Hello all,

Thanks for all of the feedback.  I've already answered some questions in my earlier posts with respect to how we're selecting images for the collection - authentic images with high quality standards, but those that also have a storytelling and narrative quality to them, as well as exceptional art direction and style.   National Geographic is an example of one of our early contributors.

I'd say that any speculation that you're not invited is very premature.   In fact, I believe I've said quite the opposite - it's a little ways off, but the goal is to open up submissions in the future.   

Ultimately, this is another opportunity for you and all artists, which is a great thing.  I'm here to keep you informed as things develop and show you the respect you deserve for your questions and interests.

For this initial beta phase, we're carefully shaping the collection so that unlike other agencies and collections - the exceptional quality and characteristics named above will be very clear to customers and contributors alike.  Shutterstock releases new products in iterative steps and phased approaches - it's never "everything all at once and done" with us - we grow our products, improve, grow, improve, expand the audience, etc...   That's part of our core philosophy and what makes Shutterstock different than many other agencies.  Occasionally, we release bigger products, like our new Spectrum search tool, mobile applications, etc..., but we're continuously iterating on them.

Regarding royalties...we don�t yet offer public submissions so we�re not officially disclosing our royalty structure, but for estimation purposes, you can expect it to be similar to our core business. Shutterstock pays somewhere in the vicinity of 30%. 


Best Regards,


Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

 

 

Hello,

Pricing for Offset is going to be $250 for a small file and $500 for a large file, at around 3MB  and 50MB, respectively.

Without commenting on other collections, Offset content is of a unique caliber and we want pricing to be respectful (and reflective) of the quality of the work, while at the same time making the images accessible to buyers who are looking for quality images that tell a story.  Photographers and illustrators are giving us many of their best images.  Many of those images come from assignment photographers who have never sold stock, or collections that were previously sold as rights-managed. Some images are being given to us exclusively, though we're not requiring exclusivity.

That's also not a comment on Shutterstock images - which are also of excellent and amazing quality (our blogs should be evidence that we're continuously in love and impressed).  For advertising agencies, for example, our images in our "core" collections are also sold for up to $400 through prenegotiated agreements.   

Offset images are simply a different collection sold to buyers looking for a specific kind of image.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Am I correct to assume Offset would be the place to offer images considered too artsy by SS?

Not exactly.  It's in the FAQ, but we're looking for images that meet a few criteria:

• They're "authentic." I.e., they're aspirational, but the lighting and situations look perfectly real and naturalistic.
• They tell a story and they're immersive. In other words, images that as either a single image or a group of images tell a story that you want to spend time with.  Some of the best images from National Geographic, for example, are images that you can spend time with and pore over.  They have an intensity that focuses your interest, even as a single image.
• They've got contemporary art direction and style.  Food images, for example, will be carefully styled for catalog use or use in gourmet magazines.
• They've got high production values.

Searching through the collection right now, you can pick a single keyword and get all aspects of a particular topic.  If it's food, for example, it can be from the farm, to preparation, to the plated meal, to sustainable agriculture. 

The idea is to do more than simply showcase amazing images - it's to curate a collection of high-quality images that work together to be really engaging and immersive.  That's one reason that we're not just relying on existing, traditional stock to build the collection.   Curation is much more than editing and we're giving image buyers the ability to tell beautiful stories.

Hope that helps! 

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Thanks!  Also - I just added the Twitter and Facebook links above if you'd like to follow Offset news via social media.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Hi gbalex,

Our system is pretty straightforward - images are reviewed in the order in which they are received.   We have specialists who work on specific queues, such as the vector queue, which I've pointed out in the past.  That would apply to videos as well. First-time contributors go through a two-step process, since both IDs need to be approved and their first submissions. Having specialists improves the overall quality of the review.

Sometimes images are escalated to a second-level review if there are questions that require specialized knowledge, a policy call, or specific judgment.  That's a good thing - it means that the reviewer is trying to see that the images receive the best decision possible.

Those reviews also occasionally entail one or more support tickets - in other words, there's a back-and-forth exchange between members of the Review team, Support team (also known as Contributor Success) and the contributor to ask for more information about a particular submission.  We also work very closely with our legal department to establish and maintain policies regarding trademark, copyright, and fraud prevention to ensure the integrity of the marketplace.

Our turnaround times will generally hover between 2 and 6 days.  Our vector queue has been running high lately and our "second level" review will take longer as well, because those reviews are more time consuming and there are specialists working on them.  We do shift and add resources if submission volume spikes. 

Differences in review times is highly likely to be a difference in queues and whether a more-thorough review was requested for a specific batch of images.  Across all content types, our ultimate goal is to provide the highest quality reviews with the lowest turnaround times.  Individuals often come to the forums when they're frustrated or having an out-of-the-ordinary experience, but we own that - we want our contributors to have the best experience possible.   


Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

12 days and counting. I am thinking of pulling all images and wait until the wait is over. Better chance for the images if they get reviewed and processed quickly. At this moment, the images stand little chance. Buried as soon as they go live.

Hello,

In general, our "regular" image queue can run between 2-6 days, depending on volume.  Our vector queue has been running higher lately due to the overall volume of submissions and because vector review is more specialized and requires specific expertise.  We shift additional specialists to vectors to bring the turnaround time down when volume peaks.

In general, if your images are taking more than 1-2 weeks, that suggests that the batch might have been flagged to be inspected by our most senior reviewers as part of a "second tier" review.  Feel free to email the support team if you suspect something's taking much longer than it should.

In general, we recommend sending images into the system over time (rather than single massive batches of thousands of images on one topic), but we wouldn't recommend taking images out of review and resubmitting.  It would only put you in the back of the queue and I personally don't think there would be any benefit in terms of assuming that it would help your earnings.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
 

 

Hello all,

The vector queue is one of the most specialized of our review queues and it's running a bit high right now with new submissions.  We're aware and we're giving it extra attention.

Thanks for your patience and submissions.

[EDIT]  I should also add - there are times that image submissions that have issues can go into a separate queue for Tier 2 review.  If you're experiencing extraordinarily abnormal review times (i.e., a week or many weeks), you can also reach out to the Contributor Success team at [email protected]. [/EDIT]

Best,

Scott
VP Content
Shutterstock

Agreed. Scott Braut usually appears....

Hello All,

My apologies for the delay in replying. 

With regards to Bigstock...

Subscriptions are a new product for Bigstock. As everyone knows, subscriptions are a popular way for customers to buy images and a proven way to increase the overall number and variety of downloads of your images. As evidence of that popularity, Shutterstock recently hit a milestone of 250 million downloads. Customers like subscriptions because they both fulfill their needs and provide them with some flexibility and creative freedom. Almost every "top tier" stock image provider in our space now supports subscriptions for that reason.     

We're proud of the fact that the Shutterstock royalty structure has fundamentally remained the same for many years, though we have added new products.  In fact, a little over a year ago, we made price increases that brought up video royalties.  We also introduced new image licensing products that are now generating royalties of up to $120 per download.  In parallel, the team has launched numerous new features for contributors, such as a contributor profile pages, keywording tools, a "contributor success guide," the "Viewfinder Challenge" contest, a new signup process, "featured contributor" newsletters, new search interfaces to find your images, mobile apps and more. We are highly dedicated to maintaining a healthy and positive relationship with our contributors. We hope that our continued commitment to contributors comes through in everything we do. 

The Bigstock team has two goals.  The first is to continue to grow the business by providing customer-friendly purchase options.  The second -- the goal for the new royalty model -- is to stay competitive and fair while avoiding royalty adjustments in the future.  This product is targeted at Bigstock customers and this is the first time subscriptions will appear on the Bigstock site.  The team is going to be monitoring how customers respond to subscriptions and they'll be sensitive to contributor earnings at the same time. 

We appreciate the feedback and take it seriously. Everyone is looking forward to growing Bigstock into one of your best earners and the plan is to keep you informed and consider your feedback along the way.

Best,

Scott
VP Content
Shutterstock

Hi guys,

Sorry for the inconvenience - this should be fixed now.

Scott
VP Content
Shutterstock

Hello,

In response to the question about downsizing: 

A large share of the downloads at our higher royalty amounts come from larger file sizes.  My original recommendation remains the same.

As a general comment - individuals in the forums often talk about their anecdotal personal experience on a given day or month.  That's great and there's certainly nothing wrong with that -- but for perspective -- Shutterstock has 550,000 customers and has delivered over 250 million downloads.  We're great supporters and believers in communities and forums (and peer feedback), but to get the best information - I will always suggest that contributors follow our guidelines and recommendations and contact Support directly when there are questions.   

Thanks for the questions - happy licensing.  

Best Regards,

Scott
VP Content
Shutterstock



     

Hi everyone,

Just to chime in on this one point: downsizing will only hurt your sales and the overall community.  I'll explain why.   

Shutterstock has over 550,000 customers, ranging from freelance graphic designers working with a variety of clients to high-end advertising agencies and publishers who buy images in volume.   Some of those customers buy individual images, some buy image packs and others buy images via the subscription model. 

The point of uploading large (or your original) file sizes is to make sure that your images are suitable for the widest variety of customers and widest variety of uses, irrespective of how the image was purchased.

For example, some advertising agencies will buy images under agreements that allow for a royalty of up to $120 per download.  If you upload smaller images that fail to meet an advertising agency's requirements, you'll either leave them frustrated or turn them off to your portfolio.

As others have pointed out, it's in your interest to try to capture the widest variety of sales from customers already transacting at Shutterstock, which means providing high quality files suitable for the widest variety of end uses.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Hi guys,

As always, please file reports directly to the support team at Bigstock, but I've notified our development team of the issue and they're already looking into it.

Thanks!

Best,

Scott
VP Content
Shutterstock (& Bigstock)

Hello everyone,

The nature of the bug / issue is that it's not something that affects everyone at all times, which is why one user might report the submission process as fine and another will report seeing problems.  The team is actively working on a fix right now; we'll update when that's in place.

Best,

Scott