Author Topic: Shutterstock is an embarassment (Read 69205 times)

Jaggy · « **Reply #375 on:** September 24, 2024, 08:06 »

Shutterstock continues to be my best seller.

So far this year, I've sold 3.5 times more images on SS than on AS and made 3.25 times more revenue.

That said, I've stopped uploading to AS because approval takes months and is extremely inconsistent. 99% of my uploads to SS are approved in less than 48 hours.

DaLiu · « **Reply #376 on:** September 24, 2024, 08:30 »

Quote from: Jaggy on September 24, 2024, 08:06

Shutterstock continues to be my best seller.

So far this year, I've sold 3.5 times more images on SS than on AS and made 3.25 times more revenue.

That said, I've stopped uploading to AS because approval takes months and is extremely inconsistent. 99% of my uploads to SS are approved in less than 48 hours.

I feel the same, keep up the good work.

Ambu · « **Reply #377 on:** October 30, 2024, 19:43 »

Shutterstock became very worst for me, Adobe stock is working well for me.
All of sudden sales and earnings on Shutterstock dropped this year, 40-60% earnings down.

After the earnings down...

Like some people said before, Shutterstock kept those earnings within limits. Not earning more than some limit.

If I earn near to that limit within first 20 days of a month, then Get very low earnings for next to days to not cross more than that limit.

If I earn very less than that limit in first 20-25 days. Then that last few days I am getting some good sales. But that don't cross the limit.

Anyone feeling or experiencing the same?

Till last year, I earned more in Shutterstock than Adobe stock every month.

This year, completely opposite. Adobe stock earnings more than Shutterstock earnings every month.

stocker2011 · « **Reply #378 on:** October 31, 2024, 07:32 »

For video it's just awful and continues to decline.

I continue to upload some decent stuff, but revenue always stays within a certain bracket which I can never seem to break out of.

It's almost as if there's a throttle and when I get one decent sale the algorithm says 'right, that's all you're getting for the month' and the tap turns off.

I personally think someone's really f*ckn around with the search results and contributor exposure.

Very discouraging.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #379 on:** October 31, 2024, 14:27 »

Quote from: Ambu on October 30, 2024, 19:43

Shutterstock became very worst for me, Adobe stock is working well for me.
All of sudden sales and earnings on Shutterstock dropped this year, 40-60% earnings down.

After the earnings down...

Like some people said before, Shutterstock kept those earnings within limits. Not earning more than some limit.

I only wish they would do that for me. Feb/March are triple what Jan and other months are. June way up, July and August dropped down. There's nothing even or limited.

zeljkok · « **Reply #380 on:** October 31, 2024, 19:58 »

For me SS has outperformed AS several months this year, incl. October despite FireFly bonus and Extended License on AS.

Dismissing SS is premature IMHO. But to each their own.

Ambu · « **Reply #381 on:** October 31, 2024, 21:02 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on October 31, 2024, 14:27

Quote from: Ambu on October 30, 2024, 19:43
Shutterstock became very worst for me, Adobe stock is working well for me.
All of sudden sales and earnings on Shutterstock dropped this year, 40-60% earnings down.

After the earnings down...

Like some people said before, Shutterstock kept those earnings within limits. Not earning more than some limit.

I only wish they would do that for me. Feb/March are triple what Jan and other months are. June way up, July and August dropped down. There's nothing even or limited.

I said that's happening to me after decreasing earnings by 40-50%

Are you happy if your earnings decreased by 50% from what you earnings now, and then they keep those earnings in that 50% limit?

elliottcowand · « **Reply #382 on:** November 01, 2024, 03:38 »

Quote from: blvdone on July 02, 2023, 07:36

Quote from: Brasilnut on June 29, 2023, 07:05
I interviewed Doug Jensen, veteran stock footage contributor, with a portfolio of 9,187.

Question: In terms of sales volumes and revenue, have you experienced a decrease in the past two years since our last interview?

Answer: "If you define “sales volume” as being the total number of clips that are sold, then that number has remained fairly consistent since we last spoke. Unfortunately, my revenue, which is ultimately the metric that matters most, has dropped by more than 50% during that same time period. I attribute this to two things: First, Shutterstock made a lot of changes to their commission structure that have hurt contributors. And second, Shutterstock is really pushing customers towards a subscription-based sales model which results in overall lower pricing per clip — thus lower revenue for the contributors who created those clips.

Here’s how I see it: If a customer pays an agency $50, does it really matter to the agency whether that $50 covers a single download or a hundred downloads? $50 is $50 of income to the agency no matter how you slice it. But the agency didn’t put any effort whatsoever into shooting, editing, uploading, or creating the metadata, so they don’t really care whether that $50 covers one download or a hundred downloads. It’s still $50 of income (minus the commission) to their bottom line. But to the average contributor, it is devastating because we only get a very small slice of that $50 if the customer is downloading multiple files. The way the subscription model works, the more clips a customer downloads, the less money any individual contributor will get for their slice of the pie. The bottom line is that when you have agencies that are offering customers unlimited 4K and HD downloads for as little as $50 per month, who do you think loses? The contributor."

Link to full interview:

https://brutallyhonestmicrostock.com/2023/06/28/interview-with-doug-jensen-stock-footage-expert-fresh-insight-after-2-years/

"That dude used to attack me when I criticized Shutterstock on Shutterstock's contributor forum. Now he's suffering the same fate as everybody else huh."... I had completely forgotten about Shutterstock's forum. That certainly went away fast after they lowered our commissions.

yuriy · « **Reply #383 on:** November 01, 2024, 09:47 »

Quote from: zeljkok on October 31, 2024, 19:58

For me SS has outperformed AS several months this year, incl. October despite FireFly bonus and Extended License on AS.

Dismissing SS is premature IMHO. But to each their own.

i'm seeing this too. for months (maybe a year) adobe was about 5x shutterstock but starting around may ss starting catching up. oct is the first month where ss beat as (by about 50%). i, like many others, was prepared to dismiss them after months of minuscule sales but now that they are competitive i think you're right.

Asthebelltolls · « **Reply #384 on:** November 01, 2024, 10:57 »

Quote from: yuriy on November 01, 2024, 09:47

Quote from: zeljkok on October 31, 2024, 19:58
For me SS has outperformed AS several months this year, incl. October despite FireFly bonus and Extended License on AS.

Dismissing SS is premature IMHO. But to each their own.

i'm seeing this too. for months (maybe a year) adobe was about 5x shutterstock but starting around may ss starting catching up. oct is the first month where ss beat as (by about 50%). i, like many others, was prepared to dismiss them after months of minuscule sales but now that they are competitive i think you're right.

10 years ago the SS paid a minimum $35us per HD sale. I guess today's generation of contributors are far more happy with sales versus income.

DaLiu · « **Reply #385 on:** November 02, 2024, 11:15 »

I think SS changed the search algorithm for pictures/videos again from 1st of November, I was checking a lot in the last months where my files where located in the pages and for the last 3-4 months they prioritize the new files which jumped my sales a lot, over 100 assets on daily basis, now I see they went back to the most downloaded assets back on the front pages, I already see an impact, curios if anybody else saw any impact in volume of sales for the 1st of November compared with the last months.

Jaggy · « **Reply #386 on:** November 03, 2024, 09:40 »

Quote from: DaLiu on November 02, 2024, 11:15

I think SS changed the search algorithm for pictures/videos again from 1st of November, I was checking a lot in the last months where my files where located in the pages and for the last 3-4 months they prioritize the new files which jumped my sales a lot, over 100 assets on daily basis, now I see they went back to the most downloaded assets back on the front pages, I already see an impact, curios if anybody else saw any impact in volume of sales for the 1st of November compared with the last months.

I probably don't have your volume of sales but, from what I can see, November sales, so far, are the usual mix of old and new material. Overall, I've increased my portfolio by 21% this year (32% last year) and sales are on track to be up around 25%-30% for 2024. Revenue is already up 33% over 2023.

yuriy · « **Reply #387 on:** November 04, 2024, 09:53 »

Quote from: Asthebelltolls on November 01, 2024, 10:57

Quote from: yuriy on November 01, 2024, 09:47
Quote from: zeljkok on October 31, 2024, 19:58
For me SS has outperformed AS several months this year, incl. October despite FireFly bonus and Extended License on AS.

Dismissing SS is premature IMHO. But to each their own.

i'm seeing this too. for months (maybe a year) adobe was about 5x shutterstock but starting around may ss starting catching up. oct is the first month where ss beat as (by about 50%). i, like many others, was prepared to dismiss them after months of minuscule sales but now that they are competitive i think you're right.
10 years ago the SS paid a minimum $35us per HD sale. I guess today's generation of contributors are far more happy with sales versus income.

having trouble understanding your point but i am happy that SS is paying me more this month than all the months that came before. i haven't found a way to go back to 10 years ago yet but let me know if you have a good strategy.

zeljkok · « **Reply #388 on:** November 04, 2024, 14:06 »

Their point was probably that today' contributors are just glad to get a sale, regardless of actual $ amount.

But decline is not pertinent only to SS. In old days $$$ sales on places like Alamy were common, even occasional 4 figure sale. This is just general fall of the industry as a whole, because of content saturation and now AI generative engines trying to stamp final nail in the artist coffin. SS is just one player.

yuriy · « **Reply #389 on:** November 04, 2024, 19:09 »

at the end of the day everyone has to decide for themselves if they want to continue contributing to microstock agencies at the current rates of pay. i know it was better before but there doesn't seem to be a convenient way to go back to that time. most of us on the forum in 2024 are here because we are still contributing despite the lower pay. a few folks here and other places have recently recognized that SS has been earning more, much more than when this thread started. in my option it is becoming relevant again, by today's standards, even if it will never earn what it did in 2016 ever again.

OM · « **Reply #390 on:** November 06, 2024, 11:26 »

After SS cut the contributor rates, I never submitted again. I started at SS in 2012 and with less than 1,000 photos and no video I was making a consistent $200-$300/month from 2014 until 2019. After the executive bandits arrived (2020 and left 2022?) sales dropped below $100/month and now I don't even reach payout (<$25) some months. Hasn't cost me any effort at all since I stopped submitting, so anything my now 'vintage' archive brings is free money.

I forget the name of the CEO (or whatever title he had) who ushered in the crushing of contributor earnings but he must have made out like a bandit with all his stock options.....and within a couple of years he was gone...greener pastures on the horizon and thanks for all the folding greenery in my pocket!

dbvirago · « **Reply #391 on:** November 19, 2024, 11:02 »

I knew it would happen eventually, but after 19 years, I finally quit uploading to Shutterstock. As with many of you, sales have been sliding downhill for years. Rather than making more than all other sites combined, they are now just another middle tier. And a few weeks ago, for whatever reason, they went from accepting 99% of my submissions, they have been rejecting 90%. This tipped them way over on the trouble/worth scale. Over the last few years I have culled my agencies down considerably and now there are 4. It wouldn't take much incentive to do something I thought I'd never do and go exclusive with Adobe.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #392 on:** November 19, 2024, 13:09 »

Quote from: OM on November 06, 2024, 11:26

After SS cut the contributor rates, I never submitted again. I started at SS in 2012 and with less than 1,000 photos and no video I was making a consistent $200-$300/month from 2014 until 2019. After the executive bandits arrived (2020 and left 2022?) sales dropped below $100/month and now I don't even reach payout (<$25) some months. Hasn't cost me any effort at all since I stopped submitting, so anything my now 'vintage' archive brings is free money.

I forget the name of the CEO (or whatever title he had) who ushered in the crushing of contributor earnings but he must have made out like a bandit with all his stock options.....and within a couple of years he was gone...greener pastures on the horizon and thanks for all the folding greenery in my pocket!

You're right. Two years and out.

Stan Pavlovsky, announced as Chief Executive Officer. He will also join the Board of Directors and, Jon Oringer, currently Chief Executive Officer, who will be Executive Chairman of the Board. These changes are effective April 1, 2020.

The new earnings structure was announced to take effect June 1, 2020. Included with that. all contributors will be reset to level 1 for both images and videos every year on January 1st, 2021. (Instead of 25c minimum and rewards for selling more, lifetime, the minimum is now 10¢)

Level 1: Up to 100 (15%)
Level 2: 101 to 250 (20%)
Level 3: 251 to 500 (25%)
Level 4: 501 to 2,500 (30%)
Level 5: 2,501 to 25,000 (35%)
Level 6: Over 25,000 (40%)

Paul Hennessy was named Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2022. Mr. Hennessy, a Company Board member since 2015, succeeds Jon Oringer, Shutterstock's founder, who is currently serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Oringer will remain as Executive Chairman of the Board.

"SSTK’s top-line growth has largely been driven by acquisitions, a trend that may not continue, as management has indicated a plan to maintain these costs as recurring expenses for the next several years. This reliance on acquisitions, combined with a gradual decline in subscriber numbers and revenue per subscriber metrics, signals a troubling trend that management has not adequately addressed." https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/topstocks/shutterstock-inc-sstk-a-bear-case-theory/ar-AA1tCwSF?ocid=BingNewsSerp

SSTK stock Round numbers:
June 2020 $38 a share
June 2021 $91
June 2022 $59 (Stan gone)
June 2023 $49
June 2024 $38
today $29 a share

We paid for that boom along with the popularity of SSTK as a hot and growing stock. The value has come back down to reality. The article above which is recent, says there might be an interest in selling SSTK short, which means, in effect, betting that the price is going to drop further.

Now that Shutterstock has taken all the value out of what it costs to pay us, and they have invested in buying other companies and branched out, they are in trouble.Or maybe, if I want to be kinder and more positive, they are going to level off at some point. I still get a laugh out of the most recent earnings call, where they said "we aren't losing money as fast as we were" which is supposed to be a positive?

One more prediction is, the stock may fall to under $20 a share. "Furthermore, data from ALTD shows a notable decline in e-commerce sales that contradicts management's assertions, further validating the bearish thesis. Concerns regarding management integrity are heightened by prior misrepresentations about the performance of their e-commerce segment, which raises questions about the reliability of their segment reporting and overall transparency. These factors collectively suggest that SSTK is at a critical juncture, reinforcing the case for a short position in light of the deteriorating fundamentals and management's failure to acknowledge the broader challenges facing the business."

Anyone who thinks SS is their best earner and will continue to be that, might want to brace for the future. Things will get worse and may never get better. Microstock is not making a comeback. AI and Adobe are growing and earning, maybe including that in your future plans would be a good idea.

cascoly · « **Reply #393 on:** November 19, 2024, 15:53 »

Quote from: dbvirago on November 19, 2024, 11:02

... Over the last few years I have culled my agencies down considerably and now there are 4. It wouldn't take much incentive to do something I thought I'd never do and go exclusive with Adobe.

of course, you have to remove all your images on other sites, not just stop uploading

cobalt · « **Reply #394 on:** November 19, 2024, 16:50 »

That is a good article.

The point about being intransparent about how the business is falling is important.

They have been trying to mask losing huge amounts of customers to Adobe by buying up agencies. But since they are not addressing the underlying issues why customers and producers are leaving them, the problem is only getting worse.

They need a completely new management that is sincerely interested at growing the core business.

Or they could just sell themselves to Getty or Adobe if the share price keeps falling.

Of course they can keep cruising down for a few years, it is not something that will happen overnight.

Here is the twitter feed

https://x.com/Fierce__beast/status/1834341574219534648

dbvirago · « **Reply #395 on:** November 19, 2024, 18:05 »

Quote from: cascoly on November 19, 2024, 15:53

Quote from: dbvirago on November 19, 2024, 11:02
... Over the last few years I have culled my agencies down considerably and now there are 4. It wouldn't take much incentive to do something I thought I'd never do and go exclusive with Adobe.

of course, you have to remove all your images on other sites, not just stop uploading

No, I didn't mean be exclusive to them, but have all future images exclusive to them. Some site, don't remember which, used to pay better for images that were exclusive. I have 34K images on SS. It would take a lot to incent me to delete them all.

DanielVisuals · « **Reply #396 on:** November 19, 2024, 20:41 »

For videos, SS consistently remains my top earner.

stoker2014 · « **Reply #397 on:** November 20, 2024, 03:16 »

It is unclear why the authors' income has decreased. It seems that buyers are leaving Shutterstock, but why.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #398 on:** November 20, 2024, 04:44 »

Quote from: stoker2014 on November 20, 2024, 03:16

It is unclear why the authors' income has decreased. It seems that buyers are leaving Shutterstock, but why.

Maybe because they are accepting loads of rubbish images and the search is awful? I'm guessing customers that have relied on Shutterstock for years, can't find what they want and are jumping ship.

cobalt · « **Reply #399 on:** November 20, 2024, 04:53 »

A lot of new high quality content is missing. The ports that used to make 6k a month from SS alone, if they drop to below a thousand or maybe even just a few hundred..why should they keep sending their expensive people productions to ss.?

A lot of quality content is now going mostly to Adobe or exclusive to Getty premium.

And both Adobe and Getty have large exclusive collections, getty with real photos, adobe mostly with ai.

Millions of files ss simply does not have.

They still have the largest video collection especially with the p5 exclusive collection. Also editorial is still good.

But if Adobe or Getty ever decide they also want to become great with video and make a real push promoting it, how long will clients keep buying from ss.

And how long until those 60% exclusive royalties on ss disappear?

Exciting news is coming, just a matter of time.

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Author Topic: Shutterstock is an embarassment (Read 69205 times)

Jaggy

DaLiu

Ambu

stocker2011

Uncle Pete

zeljkok

Ambu

elliottcowand

yuriy

Asthebelltolls

DaLiu

Jaggy

yuriy

zeljkok

yuriy

OM

dbvirago

Uncle Pete

cascoly

cobalt

dbvirago

DanielVisuals

stoker2014

kuriouskat

cobalt

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