I've read the following on why Shutterstock sales are plummeting--

Since Shutterstock and Getty Images announced their merger in January 2025, many contributors have reported a significant drop in earnings from Shutterstock
. The decline is not the result of iStock acquiring Shutterstock (Getty acquired iStock in 2006) but rather a combination of industry changes amplified by the merger.
Why the merger is affecting your Shutterstock sales

    Worry over contributor payout rates: The merger has created concern that Getty, historically known for its low contributor payouts, will bring down Shutterstock's rates to match its own. Industry experts noted that Shutterstock's compensation structure was already moving closer to Getty's even before the official merger.
    Shift in sales priorities and visibility: According to online forums, some contributors believe that the merged company is now prioritizing sales from Getty's higher-margin exclusive content, making Shutterstock's general marketplace content less visible to buyers.
    Reduced competition and pricing pressure: The merger combines two of the largest stock image providers, reducing competition in the market. With less competition, the merged entity has greater control over pricing and contributor royalty rates, which analysts expect will lead to lower payouts over time.
    Focus on AI and cost-cutting: Both companies merged in part to address the threat from AI-generated content. The new entity plans to achieve $150 to $200 million in cost savings, which may include further reductions in contributor compensation.

Other factors contributing to declining microstock income

    Generative AI competition: Beyond the merger, the rise of powerful generative AI tools allows customers to create their own custom images cheaply and quickly. This has led to a major disruption in the low-end stock photography market, directly competing with the content that Shutterstock contributors produce.
    The 2020 royalty structure change: In 2020, Shutterstock changed its payment system to a tiered structure that resets every year. This has significantly lowered earnings for many contributors, especially for those in lower tiers who receive as little as $0.10 per subscription download.
    Market oversaturation: The stock photography market is more saturated than ever, with an enormous volume of content uploaded every day. This makes it more difficult for any single contributor's work to get noticed and licensed

What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

The odd thing is that some folks here seem to report very good sales at SS. I have to wonder if the SS sales depend heavily on where the contributor is geographically.

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 09, 2025, 22:44
What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

AI but I do agree with a lot of what was gathered. Sure some folks are making a killing on SS but for me it's dead. I used to reach $1,000 a month several years back but now less then $50 a month and I continue to upload and my skills are much better. Guess it's the new world and time to find new revenues sources.

Quote from: Big Money on October 10, 2025, 14:36

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 09, 2025, 22:44
What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

AI but I do agree with a lot of what was gathered. Sure some folks are making a killing on SS but for me it's dead. I used to reach $1,000 a month several years back but now less then $50 a month and I continue to upload and my skills are much better. Guess it's the new world and time to find new revenues sources.

I was much the same, making $800-$1200 a month. Now I am at $100-$150 a month and expect that to go to nothing if the Getty merger happens and they keep pissing on royalties.  I already went from $1500 a year on P5 to $200 so far this year.  It's all dying for me.  Where I used to make $50k a year in passive income, I'm right about $10k now. It's a good thing I don't rely on the income to live.

Quote from: Big Money on October 10, 2025, 14:36

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 09, 2025, 22:44
What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

AI but I do agree with a lot of what was gathered. Sure some folks are making a killing on SS but for me it's dead. I used to reach $1,000 a month several years back but now less then $50 a month and I continue to upload and my skills are much better. Guess it's the new world and time to find new revenues sources.

Exactly the same for me.

Quote from: Big Money on October 10, 2025, 14:36

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 09, 2025, 22:44
What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

AI but I do agree with a lot of what was gathered. Sure some folks are making a killing on SS but for me it's dead. I used to reach $1,000 a month several years back but now less then $50 a month and I continue to upload and my skills are much better. Guess it's the new world and time to find new revenues sources.

These figures apply pretty much exactly to me too. However, I haven't uploaded much for quite some time now.

Quote from: Mantis on October 10, 2025, 15:35

Quote from: Big Money on October 10, 2025, 14:36

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 09, 2025, 22:44
What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

AI but I do agree with a lot of what was gathered. Sure some folks are making a killing on SS but for me it's dead. I used to reach $1,000 a month several years back but now less then $50 a month and I continue to upload and my skills are much better. Guess it's the new world and time to find new revenues sources.

I was much the same, making $800-$1200 a month. Now I am at $100-$150 a month and expect that to go to nothing if the Getty merger happens and they keep pissing on royalties.  I already went from $1500 a year on P5 to $200 so far this year.  It's all dying for me.  Where I used to make $50k a year in passive income, I'm right about $10k now. It's a good thing I don't rely on the income to live.

Same for me too. I am now at 1/10 of what I used to earn and its very depressing to see such an amazing site fading out.
However their managements are making tonns

https://www.salary.com/research/executive-compensation/shutterstock-inc-executive-salary

I see a lot of you in the same boat as me. Once Adobe tanks I will drop out completely ---maybe pick weeds for a living if that isn't replaced by AI in the future...

From what I can gather most are experiencing the same drop in royalties.

I used to think it was just pure incompetence by SS, but nowadays my thinking is shifting more towards shady business practices.

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 11, 2025, 20:18
From what I can gather most are experiencing the same drop in royalties.

I used to think it was just pure incompetence by SS, but nowadays my thinking is shifting more towards shady business practices.

I feel the shady business practices have always been with us but now it's much darker...

For me the drop in income has never been as apparent as this month. I have many Halloween themed images in my port and October was always one of my best months with great earnings.
This month I haven't even broken 3 digits in earnings  on SS yet.
Sale numbers are down drastically, from 40-50 sales per day to 0-10 sales per day and they are almost all for 10cents only. There was a time when "single & others" used to be good sales with several $ per image. Now everything is just 10 cents.
For me Shutterstock went to one of my best selling agencies to being dead.

Exactly the same for me! I've never seen such a drop before! Very scary...

+1

Used to average well in excess of $1000, and often $1500+ a month, and now lucky to make $200.

I wrote in to support, who tried to reassure me that nothing had changed, and I should make sure my keywords were good, I was following the shot list, etc. and that there can be fluctuations due to customer demand. I've been doing this for some 20 years, so actually felt quite insulted by the response.

But the customer search is awful and acceptance standards have tanked, so new images don't stand a chance. Search photos>nature and filter by last 7 days, and on the first page there are just random shots of leaves and trees with descriptions such as 'beautiful nature'. They won't sell, but they do push anything good out of sight.

Until Shutterstock stop approving junk and change the search again to allow customer to search by 'new', then our efforts are largely dead and buried before they have a chance to gain any traction.

They must have reasons for their actions, and I'm sure they are still making a killing from our past efforts, but for us, it is just more enshitification of the digital world.

Quote from: kuriouskat on October 12, 2025, 10:10

But the customer search is awful and acceptance standards have tanked, so new images don't stand a chance.

I've also noticed that the changed how new images get displayed. I do not know when this was changed, maybe it is not something new. But I know that some years ago when a new image was apporved and one would search for a keyword for this image, the new image was always displayed in the first rows of the image search with default settings (when the settings are "any time" and you do not change anything). It only stayed there for a couple of days, but it gave customers a chance to find the new image. Now I do not even know where the image ends up. I looked through 10 pages of search results and cannot find it anywhere. It only shows up when you select for example "last 7 days". But how many costomers do that? Most customers will use the default settings, time is money.  The chance of customers even finding new images is so small now. And even when using the "last 7 days filter" the image ist lost between countless (not correctly labeled!) AI images.....

My decline is slower than yours, but it's there.

My best year was 2014, now 11 years ago, when I surpassed $14,000, averaging $1,150 per month (with about 1,200 images) ... while now I average about $550 per month and a total annual income of about $6,500 (with 6,000 images)... in 10 years, I've halved my earnings with SS.

This year, I'm only down 2% compared to last year; the first six months went pretty well (in June, I made almost $1,000), but everything plummeted from mid-July, with a terrible August. October is average in terms of earnings (thanks to a few licenses above $10), but downloads are declining. I've only had one day above 40, and my average is between 20 and 30 per day.

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with this business is that agencies keep too much money. Adobe's share ranges from 33% to Istock's 15%, with Shutterstock falling somewhere in between.

If microstock paid as much as YouTube (55%), we'd all be happier and more motivated to create new images.

I also agree that agencies approve too many low-quality snapshots. Too much AI slop and ... Photo slop. I've always aimed for quality, but my work is increasingly invisible, covered by tons of crap.

Same huge drop here. I am from Europe. Where are you from? I try to understand if location plays the part? Ss is US company. Maybe they prefer that location.

Quote from: Big Money on October 09, 2025, 22:06
I've read the following on why Shutterstock sales are plummeting--

Since Shutterstock and Getty Images announced their merger in January 2025, many contributors have reported a significant drop in earnings from Shutterstock
. The decline is not the result of iStock acquiring Shutterstock (Getty acquired iStock in 2006) but rather a combination of industry changes amplified by the merger.
Why the merger is affecting your Shutterstock sales

    Worry over contributor payout rates: The merger has created concern that Getty, historically known for its low contributor payouts, will bring down Shutterstock's rates to match its own. Industry experts noted that Shutterstock's compensation structure was already moving closer to Getty's even before the official merger.
    Shift in sales priorities and visibility: According to online forums, some contributors believe that the merged company is now prioritizing sales from Getty's higher-margin exclusive content, making Shutterstock's general marketplace content less visible to buyers.
    Reduced competition and pricing pressure: The merger combines two of the largest stock image providers, reducing competition in the market. With less competition, the merged entity has greater control over pricing and contributor royalty rates, which analysts expect will lead to lower payouts over time.
    Focus on AI and cost-cutting: Both companies merged in part to address the threat from AI-generated content. The new entity plans to achieve $150 to $200 million in cost savings, which may include further reductions in contributor compensation.

Other factors contributing to declining microstock income

    Generative AI competition: Beyond the merger, the rise of powerful generative AI tools allows customers to create their own custom images cheaply and quickly. This has led to a major disruption in the low-end stock photography market, directly competing with the content that Shutterstock contributors produce.
    The 2020 royalty structure change: In 2020, Shutterstock changed its payment system to a tiered structure that resets every year. This has significantly lowered earnings for many contributors, especially for those in lower tiers who receive as little as $0.10 per subscription download.
    Market oversaturation: The stock photography market is more saturated than ever, with an enormous volume of content uploaded every day. This makes it more difficult for any single contributor's work to get noticed and licensed

I hate istockgetty it's simply not worth uploading to them for their paltry rates god knows why people upload there to feed them vultures. I'd sooner leave shutterstock if they follow suit & reduced rates even more why on earth have they combined anyway? Calling it professional microstock - it should be renamed professional mocrostock - they are making a mockery out ofd contributors and they should leave and take down their images en mass if they have any sense. As for the 'geeky' AI business few will benefit from it financially most regular folks will lose out. It's the wild west of the internet and without some kind of international agreement the future looks bleak except for a few greedy super geeks or their corporate paymasters..

Quote from: Big Money on October 10, 2025, 14:36

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 09, 2025, 22:44
What's your source for the article, or was it written by AI ?

AFAIK the merger hasn't yet been finalized. Regardless, SS (and P5) sales have been steadily declining since 2020 so I don't think it could get much worse. And if iStock decides to reduce rates to 15% then they'll have to compensate by increasing our sales to make up it.

AI but I do agree with a lot of what was gathered. Sure some folks are making a killing on SS but for me it's dead. I used to reach $1,000 a month several years back but now less then $50 a month and I continue to upload and my skills are much better. Guess it's the new world and time to find new revenues sources.

I had a poor month in Sept on SS but it did pick up towards the end same with Oct.

Quote from: stocker2011 on October 11, 2025, 20:18
From what I can gather most are experiencing the same drop in royalties.

I used to think it was just pure incompetence by SS, but nowadays my thinking is shifting more towards shady business practices.

I did a temp job sorting Brussel sprouts last christmas in a factory but we were monitored & some idiot in the office said my eyesight was too bad to continue working there they thought it would be unsafe so only worked 2 days. What these greedy Management t'''s should realise that some contributors may be earning a living from this. I never did though cos I had my first MS sales on SS in 2020 when earnings were already in decline.
My last paid job was when I did a photoshoot promoting a health product - difference was that the I had to take the photo of myself holding the product. It's called a UGC job & the pay was poor but at least I didn't have to travel. I got the job from Backstage but clients can be so cheap on there

Quote from: FHphotography on October 12, 2025, 16:52
Same huge drop here. I am from Europe. Where are you from? I try to understand if location plays the part? Ss is US company. Maybe they prefer that location.

I have a youtube channel & used to get paid $1000 per year at one point (I was getting 1000s of views per video & over 1.5m when one went viral) but it declined then stopped in 2018 when google changed the requirements for rev sharing. I only used a pocket digital cam with 720 HD to shoot the vids so they weren't bothered about quality. Since then I have a better camera for video & uploaded new content to YT but can no-longer get the viewing numbers still cannot qualify for payments on there. The decline in my YT channel was one reason why I got into microstock in the first place but this is now declining

Quote from: FHphotography on October 12, 2025, 16:52
Same huge drop here. I am from Europe. Where are you from? I try to understand if location plays the part? Ss is US company. Maybe they prefer that location.

no difference here in US - my   SS sales are about 30% down from 6 m ago, overall monthly sales been steady (rolling 4 mo avg is a straight line for last year & up abut 10% from previous year.  the decline in agency sales has been made up by royalties for dataset training

same as everyone else.  my portfolio grew by about 35 percent this year and my sales are way down from last year.  i had one good month this year which was may, pretty much every other month declined.  circling the drain at this point, almost no video sales, almost no sales above $1.  no large sales in months.  agreed with others that once adobe does the same i'll quit or put in close to no effort.  it's been fun but return on investment is just not worth it.

Quote from: TonyD on October 12, 2025, 17:31...
Calling it professional microstock ..- they are making a mockery out ofd contributors and they should leave and take down their images en mass if they have any sense. As for the 'geeky' AI business few will benefit from it financially most regular folks will lose out. It's the wild west of the internet and without some kind of international agreement the future looks bleak except for a few greedy super geeks or their corporate paymasters..

of course it's th e wild west - that's the definition o,f capitalism

should online media have to support print media? shift happens &  under capitalism those controlling the means of production have aways exerted power over workers (and those wh o, make the laws enforcing that p.ower) -  that's what artists are now - producing a commodity that doesn't have the value it did years ago.  inequality has grown exponentially.  CEO in the US now make over 200x what their workers do - it used to be well under 50x - and all of it legal


as far as removing images, that's been tried before and as predicted had absolutely no effect

basically there are 3 ch oices:

** get out & earn nothing

** stay in with  less effort than before to get passive income and some $ or  € or ₹ from  new sources like dataset training as contributor income continues its slide

** find & exploit new models and markets

I really don't understand how SSTK paying us dimes, is considered better than IS paying us 15%? Ignoring the Connect uses, IS pays us better, per DL, when they are at 15% and no lower.