Quote from: DaLiu on April 23, 2025, 04:04

Wondering if anybody who is in for this model would like to share the earnings or they are available only by the end of the month?

According to the email it doesnt go live until next month but looks like they lied about that.
Given the revenue share model they mentioned i dont see how they can do anything other than declare it monthly once they know how much it brought in during that period.  I can see an IS style 2 month lag while payments are calcuated.

Quote from: dragonblade on April 23, 2025, 05:33

Quote from: gnirtS on April 22, 2025, 23:20

To recap, for a buyer to see everyones content now they have to

(i) run a search
(ii) change from "Highlights" to "All images" (which isnt all images.  Its misleading)
(iii) Notice the "Filter applied: 1" box
(iv) click that box
(v) scroll down
(vi) select "All images" in the filter list

That simply isnt going to happen.

I just did a search for some of my files on the buyers site. No results found. However, a message came up saying that there may have been some filters affecting the search. All I had to do was a single action (one mouse click) to deactivate the filters and then my files appeared in the search results.

Yes, but if you do a new search then the filter is automatically reinstated (so you see unlimited only). For each search you have to disable that filter. At least it seems that way.

One thing I noticed since this whole IS / SS merger was announced: 

SS Reviews have become much closer to IS standard - basically anything goes in technical terms, but super anal in respect to what constitutes property.  Although I am still getting uploads reviewed within couple of days, while on IS I have content now waiting over a month. Perhaps IS is racing Adobe to see who is going to blink first

The only reason that �other agencies offering unlimited downloads must have gained a substantial market share� is because there are both clients and, more importantly, creators who are willing to sell large volumes at very low prices. Naturally, this also opened the door for bad actors to constantly upload stolen content. But I believe the problem goes beyond that...

AI has created new dynamics. In my view, platforms like Sora and Runtime ML have already surpassed Midjourney in many aspects. Content production has not only become incredibly cheap but also overwhelmingly abundant. The microstock business model is undergoing a significant transformation � contributors are increasingly selling fewer assets to actual end users through platforms like Shutterstock, Getty, or Adobe, and instead are indirectly feeding AI systems for shockingly low compensation.

In Europe, starting May 27th, Meta is preparing to use image, audio, and text data from Facebook, Instagram, and even WhatsApp group conversations to train its AI models. As you can imagine, the goal will eventually be to monetize this �learning� output by selling it to third parties.

So, it�s not just about competition in the �unlimited download� model among rival agencies � it's also about the fierce race to access and dominate the emerging AI markets, where traditional pricing models are being completely undermined.

In this new era of AI-driven information, the new oil is content � data and metadata for machine learning � or attention, meaning eyeballs and audience engagement.

In my opinion, it makes more and more sense to move away from creating content for microstock platforms and instead focus on producing original content while building an audience on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and others. The real value now lies in being paid through direct or indirect advertising, rather than relying on small sales through traditional microstock models.

As I understand, with this unlimited plan, the customer can use the downloaded files only once, after having previously registered such use, and within the time of their subscription.

A file cannot be stored and reused, but only for a current project. This should mean that each download will be equal to one project and the authors will not be compensated once and for all, as for a normal license!

https://www.shutterstock.com/terms/fair-usage

This would only benefit the contributor if the subsequent downloads of the same element by the same buyer counts toward the contributor's monthly bottom line, or if only the FIRST download counts, and any "re-downloads" by the same buyer is simply provided as a convenience perk.

I wonder how this works on Storyblocks or any other "unlimited" subscription program.

Quote from: ogm on April 25, 2025, 03:32

As I understand, with this unlimited plan, the customer can use the downloaded files only once, after having previously registered such use, and within the time of their subscription.

This would only benefit the contributor if the subsequent downloads of the same element by the same buyer counts toward the contributor's monthly bottom line

Regardless, buyers wont bother.  They'll see enough displayed without more hoops to jump through.  Most will just select the first hits on the first page as always.  They're not going to go out of their way.