Author Topic: How to properly adjust your strategy like a serious businessman (Read 3963 times)

anon20200611 · « **on:** June 01, 2020, 15:30 »

A lot is being said about Shutterstock and the change in contributor rates policy.

What you need to do as a contributor is something similar to what farmers do. They sell to the highest bidder. Of course it's not so easy right now since image banks don't give an option to opt in sales or opt out. Which could be achieved if we ever united and took to a European higher court for example. They would need to adjust their policy by such a decision but that's too far ahead.

Let's not think so far ahead. Let's think what can be done now. Let's take our production and prioritize who receives it first and who doesn't. For example all my work was first going to SS and AS all this time. Istock, 123RF, Alamy and Dreamstime with a lower earnings potential, have been receiving my work as back catalogue even up to 1-2 years later.

So I basically gave exclusivity periods to SS and AS all this time. There is no need to delete portfolios. If the first Shutterstock results are so bad, you can just start delaying your uploads to them for 1-2 months or more. At the same time, advertise Adobe Stock to all your social media circles. Over time, this small policy it will give a clear ahead to AS without significantly hurting your SS earnings so much. At least I'd like to believe that Adobe is a big and decent & dedicated company and doesn't rely solely to stock to make money. So they won't be so easily tempted to put their fingers in our jars

No need to be dramatic, delete portfolios in protest or damaging your financial security. It's a free market.

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #1 on:** June 01, 2020, 16:36 »

So your advice to counter the massive drop in royalties every January (and probably a bunch of months after that for most), is to just accept the massive drop in royalties every January, and upload your new stuff a month or two later than you normally would? Maybe I'm missing something, but... how does that make us serious businessmen? (Especially the women?)

cathyslife · « **Reply #2 on:** June 01, 2020, 16:50 »

Nobody likes peanuts, and everybody wants to be an activist, but when it actually comes down to making a sacrifice, like deleting portfolios, they are out. They start finding ways to “protest”, but that won’t actually hurt themselves. (just stop uploading, or delay uploading a month) There isn’t one single person here, selling images and/or videos, that can afford to, or even WANTS to give up money. But that’s what it takes. Taking a stand isn’t for sissies. The big contributors have leverage and can make deals. Most of the rest of the contributors are just going to keep getting screwed.

PixelsAway · « **Reply #3 on:** June 01, 2020, 17:53 »

Certainly, things look a little bit different if microstock is your only source of income and you don't live in a cheap country. It may be OK to sacrifice a few hundreds $, but 40% of the entire income on a few days notice?

Anyway, I stopped uploading to SS, prioritizing AS now, and ... trying to retire from microstock.

cathyslife · « **Reply #4 on:** June 01, 2020, 19:01 »

Quote from: PixelsAway on June 01, 2020, 17:53

Certainly, things look a little bit different if microstock is your only source of income and you don't live in a cheap country. It may be OK to sacrifice a few hundreds $, but 40% of the entire income on a few days notice?

Anyway, I stopped uploading to SS, prioritizing AS now, and ... trying to retire from microstock.

As if those who do microstock for a living didn’t have enough warning over what, the last 5 years? Plan Bs should have been put in place years ago! And Shutterstock has been effed up for at least 2 or 3 years. Come on, man.

PixelsAway · « **Reply #5 on:** June 01, 2020, 22:05 »

No surprises here, but no emotions just business decisions. My plan B didn't really work, so I am already implementing plan C. Interesting times!

Chichikov · « **Reply #6 on:** June 02, 2020, 02:13 »

I'm afraid it's time to put Plan D into action…

anon20200611 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 02, 2020, 03:36 »

Quote

The big contributors have leverage and can make deals. Most of the rest of the contributors are just going to keep getting screwed.

Nobody has leverage against the image bank and that's why they act like they do, unless ALL together or a big chunk of us would take action, but that would also never happen. If some opted out Shutterstock for example, they would not afford rent this month. And what about the image factories, does it look like they'd like to give up on their employees' salaries in protest? Certainly not. But suggesting exclusivity periods is something realistic that ALL can do.

Quote

So your advice to counter the massive drop in royalties every January (and probably a bunch of months after that for most), is to just accept the massive drop in royalties every January, and upload your new stuff a month or two later than you normally would? Maybe I'm missing something, but... how does that make us serious businessmen? (Especially the women?)

Yes, my advice is that with exclusivity periods AND social media promotion, it can work like water hitting a rock. Slowly but gradually pointing the trends of the market where the contributors wish. A simple social media post on Instagram or Facebook like "Hello all, my new set on Adobe Stock today, exclusively for the next 2 months". There is an immense power on doing that. Many clients need our freshest work, because there is value in them getting fresh work and not overly repeated work. It might take 6 months or a year but the clients' preferences will turn. About the January resets, it is my main objection also. The new system would seem more fair in a rolling 12 month.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #8 on:** June 02, 2020, 03:37 »

Plan D huh? Well, I've heard about this new thing called Bitcoin...

Noedelhap · « **Reply #9 on:** June 02, 2020, 03:41 »

Quote from: astockphotographer088 on June 02, 2020, 03:36

. About the January resets, it is my main objection also. The new system would seem more fair in a rolling 12 month.

That was my main objection as well, but looking at how some contributors at level 5 and 6 still get bottom 10c sales, I think levels matter less than we would like. It won't make much of a difference at which level we start, we're still in the same cesspool.

anon20200611 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 02, 2020, 03:57 »

Quote

That was my main objection as well, but looking at how some contributors at level 5 and 6 still get bottom 10c sales, I think levels matter less than we would like. It won't make much of a difference at which level we start, we're still in the same cesspool.

$0.10 is a calculated minimum - quite frankly I'm aware that as the minimum could drop for anyone, the maximum out of a sub would rise as well. I received a $0.10 and a $3.90 for example (which is bigger than OD right now). The new system needs to be tested in terms of average value / dl.

Shutterstock was running at a $0.65/dl global average for me on my IMAGE portfolio. Total income / Total Image Downloads.

Adobe Stock has been running at $0.85 / dl global average. iStock has been running at $0.45 / dl. But iStock receives my images 1 year later as a back catalogue only. Same as Dreamstime, 123RF, Alamy. If Shutterstock next 1 month or 3 starts dropping under $0.60 / dl (in level 5) it means that the real percentage difference is a well calculated percentage. So my strategy as a contributor would be to allow Adobe some months of exclusivity possibly.

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #11 on:** June 02, 2020, 04:03 »

Quote from: astockphotographer088 on June 01, 2020, 15:30

A lot is being said about Shutterstock and the change in contributor rates policy.

What you need to do as a contributor is something similar to what farmers do. They sell to the highest bidder. Of course it's not so easy right now since image banks don't give an option to opt in sales or opt out. Which could be achieved if we ever united and took to a European higher court for example. They would need to adjust their policy by such a decision but that's too far ahead.

Let's not think so far ahead. Let's think what can be done now. Let's take our production and prioritize who receives it first and who doesn't. For example all my work was first going to SS and AS all this time. Istock, 123RF, Alamy and Dreamstime with a lower earnings potential, have been receiving my work as back catalogue even up to 1-2 years later.

So I basically gave exclusivity periods to SS and AS all this time. There is no need to delete portfolios. If the first Shutterstock results are so bad, you can just start delaying your uploads to them for 1-2 months or more. At the same time, advertise Adobe Stock to all your social media circles. Over time, this small policy it will give a clear ahead to AS without significantly hurting your SS earnings so much. At least I'd like to believe that Adobe is a big and decent & dedicated company and doesn't rely solely to stock to make money. So they won't be so easily tempted to put their fingers in our jars

No need to be dramatic, delete portfolios in protest or damaging your financial security. It's a free market.

This how I normally do things. This is way beyond that. No one should be giving any more uploads to SS until this is sorted and those who can afford to should be disabling their portfolios.

Check your RPD at the end of the today. I am at well below half what it was last week so far and I am one of top tiers. The vast majority of dls in this fake "percentage" scheme will fall under 10c, and be rounded up to the minimum making the tiers doubly BS. Not an actual percentage of price paid for the dl and mostly falling below 10c so meaningless anyway.

EDIT: and don't forget they have cleverly done this half way through the year so we are all on a much higher starting level than we will be come January

Pauws99 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 02, 2020, 05:17 »

The difference is farmers can only sell the same Bacon once. What succesful farmers in the Uk have done is diversify with farm shops, premium food products, leisure facilities such as fishing and camp sites....producing food as a commodity only works for a few mega farms. For those wanting to make a serious living for photography they need to think of themselves as professional photographers not producers of stock photography as its been obvious for a while the returns on that are only going to go down.

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: How to properly adjust your strategy like a serious businessman (Read 3963 times)

anon20200611

SpaceStockFootage

cathyslife

PixelsAway

cathyslife

PixelsAway

Chichikov

anon20200611

Noedelhap

Noedelhap

anon20200611

Justanotherphotographer

Pauws99

Related Topics

Sponsors

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors