http://finance.yahoo.com/news/shutterstock-contributor-payouts-surpass-150-170000568.html

This does not seem like all that much in 10 years.  I recall at one point Istock claimed it was paying $1.7 million a week (though I�m sure those days are long gone).

Also apparently Turkey is the hot new market
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/shutterstock-fills-companies-visual-needs-oringer-CppxVYZNQKqH~b~6KOQy0g.html?cmpid=yhoo

I have to avoid the site as the stories always make me so angry.  Who will protect us from bad cops?

Shares are bought and sold all day every day.  If you are in the US it is easy, just open a brokerage account - there are lots of companies like Schwab, Etrade, and Fidelity that have would be happy to set you up.  Then you just buy the stock SSTK is the symbol.  If you've never done this before, I suggest you read up first on the process.

I have no idea what it is like to do this from outside the U.S.

I don't have a very common name, however searching on the informal variation of my name produces a huge number of pictures of a local politician with the same name. 

The search on the more formal variation of my name produces a huge range of mug shots of people with the identical name who have been arrested.   

Both searches combined find maybe 5 of my images in the first 5 pages.   

Yes, sorry - I replied quickly and then was in the process of refining - that's what I meant.   In practice, we reach out to the contributor to let them know what's being requested, check on distribution, etc...   

- Scott

Just wanted to add my voice in thanking you for coming here to share info and answer questions.  Brave  and greatly appreciated.

In all fairness, it seems fairly obvious at this point that Sean has been involved with the development of Stocksy for a few months already and had already made the decision to leave iStock prior to being pushed out by Getty. So the outcome would have been the same either way and Sean would have eventually left on his own volition when he was ready if he hadn't been asked to leave first. So as everyone's looks down upon Getty for throwing him out and feels so bad for Sean, I think it's fair to say this is what he wanted anyway. Had Sean not been planning to leave in the first place then he might not have been pushed out by Getty and may still be there today. So isn't this the outcome Sean was planning and wanted anyway but perhaps was only forced to speed up his already intended departure plan?

I don't think there is any evidence to support the idea that Sean wanted to leave Istock/Getty.  I'm sure he wondered about dropping exclusivity, but I can't imagine he would ever think it was in his interests to take all his images off.

Do Getty contracts still say that contributors are entitled to one audit a year of all their transactions at Getty?  (Of course at the contributor's expense).   If so, this might be one way for somebody to find out the pricing once it is up and running. 

Where do they license non-exclusive work on Getty anyways?

Outside of the partner program, I'm not sure. I find all the layers, collections and other bits and pieces to be hard to keep track of.

here is the whole message with discussion links
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352443&page=1
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=352445&page=1


Contributor News: March 21, 2013

Exclusive Survey

One of our highest priorities for 2013 is making improvements for iStock Exclusives.

Some of you may remember a survey from last year�the feedback from that survey enabled us to make a number of general improvements. It is time now to ask you directly as an exclusive contributor, what you think we should do to improve your iStockphoto experience. We�ve got some ideas of our own and we are eager to set them in motion but we want to hear from you first.

This is not a random questionnaire. It is a survey aimed at building an action plan dedicated to improving things for iStock Exclusives. We�re really happy with the number of responses so far but would love to hear from all of you! Please take a few minutes and weigh in with your thoughts before the March 27th deadline.

Come join the discussion.

Getty Images 360

We have an amazing collection of Royalty-Free content across our brands and increasingly, certain larger customers are looking for a way to access all of this content on one site. We�ve created a feature that will allow specific high-value customers access to the full breadth of our RF content in a single search on gettyimages.com, including all Getty Images, and all iStock and Thinkstock RF content. �Getty Images 360�, will give unique access to these customers via a special log-in.

Exclusive iStock content that is not opted-in to the partner program will be made available through Getty Images 360 on the same terms as Getty Images royalty-bearing RF content. Standard Getty Images price-points reflect the added value of iStock content being paired with dedicated sales and service and increased legal protections.

To be clear, the additional content from iStockphoto will not be visible to all Getty Images customers in the way some E+ and TAC or Vetta content is. Getty Images 360 is not designed to reach our entire customer base; it is targeted to our most valuable agency, corporate and media customers. We plan to make this feature available starting in May or June, stay tuned.

Official Notice: New Royalty Rate for iStock Non-Exclusive content on Getty Images

Royalty rates for exclusive content will not change and will be paid at the standard 20% rate. We have set a new non-exclusive rate of 15% for all non-exclusive iStockphoto content licensed through all Getty Images properties (outside of iStockphoto), including single image sales in the Partner Program.  The rates for content licensed from iStockphoto will remain as they are currently listed on the Rate Schedule. The new rate will come in to effect on or after April 20, 2013.

Royalties from Getty Images 360 will be reported monthly under the Getty Images category in your stats. Since the customer access is so focused we expect the returns to be proportionate to the limited audience but we are pleased to be able to begin to expose our best Getty Images customers to the full breadth of RF content we represent for the first time. Join the discussion here.

Google Drive Update

Copyright protection is absolutely central to our business and we remain committed to doing all we can to support and maintain your intellectual property rights. We've been working closely with Google to improve the way in which the images are presented in Google Drive. Our agreement with Google allows for the images to be made available to Google users for personal or commercial use. However, the individual user's rights are restricted, and clarifications addressing use are now live in the Google Drive�s interface.

Google Drive Copy Changes


�Now when you search for an image to insert into a document in Google Drive, the following language appears directly under the search field for visibility:

"Results shown are available for personal or commercial use only in Google Drive, and may not be independently redistributed or sold. Learn more."


�You will see the revised language (below) when you click on Learn More"

"Stock images available in Google Drive are available for personal or commercial use only in Google Drive and must be used in accordance with our program policies. Images may not be offered for sale or used within templates provided to third parties. If you use stock images depicting a person in connection with a sensitive or unflattering subject, you must include this or a similar statement: "for illustrative purposes only; individual is a model."

The Program Policies link takes you to a page restricting pornographic or otherwise unlawful uses, etc., describing these restrictions in detail.

Still Pending: image metadata is in the process of being included.

We truly appreciate your patience in waiting for these changes to be implemented. We will post another update when all is complete. Join the discussion here.

iStockalypse 2013 Program

You may have noticed that we�ve taken an exceptionally long break between iStockalypse events. Well, it�s because we�ve been busy, heads down, and doing our homework. We�re always listening to what you say and we�ve been working out how to make the iStockalypse events better.

We've heard you say that while the iStockalypse events are an excellent opportunity to work with models, locations, Art & Technical Directors, etc�. the shooting isn�t necessarily the favorite part of the event. In fact, the part that draws the community from far and wide is the opportunity to meet, mingle, connect and mind meld with other artists and importantly, to get more connected with the teams at iStock and Getty Images.

With that in mind, we�re approaching the iStockalypse events, and 2013, with a plan to reach and inspire more photographers.

Read more about the iStockalypse events here

Upload limits for illustrators

Vector illustration inspections have historically had a much faster turnaround than the other file types on iStock. We've looked at how many contributors are using all of their existing upload slots and to our surprise, the number is low. This got us thinking: What's the point in having a weekly upload limit anyways?

On Monday, March 18th we increased our upload limits to 999 submissions per week (the maximum we can assign with our current upload system).
Our inspectors are ready, so bring on the submissions! Join the discussion here.

Not to get all Woo Yay, but I just got my first sales, 2 greeting cards for $4. 

How about creating a browser plugin that would let you identify an image and the plugin would grab the URL and generate the email with your previously uploaded personal info, so the process to generate the DMCA message is as simple as possible?

Here is a link to the start of this idea in the middle of another thread for those trying to catch up. http://www.microstockgroup.com/image-sleuth/biggest-rip-off-in-microstock-history!-shocking-finds/msg304587

Can somebody help with the link?  Copy and paste not working for me, not sure why not, maybe the ! in the title of the orginal post?

I also had trouble with lightburner uploads getting lost or being uploaded twice.  It has been awhile since I've used it, so maybe it is better.  I don't pay anything for bandwidth, so there is no savings for me there.

I found I liked the simplicity of uploading to an individual site one by one to make sure I'm working as best as I can with that sites system/requirements/unique site "features"/quirks.