I just got this email

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Dear Pond5 Artist,
We are thrilled to announce that we are expanding our Exclusive Video Program! Beginning September 25, 2023, all Exclusive artists can also sell their Pond5 content on the Shutterstock marketplace. This gives you the opportunity to expand your reach while still taking advantage of industry-leading royalty rates on all Pond5 sales!
 
Here�s a bit more info about what this change means for you:
Changes to the Contributor Agreement will take effect on September 25, 2023.
Selling your work on Shutterstock is optional. To take advantage of the new extended reach:
Existing Pond5 Exclusive Artists can register as Shutterstock contributors and upload their exclusive content directly to Shutterstock, independently of Pond5.
Non-exclusive Artists with content only on Pond5 and Shutterstock can now upgrade their Pond5 accounts to Exclusive using this sign-up link.
Non-exclusive Artists can join the program by signing up to become Exclusive and removing their content from all other marketplaces (except Pond5 and Shutterstock) during the two-week buffer period.
All Exclusive artists earn an industry-leading 60% royalty rate on Pond5 video sales with up to 90% on new customer referrals through our Pond5 Refer & Earn program.
Pond5 Exclusive artists still have complete control over their pricing on Pond5.
Shutterstock does not have an Exclusive program. Shutterstock contributors will earn royalties for Shutterstock sales according to their regular terms and payout schedules.
For more information, visit our Contributor Portal or contact us at [email protected].
 
Warm Regards,
Your Friends at Pond5

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I think it is fair enough. Nobody is forced to do anything. You can pick and choose which files you send to Shutterstock.

Might make more people consider going exclusive with pond5. Especially if you do a lot of editorial. Adobe and istock don't take real editorial video.


The thread on pond5

https://www.pond5.com/community?thread=228174033&page=1

Does this mean that if you get a sale on SS you can get royalties as low as 25 cents with POND5 exclusive content?

Yep!  Exciting news!

Quote from: wds on September 11, 2023, 07:58

Does this mean that if you get a sale on SS you can get royalties as low as 25 cents with POND5 exclusive content?

Yep!  Exciting news!

Yes, it is autumn again.

Exciting announcements from agencies incoming.

But since there is no force here, it is actually a genuine offer.

They are not distributing your p5X content to SS.

You must have a SS account and upload individually into that one.

And on SS you have to go through their yearly ranking system...

It would certainly be easier if we could just upload once to p5 and then select what goes to SS from there.

I think we are all a little crazy by now.

I mean, why am I even commenting on a program I cannot even take part in because the previous managers purged my SS account???

I really miss the old Shutterstock, it was a fantastic place.

Nevertheless, I think this is a very fair offer.

And will calm a lot of people down, because I know many artists who are terrified that p5X accounts will have their content transferred against their will and by force to SS.

I am sure many people will do this, send the best work only to p5, the outtakes or weaker files can have a double life.

IMO within stock agency site offerings only buyers can determine what is the "best" work  - not the video/photo producer.  It can be surprising what stock videos/photos are licensed.

To me this announcement makes no sense and is based only on a dubious lure of an "opportunity to expand your reach" and dilutes the premise of having Exclusive content on one platform.


 

I appreciate the option to choose, but I am doing exactly the opposite. Not only I don't and will not submit my exclusive contents to SS, I also try not to upload the same non-exclusive contents to P5 and SS.

Why? P5 will not pay you the price of your choice, if the same content is selling elsewhere with lower price.

This email does not explain how my exclusive contents are priced in SS. That question must be addressed directly.

Quote from: Orchidpoet on September 11, 2023, 11:39

This email does not explain how my exclusive contents are priced in SS. That question must be addressed directly.

Per the email P5 Exclusives obtain a regular SS contributor account -

Then P5's email states:  "Shutterstock contributors will earn royalties for Shutterstock sales according to their regular terms and payout schedules."

There's no extra royalty for P5 exclusive content on SS.

Good to know!

For those who have Exclusive account in P5 these news might be a kind of a trap... 

A practical example:

Based on production, equipment and post-production costs, an exclusive contributor can mark a clip at P5 at 100$ and if it sells, the earn is 60% or 60$.

Now with this exciting opportunity, SS marks the clip usually at 59$ but the contributor only earns close to 8$ if we consider a level 1 earning breakdown of 15%. However, this adds to the problem that P5's contract highlights that if the clip is on sale for a lower price then P5 will be able to do Match pricing.

In short, if an P5 exclusive Contributor upload to SS he will be held hostage to the prices SS wants on both platforms despite being exclusive in P5 and will receive much less in terms of RPD.

What does blvdone as an exclusive to Pond5 think about this?

"Pond5 Exclusive artists still have complete control over their pricing on Pond5."

I wonder for how much longer will non exclusive contributors will be able to set their own prices on P5.

It seems that SS is trying to make P5 less competitive in a long run. 

Even though I am at Level 3, most of my SS sales are at 0.25(clip pack). How many clip pack sales that I will have to make in order to get the earning for one sale at P5? Go figure.