What we have is a commodity market. 1.6 million contributors chasing 2 million customers and competing in a world where some suppliers are providing free product. Any commodity market is about volume and low margins. It doesn't matter if you are a private company or a public one. If you aren't making money then that's a problem and revenue without profit is unsustainable.

From my reading of the results, Shutterstock is desperately looking for ways to tweak the product cycle and improve margins. That explains the big focus on AI. If customers are going to be persuaded to pay for product when there is a bunch of free stuff on the market then there has to be added value and that comes from everything they put around the images and video. The better that package is then the more they can charge.

Paying the contributors less is obviously another way of improving margins, however, they have already done that once and they need to be careful not to kill the supply of product by doing it again and again. Many, if not most, contributors could probably walk away if they had to.

In my case, stock is a very small part of my income. I like the money but I don't do it for the money. I do it for other reasons and that works for me. The financial aspect is not going to get better for the vast majority of contributors and if that is the main reason people do it then they need to start looking elsewhere.

With apologies to Monty Python

The SS forum is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! It's kicked the bucket, shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! It is an ex-forum!!

It's just Shutterstock ticking boxes. In practice, nothing will change.