Author Topic: A new low? Shutterstock has partnered with Fiverr... (Read 3457 times)

Jo Ann Snover · « **on:** September 02, 2022, 19:10 »

I missed this announcement earlier this week:

https://www.fiverr.com/news/shutterstock-fiverr-integration

Not sure how it works when the site is still offering to resell stock images - and I did an image search on one of the gig's "example" composite and it was an iStock image he's not authorized to resell. They haven't cleaned up much/enough/at all over the last several years

https://www.fiverr.com/search/gigs?query=stock%20photos&source=top-bar&search_in=everywhere&search-autocomplete-original-term=stock%20photos

I put together some screenshots to illustrate just what a ripoff market for stock images is still there on Fiverr (in case they do another quick cleanup as was done a few times in the past - but all the scammers came rolling back in)

The press release isn't listed on Shutterstock's page, but is on Fiverr's. Wire services picked up the release (which is how I found it) but not a peep out of the mother ship

https://investor.shutterstock.com/news-releases

I couldn't find anything on their blog either

https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/

Am I missing something and this is really good news for contributors? What's the point of partnering with a site that allows gigs that openly advertise violating stock agency licensing terms?

Pacesetter · « **Reply #1 on:** September 02, 2022, 20:44 »

Was just thinking it's been a while since we've had any ''exciting news'' for contributors, like more than a week of no ''exciting news''. Guess this is the latest ''exciting news''.

Mimi the Cat · « **Reply #2 on:** September 03, 2022, 00:30 »

Two companies that don't care about stock producers getting to bed with eachother oh well what a surprise

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #3 on:** September 03, 2022, 03:22 »

Don't know what to think about this. Fiverr couldn't get any worse with regards to IP theft, so maybe the only way to get them to clean up their act is if they have a skin in the game, i.e. they make some cash from legitimate sales through SS.

everest · « **Reply #4 on:** September 03, 2022, 03:33 »

Crooks that partner with crooks. Nothing new here. It has always been this way why should it be different with two of the most despised companies on the creative arena.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #5 on:** September 03, 2022, 07:58 »

From what I've understood, Fiverr sellers can now directly incorporate images, video and music in their work (in certain gig categories) when a buyer orders their gig by adding 'custom extras' to the order for $x per SS asset*, and these assets will be available ("Powered by Shutterstock") through an integrated search interface (API) on the Fiverr platform. They can also use watermarked versions for preview versions of their work, and upon finalizing the actual license will be purchased.

Basically it's the buyer who pays for the license. I assume Fiverr has a special deal, so my guess is that SS sellers will receive the minimum royalty for each item sold.
Interestingly, Fiverr explains: "If you need to download the asset again, the seller will only have up to 8 hours to do so. After 8 hours from the initial download, sellers will lose the option to access it again, and will need to ask the buyer to repurchase it." So we might receive multiple purchases of the same image due to the 8 hours limit.

The "I will provide stock images" gigs shown in Jo Ann's screenshot are a violation of the Terms of Service (of both Fiverr and Shutterstock) and as such they're not allowed, but some of these slip through the cracks.

*) Fiverr prices:
Images : $2 per image
Music: $3 per track
Video: $5 per video

Not sure how Fiverr or SS intend to handle refunds of Fiverr deliveries. It says: "Once the cancellation is approved, the purchased licenses will not be valid anymore, even if the delivery includes the licensed media assets."
So the buyer gets his money back (including the extra fees paid for the SS assets) and the SS license will no longer be valid, but I assume SS sellers will not get those refunds and Fiverr will pay for the expenses.

Edit:
I'm not sure if this really benefits SS sellers. Most Fiverr sellers who use stock media (in their work, not resellers) already have some sort of subscription (either at SS or another agency), so using the SS API via Fiverr is not beneficial to these sellers. Perhaps the existence of this API makes it easier for all parties to use stock media, and it might incline other Fiverr sellers to upsell their gigs with SS media, so we might see a small boost from that.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #6 on:** September 03, 2022, 09:26 »

Oh by the way, the previous arrangement/deal they had was with Getty so in a way, partnering with Shutterstock in providing licensed assets for Fiverr sellers is better. Shutterstock sucks, but Getty sucks harder.