Oh, I see what you're getting at.

No, 2019 was a good year, but 2020 and 2021 aren't too far behind.

December 2020 was only about $800 less than December 2019.  Overall, my 2020 year ended up about 11% less than 2019.

January 2021, however, won't come close to January 2020.  Although we still have 10 more days, I predict January 2021 will be about $4,500 less than January 2020.

SS really is tanking.  While my number of downloads are not too far off the usual, the income per download really is lacking.  It seems as of January 1, 2021, I've had a bunch of low-earning sales.  I don't think it's all due to the new commission structure.  I feel like some deal SS implemented with buyers went into effect this year.  A deal we're not privy to.

The best month I ever had was last October when I made just over $25K (I'm primarily video).  I was blown away, since I really only do this part time when I feel like it. 

I haven't made that much in a month since, but an average month for me now is about $12K.

You just have to find a niche and do your best filling it while not overlooking other subjects.  But stay away from subjects that are already heavily saturated.  Don't waste your time.  I think my strength is seeing shots that most others would overlook.  I'm always scanning my surroundings for ideas.  If I don't have my camera with me, I take notes in my phone for later. 

There's still room in this business, you just have to be persistent.

And no, I'm still not "full time" yet.  Maybe soon.

Read what I said about MY sales.  Within $1 per month for the last 5 months

I say total coincidence and no conspiracies.  This is my 12-month trend:  Full of ups and downs.

Looks like I seem to max out in the mid-200s for downloads every month.

AUG 286
JUL 245
JUN 234
MAY 255
APR 232

But then again, I primarily do video.

98% of the comments on this entire forum are from a photography perspective.  Stock photography and stock footage are two totally separate beasts. 

Stock photography is very over-saturated, and like others say here, you earn pennies per image, and that number is dropping with every passing month.  When I read a comment talking about gloom and doom, 9 times out of 10, it's from a photographer.

Stock footage's future, however, isn't so bleak (for the time being).  If you work smart and shoot the right clips, you can still do very well in footage.

What do I mean by working smart and what are the right clips?  I'm not telling you my secret sauce.  I'm not a fan of cutting my own throat.

But, I do see an unfortunate trend of throat-cutting on Youtube.  People posting these "how-to" videos or talking about their "bets sellers" will only encourage more copy-cat contributors and competition.  And Blackbox isn't helping either, since they're the driving force behind all of these Youtubers pushing their affiliate links thinking they can make additional easy money with referral income.

The only thing I can hope for is a large dropout rate, where new users thinking they can make some fast cash who quit when they don't see any action right off the bat.  I've seen it firsthand myself: I've told a few friends who have the necessary skills they should start shooting footage on the side.  While they see the benefits of devoting the time, only one has continued.  All the others either didn't start, or quit after 10 or so clips.

There's nothing I like more than seeing a new stock footage producer giving up.

Their loss.

I can sometimes make $800-$1000 a (week)day with 10,000+ clips, but $200-$400 per day is more likely for me.

February, 2018 was my BME, averaging $5,000 per week during that month.

So, it can be achievable with hard work.

4K clips also give the buyer more flexibility in an HD edit to re-position or crop the shot without loss in quality.

I think if more buyers would realize that, we'd sell more 4K clips.

I refuse to spend the time and bandwidth to upload 4K at those prices and commissions.

But, that said, I still can get about $1K - $2K per month with my existing portfolio, so...

I decided last year to submit some new material to iStock, but I now downsize all my 4K to H.264 HD files specifically for iStock. The files are more compressed than I care for, but they pass the iStock reviewers.  And the buyers on iStock who are used to paying little for their stock will only get my highly-compressed H.264 HD files.

That's my justification.

I increased about 32%, from roughly $132,000 in 2016 to around $175,000 in 2017.

Let's hope 2018 goes just as well.