Hi All,

Thanks for the questions and my apologies for a delayed reply.  As stated previously, we do not support MSG as a dedicated support channel, though members from our team will come in from time to time to clear up any confusion and answer questions.

Please note that the answers and explanations we�ve given previously on these topics are forthright and accurate, including what's in the blog post.
 
First, with respect to unwatermarked comps and the �premier� license: unwatermarked comps are very common in stock image licensing. Traditionally, buyers who were purchasing an RM or RF image would request a �comp� or preview image for layout purposes because pricing was expensive and there was a direct relationship between the license fee and actual usage. This is a common practice at leading stock agencies, primarily because advertising agencies and major publishers continue to work this way. 

When Shutterstock provides unwatermarked comp images, they are only provided to trusted �large accounts� that pay much higher prices than other Shutterstock customers. Comps are not offered through the subscription model. As a result, you receive higher royalties when a customer purchases the image. The pricing of these images can be in the hundreds of dollars. You receive the corresponding royalty based on your earnings tier (up to $120 or more per download).   

The Premier License

The premier license is a variation of our standard and enhanced licenses, but contains individually negotiated terms as well as expanded rights that have been explained in this forum in the past:

When you receive a high royalty for a single image, it is because the image was sold under a license that offers the option for sensitive use. It does not mean that the use was a sensitive one.  The majority of these images will not be used in a sensitive manner.  However, such use is a possibility. Unlike some other agencies, we give you the ability to opt-out.

High royalties are often the result of a negotiated agreement with volume buyers such as large advertising agencies.  These volume buyers may require additional license or workflow features, such as the option for sensitive use, indemnification, multi-user accounts, negotiated pricing, and special billing and other features.


Because the above items are individually negotiated with each large account, for competitive reasons and because of confidentiality restrictions, we do not publish the details of each license or transaction. 

In terms of talking about your earnings, we have no objection to you speaking about your earnings in a general way.  The intent of this new requirement is to prevent the disclosure of specific information to competitors of Shutterstock. We know and understand that contributors often share information among themselves. We continue to welcome you to do so in general terms. We also welcome discussion about whether you are having a good experience or bad experience with us. 

It's not an issue to talk in general terms about your best month ever, worst month ever, isolated individual transactions, most popular image, or information of a very similar, generalized nature. It would violate the Terms of Service, for example, to provide a Shutterstock competitor with specific information related to your sales or your total earnings.

Please direct any questions to [email protected] for the most authoritative answer on any of these topics.  As I�ve mentioned in the past, we�re happy to discuss questions and issues in a public forum. That being said, many forum posts contain inaccurate information or speculation and the only authoritative source for explanations on these topics is the Shutterstock team and Support (submit at Shutterstock.com).

In addition � I�ll be heading over to MicrostockExpo this fall.  If you�re going, please swing by and say hello. 

Thanks for your patience, and again, we apologize for any confusion.   

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Thanks for the thorough response Scott, I appreciate it and it certainly helps curb the misinformation.

 I think there is quite a bit of confusion about what Shutterstock is OK and not OK with in regards to earnings though (I know I'm still a bit unclear).  You gave a few good examples and stated you were OK with general information sharing but you also said you were OK with isolated individual transactions which seems more specific.  I also understand that you are wanting to keep specific sales info private from your competitors. 

Can you weigh in on a few more examples though so we can get a feel about what is OK or not OK with sharing.  I tried to pick some examples that were for sure OK and for sure not OK so hopefully we can get an idea where the line is.

Examples:
I had a BME on SS last month
I just got a $100 SOD sale on Shutterstock
I just got an extended license on this image
I get about 100 downloads a month on Shutterstock
I only got 50 sales today
I just passed the $500 mark and am now in the next earning level
I earned $1000 on Shutterstock last month
I earned $1000 on Shutterstock last month, $500 from subs $300 from OD and $200 from video
Here's a screenshot of all my Shutterstock earnings...