Author Topic: Royalty Declines At Shutterstock (Read 20421 times)

Pickerell · « **on:** May 14, 2015, 14:24 »

Shutterstock contributors may be interested in a long analysis I’ve posted on why individual contributor royalties have been declining on average over the last couple of years. Based on the numbers it seems likely that the decline will continue. You can find the story here (http://www.selling-stock.com/Article/declines-in-average-royalties-at-shutterstock) and I’ve made it FREE for anyone to read. If you disagree with my analysis I would be interested in hearing your arguments.

My analysis is based on averages. It may be interesting for individual contributors to compare their results with the averages to see how much better or worse their personal experience has been.

Semmick Photo · « **Reply #1 on:** May 14, 2015, 14:27 »

Let me guess. More images and more contributors dilutes earnings per head and library growth outpacing demand.

Also free for everyone to read.

Semmick Photo · « **Reply #2 on:** May 14, 2015, 14:28 »

Yep I was right. And one free click from me

pancaketom · « **Reply #3 on:** May 14, 2015, 14:35 »

yep, that pretty much hits the nail on the head. Number of images going up faster than number of sales.

Under "Contributors" PP 6-7 or so it is unclear when you are talking about images licensed per year and images licensed per quarter.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 14, 2015, 15:39 »

One reason for the increase in rejections might be the cost of additional servers to store all the data and the cost of additional reviewers vs. a slower increase in sales. There was an article yesterday about how SS is handling the storage of the huge influx of increasingly larger files. I'm sure investors are looking for cost-cutting measures.

trek · « **Reply #5 on:** May 14, 2015, 15:42 »

Nicely written. From my observations the article seems completely accurate.

Cesar · « **Reply #6 on:** May 14, 2015, 16:08 »

last year i have 1300 images and 50 sales per day, this year i have 1900 and 140 per day, last year images with +100dl are still selling this year every day mostly

Dodie · « **Reply #7 on:** May 14, 2015, 18:37 »

Quote from: Cesar on May 14, 2015, 16:08

last year i have 1300 images and 50 sales per day, this year i have 1900 and 140 per day, last year images with +100dl are still selling this year every day mostly

140 dls per day with only 1900 images? That must be a very special port, congrats. I envy you.

cobalt · « **Reply #8 on:** May 14, 2015, 21:15 »

that must be a super special port that has 140 downloads a DAY! Never heard of anyone getting even close to that number. Not even with much larger ports. Congratulations!

personally, i have great success with video on SS, but I find the returns from images in exclusive collections much higher, so I try those agencies first, especially if it is a more time intensive shoot and only ultrageneric content goes to the Micros.

Rinderart · « **Reply #9 on:** May 14, 2015, 23:28 »

Thanks Jim. My thoughts exactly. Some one should post this link in a new thread on SS. With Jims permission Only.

PixelBytes · « **Reply #10 on:** May 14, 2015, 23:37 »

Good article. Explains a lot about what's happening and why this is becoming unsustainable for contributors.

Cesar · « **Reply #11 on:** May 15, 2015, 03:14 »

nothing special, i am below average photografer, only thing is important to figure out what to shoot, you must extremly focus on story on image.
if u shoot technician on work, you realy must find scene or make scene, sometime i set up furniture at home two hours or more, but image is downloaded at least 100 times, SS is very good , almost 0% chance is, that your image will be lost in search, if it is good, maybe 10 images that are sell well on other agency and on ss dont

buyers need authentic scenes. i dont make instagram,landscape,food

Quote from: Dodie on May 14, 2015, 18:37

Quote from: Cesar on May 14, 2015, 16:08
last year i have 1300 images and 50 sales per day, this year i have 1900 and 140 per day, last year images with +100dl are still selling this year every day mostly

140 dls per day with only 1900 images? That must be a very special port, congrats. I envy you.

cobalt · « **Reply #12 on:** May 15, 2015, 03:29 »

i am glad it is working so well for you, unfortunetely i don't have that experience. i have started to deactivate some files and am moving them upstream for better returns. Generic content, especially stuff on white is doing well there, so I'll upload more. everybodies journey is different. But for video I am überimpressed what they are getting out of my files.

stock-will-eat-itself · « **Reply #13 on:** May 15, 2015, 03:57 »

I guess the speed of the decline for returns will be as fast as the ascension.

Hobostocker · « **Reply #14 on:** May 15, 2015, 04:11 »

the Next Big Thing for stock agencies could be allowing contributors to advertise their images on top of search results, just like Google/Yahoo/Bing .. sort of a poorman's Adsense, this would weed out the amateurs and allow Pros to stand out from the crowd.

cobalt · « **Reply #15 on:** May 15, 2015, 04:31 »

all agencies need to subdivide their content and create micromarkets within their übermarketplace.

they all know it, it is the challenge of the coming years.

Perry · « **Reply #16 on:** May 15, 2015, 04:34 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on May 14, 2015, 15:39

One reason for the increase in rejections might be the cost of additional servers to store all the data

Nah, storage space is cheap. Let's say they have 50 million images, 10 megabytes each. It's just 500 Terabytes. Of course the handling of these files need computing power, but let's not forget they are mostly dealing with tiny preview images.

Perry · « **Reply #17 on:** May 15, 2015, 04:38 »

Someone should take a look at Shutterstock's profits, and look how their

1) profit per image
2) profit per contributor (do we know the total number of contributors?)

have developed... If those numbers are going up and our earnings down, they are screwing us.

Cesar · « **Reply #18 on:** May 15, 2015, 06:28 »

your images have mostly zero action, that is not selling. you have kid and father, that is good one! i like it.

you are not active contributor, you have maybe 80 last half year, common, on ss is stuff hot first 2 two months, you have to upload every day something new, you dont have 666, you have 50 images online, one year old image is dead.

economy of SS is your weak point.

Quote from: cobalt on May 14, 2015, 21:15

that must be a super special port that has 140 downloads a DAY! Never heard of anyone getting even close to that number. Not even with much larger ports. Congratulations!

personally, i have great success with video on SS, but I find the returns from images in exclusive collections much higher, so I try those agencies first, especially if it is a more time intensive shoot and only ultrageneric content goes to the Micros.

Rinderart · « **Reply #19 on:** May 15, 2015, 10:55 »

Quote from: Cesar on May 15, 2015, 06:28

your images have mostly zero action, that is not selling. you have kid and father, that is good one! i like it.

you are not active contributor, you have maybe 80 last half year, common, on ss is stuff hot first 2 two months, you have to upload every day something new, you dont have 666, you have 50 images online, one year old image is dead.

economy of SS is your weak point.

Quote from: cobalt on May 14, 2015, 21:15
that must be a super special port that has 140 downloads a DAY! Never heard of anyone getting even close to that number. Not even with much larger ports. Congratulations!

personally, i have great success with video on SS, but I find the returns from images in exclusive collections much higher, so I try those agencies first, especially if it is a more time intensive shoot and only ultrageneric content goes to the Micros.

would love to see your port.

cobalt · « **Reply #20 on:** May 15, 2015, 11:10 »

i agree with many Thinges you say cesar, but i am not as new to stock as my portfolio looks. The image with father and son will be deactivated, i made around 10 dollars so far, and it is only available at SS at the moment. some of the static images around it made over 200. These are files created in 2005-2008 uploaded in 2013/14 to SS.

But the video of father and son makes very good money.

So for me the active people shots will go upstream where I earn more money.

And that i have to upload every day to push my portfolio is a big negative, at other agencies good files keep moving up, even if you don't upload daily.

I want a reliable income stream, not a two month spike and then neverland. Good files can earn money for many, many years .

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #21 on:** May 15, 2015, 11:16 »

Quote from: Cesar on May 15, 2015, 06:28

... one year old image is dead.

That's just rubbish.

Perhaps if your port is only a year or two old you haven't any experience in how this works?

Or by "dead" do you mean something other than "is no longer selling"?

marthamarks · « **Reply #22 on:** May 15, 2015, 11:19 »

Quote from: cobalt on May 15, 2015, 11:10

Good files can earn money for many, many years .

That certainly has been my experience. Some of my current best-sellers have been on SS for several years.

Actually, I'm grateful that I uploaded as many images as I did in the last 2-3 years, to make up for the increasing difficulty in getting them approved now.

Cesar · « **Reply #23 on:** May 15, 2015, 12:40 »

im very afraid to post my portfolio it is very easy to copy and there are some niche series i woold realy not see by other, like i said i am below average photografer, quality is my problem, so i try made images with " story"

a lot of thinking and time was spend for small ideas, i spend mostly time how to make scene at home, this is priceless, not for shooting and editing.

im contributor from mid 2012 and my first 300 images sux.

dead, i meant not selling any more

i earn a lot of money, more then my regular salary, please understand me.

but in $ i have earnings about the same last 20 weeks on SS

Rinderart · « **Reply #24 on:** May 15, 2015, 13:03 »

Quote from: Cesar on May 15, 2015, 12:40

im very afraid to post my portfolio it is very easy to copy and there are some niche series i woold realy not see by other, like i said i am below average photografer, quality is my problem, so i try made images with " story"

a lot of thinking and time was spend for small ideas, i spend mostly time how to make scene at home, this is priceless, not for shooting and editing.

im contributor from mid 2012 and my first 300 images sux.

dead, i meant not selling any more

i earn a lot of money, more then my regular salary, please understand me.

but in $ i have earnings about the same last 20 weeks on SS

I understand.

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Author Topic: Royalty Declines At Shutterstock (Read 20421 times)

Pickerell

Semmick Photo

Semmick Photo

pancaketom

Shelma1

trek

Cesar

Dodie

cobalt

Rinderart

PixelBytes

Cesar

cobalt

stock-will-eat-itself

Hobostocker

cobalt

Perry

Perry

Cesar

Rinderart

cobalt

Jo Ann Snover

marthamarks

Cesar

Rinderart

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