit my complaint to Shutterstock, which could have been used for something more productive.

I also sent a message to the Artlist team inquiring about their system for dealing with such situations. I don't expect a great answer, but I informed them that this experience has made me hesitant to upload more content.

blvdone

I'm surprised because it has happened so quickly (within weeks of uploading the clips) and with only 50 clips uploaded to Artlist. I thought this only happens to bestsellers over time. Well, now I can say it also happens to newly uploaded content.

By the way, if anyone here is on Blackbox, please let them know that this clip

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-3402980789-warp-drive-space-wormhole-hyper-speed-abstract

is from them

https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-1106970727-cosmic-tunnel-light-through-nebulas-seamless-loop?irclickid=TO1wVsSDkxyPW08Tdkxih2SYUkHRKJ3mfSYbxg0&irgwc=1&pl=77643-108110&utm_campaign=TinEye&utm_content=108110&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_source=77643&utm_term=

That means your clips are of high quality so that the thief see potential!!

Thief's profile page is funny.  I think I've seen this name before.

https://www.shutterstock.com/g/bismil048/about

"bismil048
Videographer
With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, Muhammad Naseem has established themselves as a versatile and skilled videographer, adept at curating compelling visual narratives across a wide spectrum of video styles.

From breath-taking cinematic landscapes to intimate moments of human connection, Muhammad Naseem possesses the creative vision and technical expertise to transform ideas into captivating moving images. Their work spans across a diverse range of video categories:

1. Documentary Filmmaking: Muhammad Naseem dives deep into the essence of every subject, weaving engaging narratives that educate, inspire, and provoke thought.

2. Event Videography: Be it weddings, corporate events, or live performances, Muhammad Naseem expertly captures the atmosphere, emotions, and energy of every occasion.

3. Commercial and Advertising: Working with brands and businesses, Muhammad Naseem crafts compelling visuals that tell unique brand stories and drive engagement.

4. Travel and Adventure: A wanderlust-driven spirit, Muhammad Naseem brings far-off destinations and thrilling escapades to life through stunning videography.

5. Music Videos: Collaborating with musicians and artists, Muhammad Naseem creates visually striking music videos that harmonize with the rhythm of the music.

6. Stock Videography: Muhammad Naseem is a prolific contributor to stock video libraries, offering a diverse range of high-quality footage that serves as a valuable resource for content creators.

In every project, Muhammad Naseem combines technical expertise, artistic flair, and a commitment to storytelling, ensuring that every frame captures the essence of the moment. Their dedication to their craft has resulted in a portfolio brimming with visual narratives that transcend the ordinary and inspire viewers."

Also, for the first 6 days of sales report in April with the "high price strategy", I got a little less number of sales, but 2x the revenue compared to the first 6 days of sales report in March in which both had 4 weekdays.  I think this is the answer.  Take advantage of pricing power of your bestselling clips to increase revenue.

Well you can set the price in general to what ever you want, but if you sell your clips elswere for lower you will get an email from P5 with a friendly reminder to ajust your price matching the other prices again.

But i went exclusive with P5 1 year ago, with a port of more than 10K clips, and i make already much more than i ever did before, so for me this was totaly worth it, so i can only recommend it. Because if your exclusive you can set the price as high as you want.

And if you create some great niche content which i startet doing lately, the income is even higher.

Because its true, despite having the minimum prices on P5 they still sell content for much lower sometimes with special offerings which you cant control. The only way out of this is to be exclusive and price your content at least arround 99$ better 199$ and for realy uniq footage 299$ works as well.

Good move going exclusive on Pond5.  I'm 100% Pond5 exclusive in stock videos too.  I don't recommend going all exclusive on Pond5 for everybody, but if you have good sales on Pond5 already, it makes sense to at least move your Pond5 bestseller to exclusive to get instant 50% royalty increase from those clips.  But of course it all depends on personal situations.  Some are doing well on Storyblocks and are happy giving unlimited downloads.

Quote from: blvdone on April 04, 2024, 13:16

So, the buyers who search Pond5 are here to find clips they couldn't find on those cheap sites. 

Quote from: blvdone on April 04, 2024, 13:16

$27/4K

This price cannot be set, the system does not allow it. 

I filed a complaint to Pond5 regarding those $27/4K clips, but they aren't enforcing the minimum price rule.
Some top sellers set their prices at $25/HD and $27/4k.
https://www.pond5.com/search?kw=&media=footage&pricerange=|29&resolutions=4K&artist=fizkes
https://www.pond5.com/search?kw=&media=footage&pricerange=|29&resolutions=4K&artist=peopleimages

PeopleImages is Yuri Aucurs.

Quote from: SuperPhoto on April 02, 2024, 22:10

Quote from: HalfFull on April 02, 2024, 13:16

Not a million miles away. 20k images and sales are distributed across my port� not just a handful of top sellers. I�ve been doing this type of work since 2010 probably 2013/14 with Adobe / Fotolia. No AI in port.

Pretty good! Tips/strategies/recommendations on how to create a better selling/balanced portfolio?

I learned early on that if anyone is serious about making a career from this business, they should follow one simple rule. Do not divulge or give away details of what works for you including images that sell well. You have to treat it as a business and businesses do not provide, "Secrets of their success" to help their competitors take money from them. It sounds harsh but ultimately it will serve you well. Sorry if this sounds nasty but it's hard enough in this line of work without shooting yourself in the foot.

That said, I do enjoy teaching so when I retire, I would like to teach one or two people about how I did things. Not so much for money etc, just because I like the idea of passing something on.

That's the best advice!!!