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Shutterstock.com / Re: Shutterstock revenue increased by 2% but cut cost by 8% in 2020 over 2019.
« on: March 06, 2021, 09:24 »
All this business about evil Shutterstock is getting silly. The fact is that the supply of photos available for download has increased by a significant amount. The demand for those photos has not increased at anything approaching the magnitude of the supply increase. When supply increases faster than demand the price drops--hence the reduction in artist commissions. To the degree that some artists drop out because it isn't worth their time at the new price level, well that is simply the mirror image of Shutterstock's commission cuts.
That's how prices are discovered in the market place and how an equilibrium point is reached. It has nothing to do with greed, or the black hats versus the white hats or any of that stuff. It is just supply and demand; thing more, nothing less.
To the degree that other players think that they can attract better returns by offering higher commissions to artists, perhaps for higher quality photos and a more exclusive customer base, they will do so. That's how competitive markets work.
Joe Benning
That's how prices are discovered in the market place and how an equilibrium point is reached. It has nothing to do with greed, or the black hats versus the white hats or any of that stuff. It is just supply and demand; thing more, nothing less.
To the degree that other players think that they can attract better returns by offering higher commissions to artists, perhaps for higher quality photos and a more exclusive customer base, they will do so. That's how competitive markets work.
Joe Benning