Author Topic: New video subscription prices on Shutterstock - The dark days are here (Read 14102 times)

Sstr · « **on:** April 15, 2020, 04:49 »

3- 5 dollar sales coming soon.
Time to take action???

Shutterstock just introduced a 10 clip for $159 and a 20 clip for $195 dollar subscription.

https://www.shutterstock.com/pricing/video

Noedelhap · « **Reply #1 on:** April 15, 2020, 04:59 »

The end is near. Greedy corporate pigs.

Tommy · « **Reply #2 on:** April 15, 2020, 05:10 »

Just received the email about this. What a joke.

gnirtS · « **Reply #3 on:** April 15, 2020, 05:15 »

I just read this and had to double check.

So $10 per clip. INCLUDING 4k clips.

Contributors get roughly 1/3 so people selling video are likely to earn a whopping $3.33 per 4K clip.

And obviously this will enable buyers on clip pack and other packages to transition it means you're going to lose out on current sales to be replaced by these joke sales.

If other sites are selling your clips for a fair price, it maybe better to remove video off SS to stop sales declining there.

Ultimately under current packages its $100 a 4k clip whereas it'll now be 10. Even if you dont NEED all the clips per month its still cheaper. From a buyer point of view, if you use more than a handful of clips a year you'd switch. So you wont be paying the normal price.

click_click · « **Reply #4 on:** April 15, 2020, 05:34 »

Is there any official answer from SS regarding the royalties on those plans?

Sucks to see that, again, we're the last ones to hear about "good news" from an agency, now being Shutterstock.

Bummer. Recently started uploading footage again, explicitly NOT uploading to iStock/Getty due to their insulting royalties.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis I'm more than ever relying on stock royalties and then SS decides to do this... Might as well upload to IS again just to rake in any penny I can get...

I doubt that SS will change their corporate decision if a couple hundred contributors will complain...

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #5 on:** April 15, 2020, 05:41 »

Quote from: gnirtS on April 15, 2020, 05:15

If other sites are selling your clips for a fair price, it maybe better to remove video off SS to stop sales declining there.

How likely is that though?

"Hmm, Shutterstock have reduced their prices quite considerably? That's nice of them... but I think I'll try and find a considerably more expensive site and see what I can buy there instead."

Horizon · « **Reply #6 on:** April 15, 2020, 05:46 »

Was to be expected! I am beyond even caring about SS anymore. I have been toying with the idea of removing all clips from SS and let some production company handle them but not many will touch them once they have been in micro-stock! seems that having them here just render a "bad" name. $:-\$

gnirtS · « **Reply #7 on:** April 15, 2020, 05:59 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 15, 2020, 05:41

Quote from: gnirtS on April 15, 2020, 05:15
If other sites are selling your clips for a fair price, it maybe better to remove video off SS to stop sales declining there.

How likely is that though?

"Hmm, Shutterstock have reduced their prices quite considerably? That's nice of them... but I think I'll try and find a considerably more expensive site and see what I can buy there instead."

That depends how much they want your particular clip vs any generic clip of the same topic.

Large companies also have accounts on multiple sites. If the same clip is on both sites obviously they'll use the cheaper. If its not, they'll likely use it on the other sites they have subscription too.

spike · « **Reply #8 on:** April 15, 2020, 06:24 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 15, 2020, 05:41

Quote from: gnirtS on April 15, 2020, 05:15
If other sites are selling your clips for a fair price, it maybe better to remove video off SS to stop sales declining there.

How likely is that though?

"Hmm, Shutterstock have reduced their prices quite considerably? That's nice of them... but I think I'll try and find a considerably more expensive site and see what I can buy there instead."

If enough people do it, it's very likely.

But yeah, microstock, no union, tragedy of the commons, yadda yadda yadda

Eco · « **Reply #9 on:** April 15, 2020, 06:26 »

This was inevitable, unfortunately. With the likes of iStock Premium Access, Envato Elements and Storyblocks gaining traction and their collections growing, other companies must respond or risk losing their share of the pie. For as long as there are contributors that are willing to feed these companies (and these will always be) this process will continue and other companies will eventually follow (such as Pond5's HyperStock). This, it seems, is the natural process of evolution in the stock video industry driven by the massive growth in supply that far outpace the demand. In the end, we have nobody but ourselves to blame for this process.

panicAttack · « **Reply #10 on:** April 15, 2020, 06:34 »

Ok it looks like SS is going IStock way to me and that means they are only getting HD footage while 4k are going to Pond5 edit:and adobestock

this is easy to do.

Rage · « **Reply #11 on:** April 15, 2020, 06:51 »

*, but isn't the 4k at 10$ a clip only if you make an annual commitment for a certain no of clips? Still means we get paid a pittance and the company pockets the unused part if the subscription.

Want to set up a change.org petition against this and politely hound the SS management on twitter/forums etc? Maybe they'll make this more fair to us

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SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #12 on:** April 15, 2020, 07:23 »

Quote from: gnirtS on April 15, 2020, 05:59

That depends how much they want your particular clip vs any generic clip of the same topic.

Similar, but I think it would be more accurate to say "how much they want your generic clip vs any generic clip of the same topic". I'd be surprised if people shop around as much as everyone seems to think, but if they do, that just makes it more likely they'll now use SS rather than another site. Those that don't shop around, and use Pond5 or Adobe for example, are a lot less likely to use SS in the first place... unless they stumble across an ad for their reduced prices. I think people put a bit too much faith in how amazingly unique and brilliant their content is... I can't see an individual removing their content resulting in buyers not being able to find anything close to what they need, so they have to go elsewhere.

Quote from: spike on April 15, 2020, 06:24

If enough people do it, it's very likely.

If enough people decide to buy something similar for a much higher price... then it's very likely that people will people decide to buy something similar for a much higher price? Erm... yeah, I guess so!

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #13 on:** April 15, 2020, 07:30 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 15, 2020, 05:41

Quote from: gnirtS on April 15, 2020, 05:15
If other sites are selling your clips for a fair price, it maybe better to remove video off SS to stop sales declining there.

How likely is that though?

"Hmm, Shutterstock have reduced their prices quite considerably? That's nice of them... but I think I'll try and find a considerably more expensive site and see what I can buy there instead."

Right, artists are stuck between a rock and a hard place. You can take less or hope for more if a buyer doesn't have a SS subscription. There's still the buyer that needs one video, who won't pay for ten? But the volume buyers, the people that use the most, will be going for cheaper plans.

Looks like this follows the same pattern as photos, then Vectors and Illustrations were good earning, until the agencies had as many as they needed. Now video was good, until there are enough, so cuts coming. Every time, as soon as the agency has whatever they consider "enough" coverage and file choices, the commissions drop.

Must be enough really good video of many subjects and enough 4k of most things, so the agencies don't need to pay a top price to get that.

everest · « **Reply #14 on:** April 15, 2020, 07:47 »

Agree with this. Unavoidable. Big competitors are offering this so they had too. Now it is to be seen if it is time worth to upload clips all together if a large volume does not compensate higher prices. Too many people uploading footage now. Cameras have made it so easy to produce content as it was with photography many years ago. Nothing anybody can do about it. We are still in a fierce market where agencies and contributors compete to their bones.........

Quote from: Eco on April 15, 2020, 06:26

This was inevitable, unfortunately. With the likes of iStock Premium Access, Envato Elements and Storyblocks gaining traction and their collections growing, other companies must respond or risk losing their share of the pie. For as long as there are contributors that are willing to feed these companies (and these will always be) this process will continue and other companies will eventually follow (such as Pond5's HyperStock). This, it seems, is the natural process of evolution in the stock video industry driven by the massive growth in supply that far outpace the demand. In the end, we have nobody but ourselves to blame for this process.

gnirtS · « **Reply #15 on:** April 15, 2020, 07:52 »

Quote from: panicAttack on April 15, 2020, 06:34

Ok it looks like SS is going IStock way to me and that means they are only getting HD footage while 4k are going to Pond5 edit:and adobestock

this is easy to do.

Thats a decent idea. 4K makes up a tiny % of my video sales at SS anyway. That and the odd search engine actually excludes downsizble 4k clips if a buyer clicks on the HD filter....

Rage · « **Reply #16 on:** April 15, 2020, 07:56 »

Reiterating, is it worth raising noise over. We should definitely create a racket, possibly as a deterrent to this race to the bottom. Some asks

1. Contributors to be pre informed and consent/suggestions taken
2. A clear understanding to contributors on how this affects payouts, should be expect a fixed value on each video subscription sale similar to images
3. Can the prices be a little more realistic, it does not have to be a drop as steep as going from $164 today to $10 for 4k

Deterrent
We stop uploading vidoes till they send out an official response and make these changes

Points of communication
1. change.org
2. twitter - SS management
2. Twitter - large buyers, suggest Adobe or Pond5
3. Instagram / Facebook
4. Maybe get large players like blackbox/influencers involved

I think the worst thing we could do is take this without raising hell. It just tells them that they can do this more often.

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Dio · « **Reply #17 on:** April 15, 2020, 07:59 »

I certainly prefer royalties in excess of $100 per clip than $3.33 or whatever they decide to pay, but likewise I don't really fancy being a harbinger of doom (plenty of those around already) and rather strike a more positive note.

To put things into perspective, those are not unlimited subscriptions (à la Storyblocks). Granted, you'll potentially get a lot less per clip, but likewise sales might be more frequent from buyers who wouldn't buy your stuff in the first place, on a per-clip basis. Only time will tell if this works out better or worse. A $100 clip sale per month is great, but 50 sales per month at $3.33 is even better.

Those willing to pull out portfolios and place them elsewhere, well, it's the economy, ... Unless you can shoot (model-released) social gatherings on Mars or have other fanciful concepts no-one else dreamt of, or your are perhaps some sort of Vincent LaForet, then no-one cares. Your stuff is not available, someone else's stuff is, and in plentiful quantity. You may also try to sell direct and see if you can fare any better on your own.

It's the economy, ...

50% · « **Reply #18 on:** April 15, 2020, 08:08 »

the main problem with pretty much all agencies is that we don't get a fair split from the selling price and that is 50%!

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #19 on:** April 15, 2020, 08:37 »

Quote from: 50% on April 15, 2020, 08:08

the main problem with pretty much all agencies is that we don't get a fair split from the selling price and that is 50%!

You get my vote.

As soon as I win the lottery and don't need the money, I'm opening a 50% agency. Of course nearly everyone will hate me because I won't accept Crapstock or all kinds of similar patterns, rotations or subjects that are Inch by Inch, and duplicates and I'll expect good quality images (obviously a subjective evaluation) and honest keywords for only things that actually appear in the image!

But that will make it so buyers know they are paying a higher price for the sake of not having to wade through a morass of everything passes, because "we have more".

Just to add, and I'm happy I never decided to invest the time in video, and stayed in the dark ages of stone tools. (aka still camera)

Today we launched new footage subscription plans to serve the growing demand of Shutterstock customers who require continuous access to high quality footage for their content needs. You can learn more about these new plans by visiting the pricing page. Earnings from subscription products will be displayed in the “Clip packs” category of your Earnings Summary.

There have been some questions asking where to see the new plan: https://www.shutterstock.com/pricing/video

I don't know how much anyone will actually get, but it sure looks like 10 and 20 monthly, video download packs have arrived? With an annual commitment to get these prices. These will be volume buyers.

Visualab · « **Reply #20 on:** April 15, 2020, 10:40 »

This is exactly like pond5 membership...not good but not bad as unlimited subs like envato or storyblocks..i see hard times for those agencies since shutterstock gets into subs plan model...
Btw we'll follow the photo path..

Brasilnut · « **Reply #21 on:** April 15, 2020, 10:48 »

The usual $20 for an HD clip now starting to feel like a huge price!

komikmiha · « **Reply #22 on:** April 15, 2020, 11:10 »

I just sent an angry email to Shutterstock telling them I will not be tolerating such behaviour. In case they try to sell my clips by underpricing them l will delete all clips and account. And I will really do that. I rather don't sell anything than sell for pennies. People saying this is a good business decision lack any modicum of knowledge how business works. Decisions like this are spasms of a dying company, not unlike what Pond5 tried to do recently and failed spectacularly. Idiotic moves like this, when the author is greatly underpriced and underpayed will just force creators to go to greener pastures like Adobestock.

So a big LOL at SS.

THP Creative · « **Reply #23 on:** April 15, 2020, 11:24 »

https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/99836-shutterstock-launches-a-new-footage-subscription-product/

KB · « **Reply #24 on:** April 15, 2020, 11:29 »

Quote from: gnirtS on April 15, 2020, 05:15

I just read this and had to double check.

So $10 per clip. INCLUDING 4k clips.

It's mainly the largest companies, obviously, who would go for a deal like this. So I would guess most of them would probably just spend the $2K upfront, and get an even better price -- $8.33 / clip (yes, even 4K).

That means, if we end up getting 30% of that (might be less, who knows?), that's a grand $2.50 per clip.

Rage · « **Reply #25 on:** April 15, 2020, 11:29 »

https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/99835-video-subscriptions-a-new-way-to-earn-even-less-money/

This one as well

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Rage · « **Reply #26 on:** April 15, 2020, 11:37 »

Quote from: Microstock Man on April 15, 2020, 11:24

https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/99836-shutterstock-launches-a-new-footage-subscription-product/

Let's atleast fill this up asking for an opt out of the subscription packs

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Dio · « **Reply #27 on:** April 15, 2020, 12:27 »

By digging at bit deeper into their T&C's for the video subscription plan, it appears it covers the Standard Footage Licence only:

"Standard permissions do not include:

Television Distribution – The standard Shutterstock footage license does not permit for any usage in television shows or commercials. Usage is also prohibited for distribution over any broadcast, cable or satellite.
Movie Theater Distribution – Distribution in movie theaters is not permitted with the standard footage license.
Over the Top (OTT) Video Distribution – Over the top video distribution, or streaming services such as Netflix is not permitted by the standard footage license."

Although not every single client plays by the book and abuses the licensing terms, on the flipside and to give them some credit, SS tends to secure quite a few deals with (I'm assuming) large TV productions and that reflects on video sales.

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #28 on:** April 15, 2020, 12:29 »

Quote from: komikmiha on April 15, 2020, 11:10

People saying this is a good business decision lack any modicum of knowledge how business works. Decisions like this are spasms of a dying company...

Nobody said it's a good business decision, but some of them can understand and accept why the decision is being made. It's important to acknowledge that they're all about the money, so if they're reducing prices then they must be under the impression that by doing so, they'll make more of it. And as the royalty percentage will remain unchanged, anything that makes SS more money will also make their contributors more money. It's not like they had a board meeting and thought... "hey, why don't we try making less money? How cool would that be?! Let's come up with some ideas we can implement to generate less money than we usually do. Dave, run the numbers..."

As for a dying company... sure, their annual revenue increases are slowing considerably, but pretty sure you can't class them as 'dying' until they start having annual decreases.

So yeah, while I'd never insinuate that you lack any modicum of business knowledge... I'm pretty sure you have less than you think you do!

brianholm · « **Reply #29 on:** April 15, 2020, 12:57 »

Maybe everybody should do this today (opt out of video) https://www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/en_US/kbat02/000006563?q=opting+out+of+sales&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1

It's so sad. And I was just about to go all in on stock video...... :-(

Would a sign pettion be any idea?

Dio · « **Reply #30 on:** April 15, 2020, 13:29 »

Quote from: brianholm on April 15, 2020, 12:57

It's so sad. And I was just about to go all in on stock video...... :-(

Would a sign pettion be any idea?

Right... My best piece advice is that, if you were about to go all in (assuming you're not being sarcastic), then go all in. Then draw your own conclusions later on based on your own results and not on someone else's opinion on your results or their results.

Currently, the SS video subscription does not include Extended/Premium video licenses, only the Standard ones. And to be fair, SS is one of the few agencies (if not the only one at the moment) where it's not that uncommon at all to get between $100 to $300 on a single video sale.

Oddly enough, I don't hear much contributor kerfuffle over the fact that the cameras they shoot with or the machines they edit their imagery on now cost a ludicrously tiny fraction and are dozens of times more powerful when compared with what could be bought not that long ago...

I can only imagine the manufacturers of that gear flocking to forums like these moaning over the fact that you can now buy an entry-level laptop for 150 bucks when they used to retail for 10 times as much in the "good old days", and this is the race to the bottom. Same for ballpoint pens, which must have cost a fortune when they first introduced (somehow a premium commodity with elementary school students in the early 80s) and now cost a dime a dozen.

If you look at 99% of the industries out there, you'll hear the exact same rant against the "race to the bottom": food, electronics, translation, paper, hospitality, you name it. That's just the nature of economics. I rather focus on the tiny bit I can control rather than on what I can't.

All the best with your foray into stock video.

marthamarks · « **Reply #31 on:** April 15, 2020, 15:18 »

Quote from: Dio on April 15, 2020, 13:29

you can now buy an entry-level laptop for 150 bucks

I just gotta comment on that.

Last fall, as I was switching from HD video to 4K video, I first bought a new camera that could shoot 4k, then upgraded my 2015 13" Macbook Pro to a brand-new, super-fast, high-capacity 15" machine to handle the immensely bigger files I was producing.

That was not an "entry-level laptop for 150 bucks." More in the range of $4,000 bucks.

I've been delighted with the setup I created for myself last fall. Not at all delighted at having my current and future 4K videos underpriced by SS.

EDITED TO ADD: I just opted out of video on SS. Will continue to let Adobe and Pond 5 have them. They've mostly been selling on those outlets anyway, not on SS.

Rage · « **Reply #32 on:** April 15, 2020, 15:33 »

How do you opt out of videos?

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Uncle Pete · « **Reply #33 on:** April 15, 2020, 15:45 »

Quote from: Dio on April 15, 2020, 13:29

Quote from: brianholm on April 15, 2020, 12:57
It's so sad. And I was just about to go all in on stock video...... :-(

Would a sign pettion be any idea?

Right... My best piece advice is that, if you were about to go all in (assuming you're not being sarcastic), then go all in. Then draw your own conclusions later on based on your own results and not on someone else's opinion on your results or their results.

Currently, the SS video subscription does not include Extended/Premium video licenses, only the Standard ones. And to be fair, SS is one of the few agencies (if not the only one at the moment) where it's not that uncommon at all to get between $100 to $300 on a single video sale.

Oddly enough, I don't hear much contributor kerfuffle over the fact that the cameras they shoot with or the machines they edit their imagery on now cost a ludicrously tiny fraction and are dozens of times more powerful when compared with what could be bought not that long ago...

I can only imagine the manufacturers of that gear flocking to forums like these moaning over the fact that you can now buy an entry-level laptop for 150 bucks when they used to retail for 10 times as much in the "good old days", and this is the race to the bottom. Same for ballpoint pens, which must have cost a fortune when they first introduced (somehow a premium commodity with elementary school students in the early 80s) and now cost a dime a dozen.

If you look at 99% of the industries out there, you'll hear the exact same rant against the "race to the bottom": food, electronics, translation, paper, hospitality, you name it. That's just the nature of economics. I rather focus on the tiny bit I can control rather than on what I can't.

All the best with your foray into stock video.

For the subject in general, not at you:

Here's the simple economics of stock photos and microstock that seem ts to elude people. When there are 1,000 people with good equipment and skills, producing a limited supply of stock images or video, the prices are higher. When there are 10,000 making good images, in the studio and running like a business, there's still some money to be made. When there are millions people, producing good or better images and video, the price of that commodity will drop.

Simple competition drives the race to the bottom. SS can't hold prices and stay in business against the entire market, by digging in their heels and saying, "we will not lower our prices" because the people who buy the images will say, "see ya, we're going somewhere else." In which case, yes SS would be as dumb and dead and stupid as Blockbuster or Kodak.

Anyone know how long it's been since IBM made a PC? They saw the market and the lack of profit and dropped out.

Change or perish. Sure it sucks to be us, investing in equipment, thinking, shooting, time editing / uploading and believing that we'd have a residual income. Problem is that was based on a false assumption that 1,000,000 new people wouldn't just jump in and do the same things or replace us.

So I'll say this flat out. If anyone has determined, personally, they can't make a profit within the existing system, this would be the time to find something else. Adapt or keep losing until there's nothing left to lose.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #34 on:** April 15, 2020, 15:46 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 15, 2020, 15:33

How do you opt out of videos?

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Really, one guy posted it three times now. LOL

KevinM · « **Reply #35 on:** April 15, 2020, 16:29 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 15, 2020, 12:29

And as the royalty percentage will remain unchanged, anything that makes SS more money will also make their contributors more money.

Wrong. Subscribers often will not max out their downloads, but SS still makes their money on the subscription fee while contributors get their income cut by roughly 85% per DL. You're missing the obvious - SS chose to make more money at the direct expense of contributors.

This is a huge step downward in the race to the bottom. At $3 a DL, we lose incentive to hire models and take the time to create great content. Certainly there's no sense that agencies are trying to make this a sustainable business for the long term.

If I see a big dip in revenue because of this, then I'll only upload simple content on SS that I think is worth $3. All my good content I'll submit only to better agencies. If other agencies chase SS to the bottom, it may reach a point where's it no longer worth it to generate content specifically for stock.

bestravelvideo · « **Reply #36 on:** April 15, 2020, 16:53 »

Maybe now it would be a good time for Pond 5 to go back to giving 50 % on contributors for non-exclusive videos. They could present it as a response to the contributor’s demand. “You asked, we listened!” At least for some time, some would only upload there, or not to Shutterstock. Regardless of that, Shutterstock might now just get straight out of the camera videos, with minimal post process, just in H.264. No more ProRes. Maybe this time they will be finally right to reject for focus and noise! You upload the clip as is in a minute, just trim start-end, they accept or reject and we move on to the next one. Fast-food prices get fast-food plastic taste. At the same time, you send your other processed clips to the rest ones, to protect your investment in camera, computer equipment and get some decent earnings.

Visualab · « **Reply #37 on:** April 15, 2020, 18:00 »

Quote from: Dio on April 15, 2020, 13:29

Quote from: brianholm on April 15, 2020, 12:57
It's so sad. And I was just about to go all in on stock video...... :-(

Would a sign pettion be any idea?

Right... My best piece advice is that, if you were about to go all in (assuming you're not being sarcastic), then go all in. Then draw your own conclusions later on based on your own results and not on someone else's opinion on your results or their results.

Currently, the SS video subscription does not include Extended/Premium video licenses, only the Standard ones. And to be fair, SS is one of the few agencies (if not the only one at the moment) where it's not that uncommon at all to get between $100 to $300 on a single video sale.

Oddly enough, I don't hear much contributor kerfuffle over the fact that the cameras they shoot with or the machines they edit their imagery on now cost a ludicrously tiny fraction and are dozens of times more powerful when compared with what could be bought not that long ago...

I can only imagine the manufacturers of that gear flocking to forums like these moaning over the fact that you can now buy an entry-level laptop for 150 bucks when they used to retail for 10 times as much in the "good old days", and this is the race to the bottom. Same for ballpoint pens, which must have cost a fortune when they first introduced (somehow a premium commodity with elementary school students in the early 80s) and now cost a dime a dozen.

If you look at 99% of the industries out there, you'll hear the exact same rant against the "race to the bottom": food, electronics, translation, paper, hospitality, you name it. That's just the nature of economics. I rather focus on the tiny bit I can control rather than on what I can't.

All the best with your foray into stock video.

camera pc and other gears are just a small part of the process....actors need to be payed...time to set up a scene remains the same...location price is still there...
my first thought was i'm not going to hire actors or rent a location anymore,and i guess i'm not the only one...it doens't worth anymore to invest money with such low price....

spike · « **Reply #38 on:** April 15, 2020, 23:56 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 15, 2020, 07:23

If enough people decide to buy something similar for a much higher price... then it's very likely that people will people decide to buy something similar for a much higher price? Erm... yeah, I guess so!

No, they don't get to decide, because there is no similar content like that left. That's why I said "if enough people do it".

Shutterstock at the moment has 18 million clips online. My portfolio contains about 25k clips. If 100 people like me decide to pull out our portfolio, that's 2.5 million clips. That's 13.8% of their whole library. Just in the hands of 100 people like myself.

It's not that hard to imagine what would happen if instead of a 100 people, 1000 people do it.

But it won't happen because you'll always have contributors from low income countries uploading and even ramping up production to fill in the gap left by an exodus. But then you'll have IndiaUkranieRussiaStock with $3 per 4k clip, with all the western producers and their assets on sites that pay them western prices. It's just too bad we can't organize ourselves properly.

Btw, I'd immediately pull my portfolio if I were a part of such an union. Ideally, upon joining the union you'd have no say - the whole union pulls out.

Horizon · « **Reply #39 on:** April 16, 2020, 00:52 »

Quote from: brianholm on April 15, 2020, 12:57

Maybe everybody should do this today (opt out of video) https://www.shutterstock.com/contributorsupport/articles/en_US/kbat02/000006563?q=opting+out+of+sales&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1

It's so sad. And I was just about to go all in on stock video...... :-(

Would a sign pettion be any idea?

Opting out of video? you bet it would help but only if thousands are doing it. When the shareholders pockets becomes a little bit shallow they start screaming and there would be a very different sound.
Look! this is not going to improve in any way but instead its going to get worse. Thats my experience after 15 years in this business. There is no remedy.

georgep7 · « **Reply #40 on:** April 16, 2020, 01:58 »

Quote from: bestravelvideo on April 15, 2020, 16:53

Maybe now it would be a good time for Pond 5 to go back to giving 50 % on contributors for non-exclusive videos. They could present it as a response to the contributor’s demand. “You asked, we listened!” At least for some time, some would only upload there, or not to Shutterstock. Regardless of that, Shutterstock might now just get straight out of the camera videos, with minimal post process, just in H.264. No more ProRes. Maybe this time they will be finally right to reject for focus and noise! You upload the clip as is in a minute, just trim start-end, they accept or reject and we move on to the next one. Fast-food prices get fast-food plastic taste. At the same time, you send your other processed clips to the rest ones, to protect your investment in camera, computer equipment and get some decent earnings.

They already give 60% if exclusive there.
I now have to reconsider opting out from them.
What is the reason to submit to SS?
Let's see how Adobe will react and decide.

As a side note I think that all those actions like SS do now, P5 with Hyperstock etc
aim to older files / inactive contributors that will not "know". Active ones will opt out or remove files I guess.

Rage · « **Reply #41 on:** April 16, 2020, 02:16 »

Again, is there a merit to starting something on change.org to atleast get the people not on these forums riled up?

An opt out would be nice, plus definitely a more detailed understanding of how this subscription will work for contributors. We currently assume we get 30% of price, it could be a fixed value like image subscriptions

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

gnirtS · « **Reply #42 on:** April 16, 2020, 03:09 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 16, 2020, 02:16

Again, is there a merit to starting something on change.org to atleast get the people not on these forums riled up?

An opt out would be nice, plus definitely a more detailed understanding of how this subscription will work for contributors. We currently assume we get 30% of price, it could be a fixed value like image subscriptions

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

True but ultimately if the buyer is paying $10 for a 4k clip, no matter what,its unlikely SS are going to give the contributor anything approaching $10...

marthamarks · « **Reply #43 on:** April 16, 2020, 03:48 »

Quote from: georgep7 on April 16, 2020, 01:58

They already give 60% if exclusive there.
I now have to reconsider opting out from them.
What is the reason to submit to SS?
Let's see how Adobe will react and decide.

I was just having that thought, too.

This move by SS surely does make exclusivity on P5 look more appealing.

Like you, I'll wait a bit and see what, if anything, AS does in response. If nothing, I may nestle all my videos into the P5 basket and see how that goes.

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #44 on:** April 16, 2020, 06:14 »

Quote from: spike on April 15, 2020, 23:56

Shutterstock at the moment has 18 million clips online. My portfolio contains about 25k clips. If 100 people like me decide to pull out our portfolio, that's 2.5 million clips. That's 13.8% of their whole library. Just in the hands of 100 people like myself.

It's not that hard to imagine what would happen if instead of a 100 people, 1000 people do it.

Then Shutterstock would lose 138% of their content? That could happen, but it's also extremely unlikely. How many negative things have been implemented by the different agencies over the years? How many people have left them as a result of it? Have any of the big four ever taken a massive hit to their offering due to people pulling their ports? No. And it'll be no different this time around. Maybe 100 people will leave... that's not the unlikely part... it's that those 100 all have a port of 25K. 100 people leaving is more likely to result in a loss of 25K rather than 2.5m. A drop in the ocean.

But even if they did... is having 9 million clips going to make that much difference from having 18 million clips? "My God, I only have 750K clips of clouds to choose from rather than 1.5m?! This is an emergency!"

thx9000 · « **Reply #45 on:** April 16, 2020, 06:16 »

This is from SS forum

"...It was time for Shutterstock to disrupt the market..."
I don't even sell video and I'm still pissed. What a bunch of smug, self-entitled c***s

odesigns · « **Reply #46 on:** April 16, 2020, 06:22 »

You have to know that if you email the general SS customer support account, you're probably going to get an answer from just another contributor who is "helping" the support team, and NOT a reply from an official SS employee.

spike · « **Reply #47 on:** April 16, 2020, 06:27 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 16, 2020, 06:14

Quote from: spike on April 15, 2020, 23:56
Shutterstock at the moment has 18 million clips online. My portfolio contains about 25k clips. If 100 people like me decide to pull out our portfolio, that's 2.5 million clips. That's 13.8% of their whole library. Just in the hands of 100 people like myself.

It's not that hard to imagine what would happen if instead of a 100 people, 1000 people do it.

Then Shutterstock would lose 138% of their content? That could happen, but it's also extremely unlikely. How many negative things have been implemented by the different agencies over the years? How many people have left them as a result of it? Have any of the big four ever taken a massive hit to their offering due to people pulling their ports? No. And it'll be no different this time around. Maybe 100 people will leave... that's not the unlikely part... it's that those 100 all have a port of 25K. 100 people leaving is more likely to result in a loss of 25K rather than 2.5m. A drop in the ocean.

But even if they did... is having 9 million clips going to make that much difference from having 18 million clips? "My God, I only have 750K clips of clouds to choose from rather than 1.5m?! This is an emergency!"

Did you stop reading after the part that you quoted? Because immediately afterwards I wrote:

Quote

But it won't happen because you'll always have contributors from low income countries uploading and even ramping up production to fill in the gap left by an exodus.

So you didn't add any new info, were discussing with a strawman, all in the hopes to sound smart or whatever.

Like I said, I know it's not going to happen. Never did I say it will. Go act smug elsewhere.

leaf · « **Reply #48 on:** April 16, 2020, 11:21 »

This thread was severely trimmed after a bunch of nonsense / insulting posts.

pics2 · « **Reply #49 on:** April 16, 2020, 11:23 »

Quote from: leaf on April 16, 2020, 11:21

This thread was severely trimmed after a bunch of nonsense / insulting posts.

Thank you!

theendup · « **Reply #50 on:** April 16, 2020, 11:43 »

marthamarks · « **Reply #51 on:** April 16, 2020, 12:02 »

Quote from: leaf on April 16, 2020, 11:21

This thread was severely trimmed after a bunch of nonsense / insulting posts.

Thank you, Leaf!

Please stay well. We need you.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #52 on:** April 16, 2020, 12:02 »

Quote from: theendup on April 16, 2020, 11:43

WOW

Who's that Getty, Shutterstock or someplace else? Seems there's a price war going on and artists income will be the casualty.

Storybooks subscription for example? Wow there's a real kick in the pants.

Unlimited Video
Includes all video content without download limits
$16 58 / month
Billed $199 Annually

Unlimited Downloads of:
HD Footage
4K Footage
After Effects Templates

That's the competition, trying to steal customers.

iStock subscription, 10 pack, $70 a month - year contract. Sound familiar?

Again, no I'm not in favor of these changes, but something looks like matching the competitions pricing? Trying to hang on to customers?

theendup · « **Reply #53 on:** April 16, 2020, 12:14 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 16, 2020, 12:02

Quote from: theendup on April 16, 2020, 11:43
WOW

Who's that Getty, Shutterstock or someplace else? Seems there's a price war going on and artists income will be the casualty.

Storybooks subscription for example? Wow there's a real kick in the pants.

Unlimited Video
Includes all video content without download limits
$16 58 / month
Billed $199 Annually

Unlimited Downloads of:
HD Footage
4K Footage
After Effects Templates

That's the competition, trying to steal customers.

iStock subscription, 10 pack, $70 a month - year contract. Sound familiar?

Again, no I'm not in favor of these changes, but something looks like matching the competitions pricing? Trying to hang on to customers?

That's a screenshot from footage main page of Shutterstock.
I don't think majority of video producers upload to istock or story blocks.

So this is something else...

skysense · « **Reply #54 on:** April 16, 2020, 12:30 »

This a price race, whos going to give more for less... And IT IS ALL ON BACKS OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Also, another thing responsible for race to the bottom is ever growing YouTube/Instagram/"influencer" industry. P5 said that hyperstock is for those kind of buyers. I opted-out immediately.

At least P5 tried this on another platform, and responded to contributor displeasure. SS is stuffing this crap in our mouth and letting us find out last.

Not to mention 1.5$ video sales, not i have 4.77$, and 9.95$ for god knows what resolution. Almost all my video is 4K, bunch of it aerial.

Oh, i had one 0.60$ video sale

alan b traehern · « **Reply #55 on:** April 16, 2020, 12:47 »

Quote from: leaf on April 16, 2020, 11:21

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

marthamarks · « **Reply #56 on:** April 16, 2020, 13:01 »

Quote from: alan b traehern on April 16, 2020, 12:47

Quote from: leaf on April 16, 2020, 11:21
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

No great loss. Sad.

Rage · « **Reply #57 on:** April 16, 2020, 13:05 »

Started a petition. Hopefully it'll atleast show that the community is united

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Do sign it

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #58 on:** April 16, 2020, 13:20 »

Quote from: Eco on April 15, 2020, 06:26

This was inevitable, unfortunately. With the likes of iStock Premium Access, Envato Elements and Storyblocks gaining traction and their collections growing, other companies must respond or risk losing their share of the pie. For as long as there are contributors that are willing to feed these companies (and these will always be) this process will continue and other companies will eventually follow (such as Pond5's HyperStock). This, it seems, is the natural process of evolution in the stock video industry driven by the massive growth in supply that far outpace the demand. In the end, we have nobody but ourselves to blame for this process.

Looks like nearly everyone overlooked your smart reply answer about the business. When things don't go the way someone expects, it's only natural to blame someone else. Microstockers are very good at that.

KevinM · « **Reply #59 on:** April 16, 2020, 15:50 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 16, 2020, 13:05

Started a petition. Hopefully it'll atleast show that the community is united

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Do sign it

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

Thanks for starting this! I signed and shared. I encourage others to take 5 seconds and do the same, and also email SS at [email protected] to let them know your response.

It's fair to call out SS for massively reducing our pay and not allowing an opt out. P5 allows an opt out of Hyperstock, and other cheapo places we can opt out of by not joining at all. If this makes a sizable dent in my SS pay, I will stop uploading to SS and let them know why. It's their choice to do what they're going to do, my hope is that if enough good contributors stop uploading because of low pay then SS will see their content quality decline and buyers favoring Adobe. Ball is in Adobe's court now.

zorba · « **Reply #60 on:** April 16, 2020, 18:54 »

Quote from: Microstock Man on April 15, 2020, 11:24

https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/99836-shutterstock-launches-a-new-footage-subscription-product/

no change will come sponteneusly from nothing

if we don't take part in the action of changing , we will be simply part of the problem.

Microstock is a commodity market. And it works exactly as every other commodity market. Sad but true. The difference here will be when we'll do some math and understand losses are greater than earnings. As simple as that. Because the work is not a farm assembly line and you all know it.

Rage · « **Reply #61 on:** April 16, 2020, 23:42 »

Quote from: KevinM on April 16, 2020, 15:50

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 16, 2020, 13:05
Started a petition. Hopefully it'll atleast show that the community is united

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Do sign it

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

Thanks for starting this! I signed and shared. I encourage others to take 5 seconds and do the same, and also email SS at [email protected] to let them know your response.

It's fair to call out SS for massively reducing our pay and not allowing an opt out. P5 allows an opt out of Hyperstock, and other cheapo places we can opt out of by not joining at all. If this makes a sizable dent in my SS pay, I will stop uploading to SS and let them know why. It's their choice to do what they're going to do, my hope is that if enough good contributors stop uploading because of low pay then SS will see their content quality decline and buyers favoring Adobe. Ball is in Adobe's court now.

Makes sense that we all drop in an email, and possibly highlight this on twitter, Instagram and other social networks as well

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

dragonblade · « **Reply #62 on:** April 17, 2020, 07:38 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on April 15, 2020, 07:23

I think people put a bit too much faith in how amazingly unique and brilliant their content is

Perhaps some contributors have done searches for the kind of content they have on the various agencies and found very little of the same stuff from their competitors. That was the situation with me. I admit to having sold a few clips which feature a certain type of content which is not common at all. So only a few sales and they took a very long time to sell so perhaps the demand for them is not that great. Regardless, it goes to show that some of us do have hard to find content that can sell.

Actually, those particular kind of clips have only sold for me on SS (and one of them just a few days ago.) If I close down my video port on SS, I can only hope that those same kind of buyers who want that stuff will migrate to P5 and AS.

Rage · « **Reply #63 on:** April 18, 2020, 03:01 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 16, 2020, 13:05

Started a petition. Hopefully it'll atleast show that the community is united

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Do sign it

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

Guys, please do sign the petition. Seems like while all the hue and cry here no one is willing to put in the 5 min to sign a petion and drop a harsh letter to shutterstock

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Lets atleast push before we accept a huge move to poverty

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

komikmiha · « **Reply #64 on:** April 18, 2020, 05:08 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 18, 2020, 03:01

Quote from: izzikiorage on April 16, 2020, 13:05
Started a petition. Hopefully it'll atleast show that the community is united

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Do sign it

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk
Guys, please do sign the petition. Seems like while all the hue and cry here no one is willing to put in the 5 min to sign a petion and drop a harsh letter to shutterstock

http://chng.it/nnMxDD9gFX

Lets atleast push before we accept a huge move to poverty

Sent from my HD1901 using Tapatalk

I already did and also sent them an very angry email.

Video1977 · « **Reply #65 on:** April 18, 2020, 07:30 »

I don't know about you, but in my case I was making very good money this week, with around 10 sales a day, and suddenly everything stopped. Suspiciously coincides with the release of this great news ... A real shame, because among all sites always consider SS as the best, the most respectful of the collaborator, the fairest and, until now, the one who paid the best!
We will see how the next week goes, but it is curious to think how a bad decision by some stupid new CEO can throw years of reputation in a company to hell.

Sstr · « **Reply #66 on:** April 18, 2020, 08:27 »

Completely dead for me also. Would be nice to know when they report "all" the "hundreds" of subscription sales I've already got....

gnirtS · « **Reply #67 on:** April 21, 2020, 07:27 »

Ive just had 2 x $3.56 video sales in a row.
Its a figure i've never seen before but almost exactly what the commission for this subscription thing would bring so i guess the dark days are now here.

hafakot · « **Reply #68 on:** April 21, 2020, 11:02 »

How many of you are aware that it was actually shutterstock starting this race to the bottom?

For years, bigstockphoto (owned by shutterstock and serve as test playground) offered 300 clips per 99$ a month
0.33$ per clip !!!

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Author Topic: New video subscription prices on Shutterstock - The dark days are here (Read 14102 times)

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