Author Topic: Shutterstock photo sales revenue only 1/20 of Adobe Stock's. (Read 21029 times)

cascoly · « **Reply #25 on:** January 21, 2024, 14:16 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on January 21, 2024, 12:19

... it was always humorous because one or two of my own images would always show up, on top. I don't know if that was an error or so we'd get excited that SS was actually promoting our work. It was just reading cookies from our own systems, and not what the rest of the world would see....

i had the same experience & always figured they were just finding my pix to mislead me into thinking that was a real result

KeremGo · « **Reply #26 on:** January 21, 2024, 15:50 »

Really sad to see this... I've always submitted my best works to Shutterstock.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #27 on:** January 21, 2024, 16:56 »

It all started when then CEO of Shutterstock Stan Pavlovsky, the embodiment of corporate greed, started screwing contributors with the new royalty schedule and levels and yearly resets.
Then he left the sinking ship. I'm still angry when I think of how he introduced that whole fiasco. And look at where we (they) are now. Surpassed by Adobe.

Andrej.S. · « **Reply #28 on:** January 21, 2024, 19:28 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 21, 2024, 09:14

Quote from: stoker2014 on January 21, 2024, 06:41
Where is the representative from shutterstock here on the forum? Maybe we should invite them. Let them tell you why video sales and video income began to decrease.

They closed their forums and made it clear they don‘t want to talk to us.

They used to have great team, not anymore.

In their financial statements they keep promoting how they are turning the company to be a „data licensing company“ and are already making 20 million a quarter with ai licensing versus 80 million for stock sales which have not increased.

Interesting, Shutterstock signed a 6-year training data agreement with OpenAI.
Since OpenAI has also signed a partner ship with newspaper publishers, such as Axel Springer, it is very likely that OpenAI want to play it safe and have alternate data resources in case they lose the lawsuit against New York Times and some artists.

blvdone · « **Reply #29 on:** January 21, 2024, 19:46 »

Quote from: stoker2014 on January 21, 2024, 06:41

Where is the representative from shutterstock here on the forum? Maybe we should invite them. Let them tell you why video sales and video income began to decrease.

How is the video sales on Shutterstock these days compared to pre-video sub 2019?

blvdone · « **Reply #30 on:** January 21, 2024, 19:47 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 21, 2024, 09:14

Quote from: stoker2014 on January 21, 2024, 06:41
Where is the representative from shutterstock here on the forum? Maybe we should invite them. Let them tell you why video sales and video income began to decrease.

They closed their forums and made it clear they don‘t want to talk to us.

They used to have great team, not anymore.

In their financial statements they keep promoting how they are turning the company to be a „data licensing company“ and are already making 20 million a quarter with ai licensing versus 80 million for stock sales which have not increased.

How does the Data Licensing work?

blvdone · « **Reply #31 on:** January 21, 2024, 19:49 »

Quote from: wds on January 21, 2024, 09:40

You almost have to wonder if they seriously cut back on their stock marketing ads and such.

Maybe that's the reason Pond5 sales have gone down too.

blvdone · « **Reply #32 on:** January 21, 2024, 19:51 »

Quote from: Noedelhap on January 21, 2024, 16:56

It all started when then CEO of Shutterstock Stan Pavlovsky, the embodiment of corporate greed, started screwing contributors with the new royalty schedule and levels and yearly resets.
Then he left the sinking ship. I'm still angry when I think of how he introduced that whole fiasco. And look at where we (they) are now. Surpassed by Adobe.

Stan the Man!!!! He got paid well. I'm not sure if everything was his idea though. He obviously was No. 2 to the founder.

Big Money · « **Reply #33 on:** January 21, 2024, 21:04 »

Billionaire Jon Oringer Buys A-Rod’s Former Trophy in Miami Beach for $42M
Published: May 18, 2021 | By: American Luxury Staff

Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer is the new owner of this imposing, complicated modern-style in Miami Beach. The tech guru paid $42 million for the property in October of last year, but the transaction was carried out quietly, according to The Real Deal, who revealed that the seller was Gold Coast Beverage Distributors founder Stephen Levin. The 2011 build was previously owned by Alex Rodriguez.

The home begins with a large pivoting front door that swings wide to reveal a living area; distinguished by wide-plank white oak floors, an unornamented style, and a transition from interior space to interior/exterior, the opening remarks of this house are a neat synopsis of the upper-tier South Florida living style at the present time.

Sliding and pocketing glass opens the home broadly to its outdoor living space, as well as an interior courtyard. In back, the transition and outdoor living areas constitute much of the home’s appeal, with 275 feet of frontage on Biscayne. An outdoor bar is positioned poolside for entertaining, converting the patio complex, covered outdoor space and lawns into a pavilion of sorts.

Amenities include a no-holds-barred contemporary kitchen—suitable for catering—as well as a gym with a steam room, a great room lit by two levels of glass panes, and a home theater.

Oringer founded Shutterstock in 2003. His net worth is north of $1 billion.

Pacesetter · « **Reply #34 on:** January 21, 2024, 21:19 »

Quote from: blvdone on January 21, 2024, 19:46

Quote from: stoker2014 on January 21, 2024, 06:41
Where is the representative from shutterstock here on the forum? Maybe we should invite them. Let them tell you why video sales and video income began to decrease.

How is the video sales on Shutterstock these days compared to pre-video sub 2019?

Terrible. I'm usually quite upbeat about Shutterstock video sales because while there are bottom basement commissions it is usually balanced with much higher commissions. Not this year though with most sales under $10 and many for just a pitiful $1.

Was reading on Facebook how a couple of contributors use to make $2k a month on Shutterstock and one mentioned he could only afford a Big Mac meal with his earnings so far this month.

I'm just hoping the bigger sales return after holiday season is over.

dragonblade · « **Reply #35 on:** January 21, 2024, 21:42 »

Quote from: blvdone on January 17, 2024, 02:45

Shutterstock used to pay us $0.38 minimum for subscription sale like Adobe Stock does.

Yes, once you got to a higher level. Level one for subs was $0.25c.

It took a few years of earning $0.25c subs on SS but finally, I accumulated $500 which brought me up to the next level. Unfortunately, the timing couldn't be worse. All I had was about two months to enjoy the new $0.33c subs and then SS changed their commissions structure. That felt like a kick in the guts. All that time waiting to progress to the next level and finally after you reach it, they pull the rug right from under you.

cobalt · « **Reply #36 on:** January 21, 2024, 23:50 »

Quote from: blvdone on January 21, 2024, 19:47

Quote from: cobalt on January 21, 2024, 09:14
Quote from: stoker2014 on January 21, 2024, 06:41
Where is the representative from shutterstock here on the forum? Maybe we should invite them. Let them tell you why video sales and video income began to decrease.

They closed their forums and made it clear they don‘t want to talk to us.

They used to have great team, not anymore.

In their financial statements they keep promoting how they are turning the company to be a „data licensing company“ and are already making 20 million a quarter with ai licensing versus 80 million for stock sales which have not increased.

How does the Data Licensing work?

Agencies license content for "legal and ethical" ai training. The opposite of what midjourney is doing who just stole everyone images from the internet.

Just google it, there are a tons of ethical licensing partnerships going around. Many companies also building their own ai systems.

Read the Shutterstock financial statements. They basically admit that their usual stock business is not growing and keep repeating how fully focussed they are on data licensing.

And they don't share that income with artists, we get very, very little from these data deal sets.

Has anyone seen a 20% increase in revenue from data licensing?

Actually 20 million in addition to 80 million stock sales is 25% more.

Video ai is still in its infancy but I am sure they are already very busy licensing videos for those projects.

If you read their statements, they are not showing any commitment or ideas to increase their sales in stock.

stoker2014 · « **Reply #37 on:** January 22, 2024, 04:08 »

Quote from: blvdone on January 21, 2024, 19:46

Quote from: stoker2014 on January 21, 2024, 06:41
Where is the representative from shutterstock here on the forum? Maybe we should invite them. Let them tell you why video sales and video income began to decrease.

How is the video sales on Shutterstock these days compared to pre-video sub 2019?

Income decreased by 5 times.

stoker2014 · « **Reply #38 on:** January 22, 2024, 04:13 »

Quote from: Noedelhap on January 21, 2024, 16:56

It all started when then CEO of Shutterstock Stan Pavlovsky, the embodiment of corporate greed, started screwing contributors with the new royalty schedule and levels and yearly resets.
Then he left the sinking ship. I'm still angry when I think of how he introduced that whole fiasco. And look at where we (they) are now. Surpassed by Adobe.

He did something else, because in my opinion the number of buyers has decreased.

bennu99 · « **Reply #39 on:** January 22, 2024, 10:42 »

When loyalty is not their priority (since many years..) no wonder people will look elsewhere to buy/sell. They used to be #1 but something got completely off inside that company: https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.shutterstock.com?sort=recency

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #40 on:** January 26, 2024, 08:45 »

Looking down be the worst month since I started in 2013. Down 95% from the peak.

Wilm · « **Reply #41 on:** January 26, 2024, 09:14 »

Quote from: Mimi the Cat on January 21, 2024, 06:16

Well for the first time since 2011 looks like I'll not reach the minimum $35 payout for January. Even subscription sales have died to zero for days just the occasional "single and other" sale.

In Jan 2018 I made over $318 and in 2019 $212 this Jan maybe $20.

Glad I don't rely on them anymore

That's how it looks for me too. I have my minimum payout at $100, and it's quite possible that I won't reach that.

In January 2015 it was $793, with around 1,000 images. Today it's 1,350.

odesigns · « **Reply #42 on:** January 26, 2024, 09:14 »

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on January 26, 2024, 08:45

Looking down be the worst month since I started in 2013. Down 95% from the peak.

It is quite grim. I'm hoping there are a group of sales that just didn't make it to our dashboards yet, but I'm not holding my breath.

Here's my trend from January 2022 - January 2024. Very disturbing. My January Motion Elements is currently beating SS so far, which is totally unheard of.

wds · « **Reply #43 on:** January 26, 2024, 09:36 »

Very strange. It's almost like a collapse.

cobalt · « **Reply #44 on:** January 26, 2024, 09:55 »

Those are really scary stats to read.

I guess I should not be upset anymore that they kicked me out?

But I would very genuinely prefer for shutterstock to be thriving and strong. And to have a port there again

The downfall of Shutterstock is also the downfall of pond5, we are losing two marketplaces at once.

And again, without changing anything Adobe is increasing strongly.

Which is also reflected in the respective share prices. Adobe has gone up 70% in one year, while ss has dropped 24%. And is 60% down from the high in nov 21.

odesigns · « **Reply #45 on:** January 26, 2024, 10:16 »

Quote from: cobalt on January 26, 2024, 09:55

The downfall of Shutterstock is also the downfall of pond5, we are losing two marketplaces at once.

Yes, you're right. I just ran the numbers for P5 during that same period and the chart is virtually identical.

wds · « **Reply #46 on:** January 26, 2024, 11:01 »

Makes you wonder what is going on. Perhaps advertising spending is being cut back and there is some kind of change coming?

Artist · « **Reply #47 on:** January 26, 2024, 11:16 »

Quote from: bennu99 on January 17, 2024, 07:10

The greediness of their management has no limit. So here are the consequences...and when the numbers talk all the rest does not matter.

I agree, they are too greedy. My earnings have significantly reduced to 1/4 of normal which I used to get. No matter how good quality you upload, nothing will work.
SS just looted us and remember karma always strikes back.

From past couple of years, I have personally asked my clients to choose Adobe Stock over Shutterstock.

Mimi the Cat · « **Reply #48 on:** January 26, 2024, 11:21 »

Quote from: Wilm on January 26, 2024, 09:14

Quote from: Mimi the Cat on January 21, 2024, 06:16
Well for the first time since 2011 looks like I'll not reach the minimum $35 payout for January. Even subscription sales have died to zero for days just the occasional "single and other" sale.

In Jan 2018 I made over $318 and in 2019 $212 this Jan maybe $20.

Glad I don't rely on them anymore

That's how it looks for me too. I have my minimum payout at $100, and it's quite possible that I won't reach that.

In January 2015 it was $793, with around 1,000 images. Today it's 1,350.

I reduced my payout to the $25 minimum you'd probably be best to do that too.

cobalt · « **Reply #49 on:** January 26, 2024, 11:45 »

Quote from: wds on January 26, 2024, 11:01

Makes you wonder what is going on. Perhaps advertising spending is being cut back and there is some kind of change coming?

What kind of exciting news is coming for producers?

Especially for the exclusive content on pond5?

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Author Topic: Shutterstock photo sales revenue only 1/20 of Adobe Stock's. (Read 21029 times)

cascoly

KeremGo

Noedelhap

Andrej.S.

blvdone

blvdone

blvdone

blvdone

Big Money

Pacesetter

dragonblade

cobalt

stoker2014

stoker2014

bennu99

Sean Locke Photography

Wilm

odesigns

wds

cobalt

odesigns

wds

Artist

Mimi the Cat

cobalt

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