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Author Topic: Shutterstock unlimited - annual plan for unlimted downloads?  (Read 12276 times)

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Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2021, 12:02 »
0

« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2021, 12:14 »
+1
The video says 3 million images, videos & audio - i.e. not the entire Shutterstock library. Any idea what contributors get paid for these uses?

Also, today SS announced they've hired a new General Counsel. Getty's former General Counsel - does that mean demand letters is a new business division at Shutterstock? :)

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shutterstock-names-john-lapham-as-general-counsel-301223494.html

SpaceStockFootage

  • Space, Sci-Fi and Astronomy Related Stock Footage

« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2021, 12:22 »
0

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2021, 12:54 »
+1
Says 100M on here...

https://www.shutterstock.com/business/shutterstock-unlimited

Yeah I saw that, Discover the largest asset library available with 100M images, 4M videos, and 100K high-quality audio tracks. But the other page says 350 million images as of Sept 2020.

From what I've seen at API sites, they don't get anything licensed as Editorial only. I don't know what the "essential" collection is vs the complete, but on the POD sites, the "Essential" runs around 300,000 images and is even more cut rate, than the entire collection.

The video says 3 million images, videos & audio - i.e. not the entire Shutterstock library. Any idea what contributors get paid for these uses?

Also, today SS announced they've hired a new General Counsel. Getty's former General Counsel - does that mean demand letters is a new business division at Shutterstock? :)

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shutterstock-names-john-lapham-as-general-counsel-301223494.html

Without much deep thinking I'd guess we get a dime. API probably pays the lowest subscription rate possible. I might be wrong, but cheap and super multi-seat, unlimited, seems to lead towards, minimum, minimum, minimum.

"... does that mean demand letters is a new business division at Shutterstock? :) " Maybe but somehow I fear it means a new version of the contributor TOS with more legalese and disclaimers for anything that the agency would be held responsible for.

Did anyone ever find out if the money collected by Getty for those demand letters, ever found it's way back to any artists? The whole ting never seemed right. I mean, sending a letter to someone, claiming rights to a public domain image. And then sending one to the artist that had donated her works to the Library of Congress? Very twisted.


« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2021, 13:06 »
+2
Says 100M on here...

https://www.shutterstock.com/business/shutterstock-unlimited

And at the bottom a rare specific number for the collection (they've taken those out most places in favor of the quarterly random guesses)

"370,878,081 royalty-free images and videos with 1,033,807 new stock assets added weekly."

Also of note, the blurb above says "Discover why our API fuels more than 10,000 integrations and counting"

If the API sales are all 10 cent royalties, with no upside of SODs to raise the overall RPD, the downward pressure on contributor earnings of growing API connections will be noticeable. It will also be 10 cents for all levels, unlike some of the web site subscription packages which can be a tad higher for levels 5 and 6.
« Last Edit: February 08, 2021, 13:12 by Jo Ann Snover »

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2021, 13:16 »
+1
Says 100M on here...

https://www.shutterstock.com/business/shutterstock-unlimited

And at the bottom a rare specific number for the collection (they've taken those out most places in favor of the quarterly random guesses)

"370,878,081 royalty-free images and videos with 1,033,807 new stock assets added weekly."

Which means we have determined in these two linked pages from SS we have found four different numbers?  :o

Just for fun, here are mine: (as of today)

346,512,815 stock photos, vectors, and illustrations are available royalty-free.

229,942,877 stock photos
75,353,441 vectors and graphics
20,521,948 royalty-free stock videos

There's one for Illustrations but that could be photos or vectors or who know what?

Horizon

    This user is banned.
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2021, 17:03 »
+4
yes just guess to where this is leading!

time to move on!!

PaulieWalnuts

  • We Have Exciting News For You
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2021, 17:29 »
+11
yes just guess to where this is leading!

time to move on!!

Probably continuing to lead to more profits for them and less earnings for contributors.

Justanotherphotographer

« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2021, 06:30 »
+1
Well who could have possibly seen this coming?

My post from back in Novemeber:

"...they have come up with a scheme that means they can cut your actual perentage even further whenever they want to whatever they want by simply changing the download limit to customers on large subs packages (as they don't use all their DLs anyway and Shutterstock is now basing what they pay us on this theoretical maximum number of downloads limit)."

Clair Voyant

« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2021, 08:27 »
+9
Remove your content, terminate your account.... End of problem.

« Reply #11 on: February 09, 2021, 09:34 »
+1
they no longer know what to do to stop the emoragia because since the changes things are not going as well for them in my opinion

« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2021, 09:47 »
+1
whatever what ss do adobestock will grow to become a monster

« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2021, 10:14 »
+1
whatever what ss do adobestock will grow to become a monster

How so?  Adobe have had a number of years to achieve this and they still aren't turning up with the sales

Shutupstock will undercut the competition and we'll be left with them and maybe getty who are just as bad.

« Reply #14 on: February 09, 2021, 11:00 »
0
Since ss drop the price the sell is not better (for me) . I dont think is a price sell probleme. buyer want adobe cloud this is why they continue to buy there.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #15 on: February 09, 2021, 13:11 »
0
This is not a new program. It's the API program.

« Reply #16 on: February 09, 2021, 14:52 »
+1
This is not a new program. It's the API program.

The API program is not new, but the Unlimited downloads for one annual fee is, I think.

The blog post was dated Monday (Feb 8) and says "Introducing Shutterstock Unlimited: Keep your customers happy with unlimited access to world-class content through our API and never worry about your usage costs going through the roof"


Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #17 on: February 09, 2021, 15:17 »
0
This is not a new program. It's the API program.

The API program is not new, but the Unlimited downloads for one annual fee is, I think.

The blog post was dated Monday (Feb 8) and says "Introducing Shutterstock Unlimited: Keep your customers happy with unlimited access to world-class content through our API and never worry about your usage costs going through the roof"

Maybe a new campaign, but the same program as 2018: https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/future-proof-with-shutterstock-api

"In the martech space, the Shutterstock API is already changing how platforms support their users in their creative processes. Instead of ejecting users off-platform to find multimedia assets, our API delivers the images, videos clips, and music tracks users are looking for, when they need it, where they need it."

Doesn't mean I like it. We have seen these mystery partner programs erode earnings at pretty much every outlet. I don't know any where this hasn't happened, but I won't say every one of them, since there might be one. And reminder there has been at least one agency that was a partner with itself to undercut our commissions, then re-sold them at higher prices, while paying us Subs.

Even the current favorite agency, Adobe, has a partner program, it's the way of the business of stock:  https://www.adobe.com/partners.html

« Reply #18 on: February 09, 2021, 22:05 »
0
Not sure if I am right or wrong.

The page says that they are giving Unlimited access through API, nowhere it says that you can download unlimited.

« Reply #19 on: February 09, 2021, 22:30 »
+5
Not sure if I am right or wrong.

The page says that they are giving Unlimited access through API, nowhere it says that you can download unlimited.

From the blog post:

" Instead, you tell us what you need and give your users unlimited content access through our API for just one flat annual fee. "

"And as promised, you never have to worry about penalties if users license more content than you originally anticipated"

"Now, through the power of our API integration, your users will get unlimited access to Shutterstock images, videos and audio files and you never have to worry again predicting usage volume."

From the signup page in the business section of the web site:

"No user restrictions. No download caps. No overages. Just unlimited access when you sign up for free."


« Reply #20 on: February 10, 2021, 02:21 »
+2
SS tries to fill in all holes, even the smelling ones.

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #21 on: February 10, 2021, 09:33 »
+2
Not sure if I am right or wrong.

The page says that they are giving Unlimited access through API, nowhere it says that you can download unlimited.

Bottom line, I don't know if I care? I was thinking about the words in 2018 vs the words in 2021 and it struck me. Why do I care? I'm not a stock holder? If I get 10 for an API download, why should I care how they market the plan or the details? I'll still get 10 for a minimum.

So unlimited access, unlimited download, free API partners, instead of paying a fee to be an API partner. Why should I care?

Even worse, I hate to suggest this but maybe the new unlimited, free access is a good thing, and I'll get more of those stinking 10 downloads. Not excited about the potential or growth because of this new deal.

How will unlimited change anything for me? Will that be good or bad and does it matter at all?

« Reply #22 on: February 12, 2021, 16:58 »
+4
Not sure if I am right or wrong.

The page says that they are giving Unlimited access through API, nowhere it says that you can download unlimited.

Bottom line, I don't know if I care? I was thinking about the words in 2018 vs the words in 2021 and it struck me. Why do I care? I'm not a stock holder? If I get 10 for an API download, why should I care how they market the plan or the details? I'll still get 10 for a minimum.

So unlimited access, unlimited download, free API partners, instead of paying a fee to be an API partner. Why should I care?

Even worse, I hate to suggest this but maybe the new unlimited, free access is a good thing, and I'll get more of those stinking 10 downloads. Not excited about the potential or growth because of this new deal.

How will unlimited change anything for me? Will that be good or bad and does it matter at all?

why should you care?

Well, you used to get .25 (or up to .38) for these "sales", now you get .10    The more success they have with these schemes the more likely  the bean counters will decide that .10 is too much and they will drop it to something less.

Also they will probably replace other sales that might have been for more.

« Reply #23 on: February 13, 2021, 14:53 »
+2
Somebody from Shutterstock explained what it is on Shutterstock's forum page.

https://forums.submit.shutterstock.com/topic/101676-shutterstock-unlimited-is-here/

« Reply #24 on: February 13, 2021, 15:38 »
+2
Thanks for posting a link to an official post about this program.

Kate's post had some concrete details - supposedly they were to have given this to contributors ahead of the program going live...

Unlimited content is selected from underperforming - 2 years old minimum and no sales - content from level 1 to 5 contributors. Level 6 contributors are exempt. This begs the question of what happens in January each year when everyone is level 1, but I'm assuming Shutterstock will grandfather level 6 folks for this purpose :)

Royalties are the same - a percentage of the price paid with a 10 cent minimum. I can't imagine there would be a case where the royalty is more than 10 cents given the unlimited downloads. No opt out permitted.

The only good news (less bad news??) is that the content is only usable on the platform that sets up the API partnership - not downloadable separately for other uses. Someone asked if contributors can see which items of theirs are included - no answer yet. I would guess not as some people might then delete those items.

A question was also asked about what would prevent an end user from skimming images or videos from the platform to use elsewhere - no answer. That's really not that different from people who steal content from an internet site that has legitimately licensed it - agencies don't go after such thefts.


 

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