I just received my 1099 from DP and the royalties were overstated by almost double. This is very very suspicious. Their accounting system shows I earned royalties of $1420 but I actually earned only $815, delta of $605. So they are either ripping us off by not reporting all of our commissions on the site but have accurate accounting on the back end in finance or finance is all effed up. I have contacted them and will post their response but keep an eye on your 1099's if you are in the USA.

Now I have to go back to my accountant and make an adjustment to claim unpaid royalties.

http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/amendments/160215.asp?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Key%20Changes%20to%20Contributor%20Contract&utm_campaign=Contractual%20ammendments%20-%20Jan%202015&utm_term=Contributors


I didn't see anything too disturbing except clause 6.2 (which may be picky on my part but......)

Basically I read this as if a customer wants to license your RF image as RM, you will be given a 45 day notice to respond. If you are NOT okay with it, they can delete your image from their collection as punishment. That's a crumb bum way to behave.

I can't find anywhere on 500PX or 500PX prime on sales, even if they are zero. Before I close my account, can anyone show me how to get to a sales report?

Thanks.

I amazingly have over 4700 images on Istock today, but have only uploaded around 2300. Could be doubling your port.

I was going to put this in the Pond 5 discussion about what they could improve but thought it might be better with a discussion around it.  Since Pond 5 is a fair trade agency, and the fact that Bigstock and Istock are at the prenatal stages of destroying video in microstock, does it make strategic positioning sense for Pond 5 to offer video exclusivity? While it sounds good, how would the incentive work? Would they offer higher commission, say 60-70% and charge more per video to make up the extra payout? Would it be enough, given that they are the leader in video, to attract buyers away from other outlets?  Or is convenience for the buyer more powerful than better selection? Would there be enough competitive content on P5 to even pull buyers away from other outlets? One thing that I see differently by offering exclusivity on P5 is that you set your own prices and are not at the mercy of the micros. That's precisely why I believe P5 exclusivity would attract more videographers that other exclusivity programs.

Thoughts?   

I want to purchase this 3d object and then pay someone to animate it for me....if it isn't too expensive.  Under the image the author says:

"This satellite was modeled in Maya and is available in .mb and .obj formats. It has been rigged so that the solar panels and connected center ring can rotate independently of the body."

I am not an animator nor a 3D artist. So here's what I am wanting/asking...which might be impossible.

1. I would like this to be animated for 20 seconds per the author's comments. We can talk about how fast parts later

2. Somehow I want it isolated as a PNG type image so I can integrate it into other composite footage.  I know I will probably need a 3d loader for Final Cut Pro (the latest version).  If I have a black background and change the blend mode to add it becomes semi transparent and I don't want that.

Are both of these possible and if they are feel free to PM me. I am willing to pay someone to do this if they will give me a little guidance on how to get it into a normal FCX project.

If I am not giving you all the info you need drop me a note. Like I said, I am not an animator nor a modeler.

Thanks.

I have about 200 clips there and not a single sale. Same number on Motion Elements and have has one sale. Have had good sales on SS, IS and 123. Just wondering what your experience with RS is because I am thinking of stopping my uploads.  Way too much upload and processing time with no sales.

I normally gross $250-$500 a month on Alamy but this month I made a whopping $49, and that's before my cut. Since one was a partner sale my take home was about $15. I don't ever recall making this little. In fact I was at one point making a grand a month gross.  Then revenue slid rapidly to $500 a month average then after two more years it settles down to $250 a month...until last month (August).  These kinds of returns are, unfortunately becoming more and more common. I am bracing for this to be the new norm.

This topic has been moved to Garbage Bin.

http://www.microstockgroup.com/index.php?topic=23265.0

I have been looking for a motorized pan tilt motor to mount on my tripod.  I have been looking at this one but after reading the reviews on "wobble" I am reluctant to drop a grand on it.  Anyone have any suggestions on another unit?It doesn't say specifically that you can use it for video either, which might be because of the claims of wobble.

http://www.gigapan.com/cms/shop/epic-pro

I received a lengthy promotional email as to why we should sell our work through FAA. I deleted it but thought about it for a few minutes and it really started eating at me. Can someone post that email please? It shows the poor character of the FAA owner by continuing to attract paying customers all the while knowing he has a FVcked up site, specifically search. Seems that all he is interested in is getting more revenue through paid memberships than getting those very members a fair shot at placement. Once this thread gets going I am linking it to him in a personal message. This is almost like promising something he cannot deliver.



http://fineartamerica.com/why-every-artist-and-photographer-in-the-world-should-be-selling-on-fineartamerica.html?id=7263b70711b588fea9090f2ac6c3986b

* another technical issue

We regret to inform you that image # 35906106- (Driving through road construction) has been deactivated from the iStockphoto database of Royalty Free Images.



"Reason for deactivation:
A processing error has corrupted many of your files resulting in a visible vertical line down the centre of the frame affecting not only the thumbnail image but also the subsequent assets (IE 1280x720 big and small web). The problem does not affect the original source file.
Fortunately the issue has not been widespread however we are unable to commit to a specific timeline to correct the problem. We do apologize however we must proceed in the following manner.
1.     Video files affected that have been approved will be deactivated.
2.     Affected files still in the queue will be rejected.
3.     You then have the option to resubmit all the deactivated and/or rejected files.
As we have not yet identified the cause of the error we are not 100% confident the resubmitted files will not be similarly affected. We will however monitor your progress very closely and do everything we can to assist.

I am not a vector artist but I saw this on Alamy and was wondering if vector artists opt in to this?