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Messages - alan b traehern
126
« on: February 21, 2021, 07:16 »
....
This will also drastically reduce the demand since fewer customers will be able to afford the new prices....
this is as wrong as Sean is wrong in naming the user H2O by the wrong name.
web design companies have no problem with photo prices at all nor do they insist on cheaper ones. they charge it most often from the customer's design anyway. nor does anyone go bankrupt because of the high prices of photos on the internet.
but I see that you are accustomed to this wild west and the real question is whether you should be paid more at all when you think you are worth less.
The real question is why do you think you are an employee when the agency doesn't even own what you produce? Or perhaps why Shutterstock have a duty to pay you what you think you are worth.
Where did i wrote that? That we are employees, nonsense.
The real question is why do you think that things don't ever change? 15 years ago you could use stolen music on your youtube video, try it now. 2 years ago social media haven't accused or banned anyone for writing whatever they think is a fact(even i personality don't agree with censorship for whatever reason). 3 days ago uber drivers had no benefits. Today we have no control of our contents, where it will be sold or given away for free. Internet changed a lot in last few years and that's only start.
EU based contributors doesn't have anything to do with that, because it doesn't work like that, but agencies can of course choose not to sell in EU market.
This is beginning to be repeatable and pointless conversation, putting some word i didn't even wrote, time will tell. Cheers and good luck!!
The thread is about the judgement that some Uber employees being classed as employees. You agree that we are not employees so we would probably need to look at monopoly and unfair competition laws rather than employment. I don't think the laws of supply and demand in a capitalist world are going to change anytime soon. Shutterstock could easily decide what countries they accept contributors from. Music is an interesting parallel. Recorded music per se is now close to worthless so the industry now focusses on value added products such as Vinyl and live music. We have to adopt the same thinking. But you are right in that only time will tell.
you are kind of right about music, problem is that those streaming services where billions of people listen to music on their phone is not the same thing as buying music to use it in your commercial project like stock photos works. try to buy some artist music to use in your movie and see is it still worth few cent like just personally listening to it in your home.
agencies (I am not talking here about SS, all of them) are wrong if they think few millions buyers unlimited subscription will translate to photos/illustrations/videos because demand is not the same like almost few billions people using music streaming services only for their joy and not for business projects.
$5 music https://audiojungle.net/search?msclkid=04d4707019f415dcaf481042543d2307&sort=price-asc&tempo=upbeat&utm_campaign=bing_market_aj_en_1_b&utm_content=music_stock_b&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=bing&utm_term=%2Bstock%20%2Bmusic&view=grid
127
« on: January 12, 2021, 07:55 »
I admired Colin Powell's response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgEU7qIYzhI
70,000 Twitter accounts linked with the far-right QAnon conspiracy movement have been banned. Could the far left radicals be banned too?
128
« on: December 24, 2020, 22:30 »
I think what frightens me from the outside looking in, is that Trump got so many votes after being very open about his racism, bigotry, misogyny, and openly lying about so much, so often, while promoting divisiveness and hate and ignoring a pandemic that is killing thousands upon thousands. It goes well beyond party loyalty in my opinion, this is cult behavior.
Not sure Biden is the right guy, but literally anything is better than what you have now, even Pence would be better. At least they might show up to work.
Kamala Harris is the right one for President. Times will turn.
129
« on: December 16, 2020, 17:20 »
Can you read? https://submit.shutterstock.com/legal/terms?language=en Did you ever read this? Contracts change, they did nothing illegal, you have no class action suit. 18 f Please note that Shutterstock reserves the right to modify these terms at any time in its sole discretion,
And where in the agreement does it state that they will take away 2/3 of your income? Is that your idea of "fair" business practices? And was the agreement the same when contributors signed up 10 years ago? The most prominent statement I recall was the SS stating: "The more you contribute, the more you'll earn"
Microsoft recently agreed to a multi-billion dollar settlement when a class action lawsuit claimed that they overcharged consumers during a certain time period. I don't think it would be difficult to convince the courts that the SS and other stock agencies used unfair and unethical business practices when they stripped away 2/3 of their contributor's income.
And sweetheart, would you do me a favor? If you're going to vent your anger would you mind directing it at those trying to take away your income/livelihood and not at those trying to create a fair playing field?
Who's angry. I asked a couple of questions and link the contract. Now you want to talk of Microstock and unethical, fair play. There's no law on your side. Take it or leave.
130
« on: December 15, 2020, 15:25 »
Go ask a lawyer, free consultation, and find out, there's nothing to sue for or retaliate. They did nothing illegal, none of the above agencies did. They have the right to change the contract.
I don't need a lawyer to tell me that "bait and switch" business practices are illegal, at least in my part of the world.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bait-switch.asp
....but when there's only a handful of contributors responding to the topic it's pretty obvious that a class action lawsuit isn't worth the time and effort.
Can you read? https://submit.shutterstock.com/legal/terms?language=en Did you ever read this? Contracts change, they did nothing illegal, you have no class action suit. 18 f Please note that Shutterstock reserves the right to modify these terms at any time in its sole discretion,
131
« on: December 15, 2020, 15:14 »
No it's not a scam, a dishonest scheme, a fraud or a swindle. It is a piss poor way to sell our work.
132
« on: December 07, 2020, 08:08 »
Isn't the timing interesting, just a few weeks to go before everybody goes to Tier1 earnings?
Why wasn't he notified a year ago?
Seems like they are trying to anticipate the huge public criticism they will soon receive by using a scapegoat to warn others.
Why only him?
133
« on: November 30, 2020, 20:26 »
"WhAt PerCenTage aRe ThEy PaYiNg!!!  "
I know you want a simple answer but sometimes things are little more complicated.
I have just explained and broken down how they calculate the percentages for sub downloads (after you said sub calculations had nothing to do with percentage tier levels).
Plug in whatever numbers you like and you can see that the answer is far less than they claim in real terms, because they calculate using the assumption that a buyer downloads their full allowance. For anyone outside the lowest tiers, i.e. anyone whos income is really going to be effected by this, this results in getting a much lower REAL percentage than Shutterstock claim (because they would be earning more than 10c in every REAL scenario).
You may be able to come up with scenarios like well if I am tier 1 and the buyer uses 100% of their mega sub package downloads I get more than 15% on those first 100 dls for the year but honestly, why would you work so hard to jam another guys foot up your own a**.
Another example, if I am level 3 and buyer has 750 monthly pack, Shutterstock payment for the sub:
$199/750 images= .26c per image 25%= 6.6c/dl so they raise it to the 10c floor (wOw I aM gEtTiNg 38%!!!!)
If the buyer actually uses 50% of their downloads (again, they dont but lets be generous) what 25% would actually be:
$199/375 images= .53c per image 25%= .13c/dl
Congrats you just got ****** out of third of your income and are cheerleader for the people doing it.
You may want someone to spoon feed you an exact percentage, but without access to Shutterstock's accounts no one can. I doubt thats an accident on their part. If they were being honest/ transparent I wouldnt have to. It would all be on the table and we could take it or leave it. Theres several ways they could do this, even if it meant basing payouts on a previous months percentages used and correcting the following month, but here we are.
You assume nobody downloads their full allowance, $199/375 images= .53c per image 25%= .13c/dl you want them to pay us .36c a download 68% on every sale.
iStock does base on previous month and corrects for used on the following month. We get 15% / .02c minimum. $199/750 images= .26c per image we would get .039c per download. You are a cheerleader for that .04c plan that pays the promised % a month later, 60% less.
I want 4c instead of 10c because they pay me what they say they will. I want 15% instead of 30% because SS is scum and Getty is my dream date. Justanother Congrats you just got ****** out of third of your income and are cheerleader for the people doing it.
134
« on: November 16, 2020, 15:23 »
You must own the rights to any images you upload to stock and public domain you don't. Can we sell public domain images? Getty does.
135
« on: November 11, 2020, 08:10 »
Restrict new users from Ukraine.
According to this logic, ebay or etsy should ban sellers from the USA because only this year I reported about a dozen users from the US selling my work without a proper license.
It should be judged on a case-by-case basis rather than based on the country you are living in. Agencies could do a much better job on checking/reacting, but since they are making money either way they don't care that much.
Just a point, since people are getting all up in arms. She said RESTRICT not ban.
I don't know why anyone here would defend image thieves, whether they are from (country name here) or anywhere else. SS does restrict some new users from some known hotbeds of thieves, fake accounts and where they are known for portfolios of entirely stolen images. Last I saw, it was 90 days before they can collect the first payout.
Someone else has said, agencies should do better ID checks. Funny how many times we've seen people complaining that the agency won't accept their ID or how the people don't want their private information in the hands of the agency. Darned if you do, darned if you don't? 
Account Registration
You must be 18 years of age to create a Shutterstock account.
You may not sign up for an account with identification documents belonging to another individual, share an account with another individual, and/or share content with another Shutterstock contributor without prior consent from Shutterstock.
The Make payments to name in your account must be your full legal name as it appears on your identification documents; this is the name to which royalty payments will be made. For business accounts this field will contain the business name.
In order to make your Shutterstock account a business account, you must provide us with documentation as required by your country or state that indicates you are a principal owner of the business.
You may not open a second Shutterstock account without permission from Shutterstock.
You may not share the same online payment processing service account (like Payoneer, Paypal or Skrill) with another Shutterstock contributor.
If this is how they handle things, agencies should know precisely who is opening the account and who is responsible for the uploads. But some places, it's much easier to get a fake ID, or possibly some agencies just are trusting, until something goes wrong?
The word for blaming a whole country or population for what a minority of individuals do is stereotyping or a generalization, maybe a negative ethnic bias? Nothing to do with race.
Racism is not just about race, it can be against a ethnic group also. (because scientifically race is not even thing - we all belong to the human race - but that is a whole other discussion).
I still think it should be agencies responsibility instead of these discriminatory practices (call them whatever you want).
LOL as one of the American Race now, I was making it clear that it's not race but the correct word is stereotyping, nothing more or less. And I think you read what I wrote which said: "If this is how they handle things, agencies should know precisely who is opening the account and who is responsible for the uploads." because the agencies have IDs and payment accounts. Nothing about discrimination, which is another good word for restricting whole countries.
So you and Cathy can keep insisting that a country is a race?
racist, racism (rā′sĭz′əm)
1. The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Discrimination or prejudice based on race.
No one said a country is a race. And sure, you can pick the definition that suits your arguments. And I can pick the one that suits mine, so there is no point in arguing. Really. Or you can read more about this if you are interested because it is not as simple as you present it.
Restrict new users from Ukraine.
Racist. 🙄
Cathy did Ukraine is a country
racism
/ˈreɪsɪz(ə)m/
noun
prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
What is important is that no one should be discriminated based on the country she/he lives in. I had a 3 month restriction when I started stock photography, and I did nothing wrong ever (except being unlucky to be born in my country).
Unfortunate born in a country where image stealing is common. How much did you lose by waiting 90 days? Everybody from everywhere should have to wait 90 days.
136
« on: April 16, 2020, 12:47 »
This thread was severely trimmed after a bunch of nonsense / insulting posts.
Another one bites the dust Another one bites the dust And another one gone And another one gone Another one bites the dust
137
« on: March 17, 2020, 06:54 »
every business is down 90%...stock market are falling down, oil falling down,.,.,.and people think that micro stock won-t be affected_ isn0t t funny_
the end of the world!!!
i'm writing from Ground Zero (North Italy), maybe you are right, i hope not.
Are you and jonbull the same person?
138
« on: March 17, 2020, 06:46 »
Both.
What about Alamy aren't you a art photo person not just stock?
139
« on: February 07, 2020, 17:08 »
Same problem here. A 4% in every cash movement or payment to buy something. In my case euros.
Is that with paypal? They say they take 2.5% for a USD GBP conversion, but they also set rates and choose when to update them so I was hoping for a comparison with the same pair at the same time for similar amounts and different providers. Hope someone can chime in.
How much do the others charge for a transaction? Which is best for me at $300-$500 a month converting to Euro? I'm pleased with Paypal but would consider other if they are less expensive.
140
« on: February 07, 2020, 17:04 »
Amazing 2 Months ago same thing......I get down to a Payment $99.25 and then Boom Im back to $95.00. Like they Just don't wanna pay Us. I have asked them Over the years to "PLEASE" drop the Payout to $50.00 Instead of a 100. I Hate stuff Like this More than anyone Knows. I wish I would have Listened to My Own advice and Got out of Micro stock in 2016ish. still Hanging On to 4 Sites..
Question is why.
You got your 9 downloads in January are you dropping them now?
141
« on: August 09, 2019, 14:33 »
I have Been using 81A or B warming filters forever. at least as Long as they Have been available. don't see the reason to Put some cheap Piece of crap On a good Lens that has a Optical negative effect On Image quality. But, if you can't see the difference...?? who cares. Im not paying $1,000s for a Lens and Put some Piece of Plastic crap on it. Camera stores make more On that crap than anything else and they Laugh and High Five each other after you Leave. Trust Me.Some are very Good friends at the Largest Camera stores On the West Coast.
You use filters but you don't use filters. You buy expensive $1000 lenses but then buy cheap plastic filters not good glass. I bet your good friends are slapping hands and laughing at you whenever you leave the store. You don't need a 81A or 81B for digital, they are for warming with film. Now you'll say you are shooting film not a cheap plastic lens on a phone. You are on 5 agencies maybe 4, then next day you are on 4 maybe 3. Do you make up your numbers like everything else.
142
« on: January 20, 2019, 07:36 »
I use fotolia because adobestock don't have thoses features yet. There's more info easily available at fotolia for contributor. My rank, (is it gonna stay ? I hope so), weekly rank, latest sold, best sellers ... etc ... I need those features and it's missing in adobestock.
Totally agree, especially about the ranking.
I agree with most but rank does nothing to me. I was 15,000 last week, I'm 14,500 this week, next week I'm 15,500 what important do I learn from that? Rank doesn't pay me any money. Rank doesn't show me whats selling. I want statistics and info on my images, money, sales, income, what download type.
143
« on: January 16, 2019, 20:50 »
Wow, it looks AMAZING. Very clean and easy to use.
I would love to try it but my problem is finding the customers to buy my work directly. Are you advertising anywhere?
I find this hard to start at $29 a month without the income to pay for that. Somebody with more and different might get enough to break even after a year. I would like to know about advertising ideas.
145
« on: January 16, 2019, 20:43 »
Made many mistakes Pete like we all Have, my Biggest was 2006, Myself and Bobby Deal , a very prolific guy]almost started our own agency. we even had contracts Made up. It was very simple. 50% split on every dollar that came in. I had the Best shooters ready and we just couldn't get it done sadly. I still own the Domain. "The Best of Royalty Free" if someone wants it. I also owned "ShutterstockMusic" and Jon blew his top On that One....LOL we settled friendly.BTW, this site was the first Place I advertised "The Beginners guide to Microstock Photography"
Your mistake was writing the book to add more competition for us or not getting financing from somebody rich to make your agency or starting up with Bobby Deal, Photoshow, Vegas Vision Studios. Where is he now? Colorado doing head shots and BobbyDeal.com is 404 Almost
Where can I buy your book?
I don't think you can and I don't think there are real books, ebook downloads. I went to the place they sold them and it's trashed in Japanese. http://www.rindersmithphotography.com gone. We'll never know what was in that.
146
« on: December 07, 2018, 09:45 »
NFW
For reasons that have been discussed fully in the other threads Artist posted a link to. Discussing it again won't change any of the issues.
Tell Chad to do his own sales pitches. Sorry you've decided to help OnePixel on their latest "undercut on price to see if we can grab some market share" enterprise.
Honestly, it feels like Mr. Rinder might have some kind of stake in One Pixel. Otherwise I cannot understand why he subliminally is pushing to give them a try. Why isn't "the Chad" in here himself trying to sell his model? Is Mr. Rinder his proxy? Not trying to create any conspiracy but this just seems 180 degrees opposite of Mr. Rinder's past posts. So that tells me there "could" be alternative reasons for such a change of heart (or close to it anyway).
We all appreciate him telling us about a new site that we all dissed in August. Rinder as an industry guru and insider just discovered them.
147
« on: December 02, 2018, 11:01 »
I did have it enable, tried it with disabled and still the same thing. Just dead links. Weird.
Just tried, same as you, dead nothing works. https://contributor.stock.adobe.com/en/uploads?upload=1 Works with Chrome
Works with MicrostoftEdge, nothing opens with Firefox.
148
« on: December 02, 2018, 10:50 »
That was a long blog all kinds of ideas, but I don't understand, where do you find the latest trending keywords on Google? Do you make them up or does Google show trending words? The reason AS has such a flat line is no editorial no news less trending keywords.
149
« on: November 25, 2018, 23:05 »
Closed My account after a very long time. theres way to Much BS from them. They rejected a Bunch of Cell Images that sell...., then I asked them about it and they said Quote..."They don't accept Cellphone Images" I then wrote back and told them That was BS Because they had accepted 200 Of Mine and A ton Of others Cell Images. After very few Stupid Emails I said Close My account and basically FU after way to Many years and NO....I would not wait 45 days for them to do it....And I said keep the Money they owe Me. ........yes they kept the money for the cheap Fools they are.
They closed it in 7 Days!!. Im so over sites that think they control what people want and need based on there Bias and short sighted attitude.
You need to read the rules before uploading to a professional stock AGENCY. They do not accept mobile phone images, that's very clear. If some have been accepted in the past that's just lucky for you, and it's because Alamy only check a small number of images. They probably won't sell though and if they do, the quality won't be as good as a well-taken and processed DSLR image (in MOST cases).
Alamy are not perfect at all, and I have several issues with them that are never addressed, and they do have an attitude of "This is how it is because we say it is" and no amount of logical thinking changes that. However, they are overall pretty decent and genuine, and having a go at them in a forum when YOU are in the wrong only makes you look silly.
As for StockIMO - That's a sister company to Alamy and is there for only smartphone images (iPhones only). Reading the guidelines properly tells you all this basic stuff. So many newbies don't bother reading them, then complain that their images are rejected or they aren't selling!
Why would somebody upload 200 phone photos when the rules say no phone photos. How do cellphone photos sell when they aren't accepted. Close account is righteous, they don't need you you don't want them.
150
« on: November 11, 2018, 09:37 »
Trump is rude as well!! but Acosta is not great at his job! CNN should have replaced him long ago. People need to be civil and kind to one another and Trump is just as bad. We all need to look at the election map and see a sea of red with some blue pockets in the cities and realize that we all need to get along. Trump is not my idol or hero by any means, man needs to grow up but on some of his policies I do agree, not all but some.
"As of October 2017, Gallup polling found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrat, 24% identified as Republican, and 42% as Independent.[3] Additionally, polling showed that 46% are either "Democrats or Democratic leaners" and 39% are either "Republicans or Republican leaners" when Independents are asked 'do you lean more to the Democratic Party or the Republican Party?'"
81% of Americans live in those "blue pockets." Stop kidding yourself with the "sea of red." The majority of Americans are Democrats or lean that way,
Stop kidding yourself 2010 brought the democrats a loss of 63 House seats, six Senate seats, over 20 governors. Once Trump gets dumped you are just as unpopular as ever. Send your lawyers, local vote manipulation, illegals, faked absentee ballots and dead people casting votes. That's the way the blue states are won.
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