pps, what is the direct CEO e-mail?

I wrote to support as well - and not only did they not really read the message - it appears I received the *exact* same carbon copy message

We think TJ's email is [email protected].

Did anyone make petition when:
- istock/getty started dumping prices on images and videos?
- when shutterstock invented $1.5 prices for stock clips?
- when Pond5 started offering membership?
- when Revostock closed down site and steal our money?
- when Dissolve threaten contributors with lower prices?
- etc...

why so much interest in dumping agency such as VB? Which lowered our value of footage from the beginning. You shouldn't even UPLOAD to such agencies.

You're highlighting the problem: stock agencies make moves that affect us negatively and we have no strong response. It doesn't have to be a petition, it can be a mass portfolio deletion, etc. - the point is that as the suppliers in the industry we have a right and duty to have some power in the relationship. Up to now we have been too disorganized to harness that power, so our response is scattered and weak. It's still too weak right now even with a petition, but this is a start in the right direction.

I dont contribute to VB so I must be missing something here. 100% commission? How do they make money?

Unless they charge a membership fee, get advertising revenue, or make money somewhere else, this had to have been a temporary deal to grow their collection.

They do charge buyers a membership fee... 

I sent them an email (directed to their CEO) and at least their support desk responded - with the following email:

Quote

We completely understand where you are coming from and I want to help clarify.

The reality is this: we have been proud to offer 100% commission since the launch of the Marketplace, and we made major investments in its success, but we need a more sustainable way to manage the operating costs going forward. After weighing every option available, we have determined the only way to maintain long-term health and success of the Marketplace is an even share in commission.

We get that this isn�t ideal, and it�s not what we�d hoped for either. That�s why we want to show our continued commitment to our contributor community by making impactful changes. Our plan is to increase the promotion of Marketplace content to those customers who are purchasers. This will lead to more sales for you.

We will also continue to educate all new and existing customers about the benefits of the Marketplace as part of their subscription. We definitely want to support you moving forward. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!
If there is anything I can do to assist, please let me know.

Heres what they said about my email:

Thanks for reaching out! We completely understand where you are coming from.

Although we really hoped we could continue to offer 100%, we�re looking to partner in a model for long-term success. We�re constantly researching ways to grow contributor earnings. So although we don�t have an immediate plan to change prices, we don�t want to rule out pricing tests. We do acknowledge pricing as a concern from contributors.

We need to move forward by building a Marketplace that is sustainable, growing, and aligned with both our contributor�s needs and the realities of running a business. Our goal is to meet and exceed your historical earnings as quickly as possible through several new initiatives aimed at driving sales and improving our contributor experience. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thanks!

If there is anything I can do to assist, please let me know.

I suggest we stick to the no new uploads till we get a clarification or policy change rule. To all the eager beavers, you can always do a mass upload later if things work out well.

Lets reach out to more of the company management. Lets try tweeting to them, or instagram, facebook whatever it takes. Drop a polite message, add a link to the petition. Lets ask for a decent response atleast.

The more they hear from us, the better it is for us.

How so?

the problem is those who shoot video thought they were on a safer side compared to photos shooters. it's not like this. video market is already after a very short time over saturated, and demand is still more limited than photos. soon video will be paid like photos. all the industry is on a race to the bottom, better said they are digging under the bottom. there is nothing we can do apart hoping to earn something from best content. the future will be even worst...new generation rugged from instagram will see micro and photography as the only means to live a workless life. so they will join the industry. that means much more content and much less demand. only quality and uniqueness win at this point.

How bad must it get before you give up?

I'm pretty surprised by all the outrage, you must be pretty naive to think 100% royalties was a sustainable, long term prognosis. If it's too good to be true, it almost always is.

I originally uploaded my crappiest 1500 B-roll clips to VB knowing that it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do given the low prices but at least try and get a bit of short term extra income from my lower quality clips. That plan worked pretty well before sales dried up completely.

Now with this royalty cut I'm asking myself, do I want an agency which sells footage for $49 a clip and offers 50% to become the market leader (and subsequently drag  other agencies down to that level?) The answer is of course no, so I've pulled my entire portfolio and emailed them notifying them. If they raise prices or even enable artist pricing control (oh lord I wish there were more agencies who would do this) then I'll happily start uploading again.

For the record I make a solid living doing this and the bulk of my portfolio never sees the light of day on SS, VB etc

Well spoken, Noedelhap.

Plainly most people get it. If everyone who reads this thread sends an email or signs the petition and gets friends/peers to sign, then that is a significant number of people pledging to stop uploading or even delete their portfolio. Whether or not Videoblocks actually changes their policy, the point is they'll be made aware that cutting commissions means they will lose contributors, content and their good name. NOT responding to a massive, insulting commission cut sends the message to ALL stock companies that they can cut commissions as much as they want and we won't say a word (which is the more accurate definition of a sissy). By action or inaction, we inevitably MUST send one of those two messages. Seems a simple choice.

The petition link again: https://www.change.org/p/tj-leonard-videoblocks-don-t-cut-people-s-pay-in-half

We are only 91 contributors who signed the petition.
I think that all of us should give the signal that we don't agree with the decision SB communicated us.
Signing the petition is costless, if we are many contributors signing, SB will take the disturb to read about our disappointment.

Quote from: lucagavagna on July 25, 2018, 04:45

Signing the petition is costless, if we are many contributors signing, SB will take the disturb to read about our disappointment.

True, but it's unlikely to make any difference to anything. I think it's highly unlikely they're sat at StoryBlocks HQ going "Strange, people don't like this change... we predicted that everybody would love it!". They will have expected this to be an unpopular decision. In fact, they're more likely to be sat there saying "Only 91 people have signed a petition regarding this?! That's fantastic, we thought the change would be a lot less popular! We should have gone for 60% to us instead!"

They're even more likely to say, "Look at the sheep contributors we have like SpaceStockFootage who never speak up against us and troll anyone who does. Let's take 75%." In the same paragraph you speak against the petition yet point out that not enough people are speaking up. People have signed the petition, people have deleted their portfolios, people have sent emails to TJ and the support staff telling them why their pay cut is a terrible idea. Is it a tidal wave of action? No, but it is something and it does show them they're losing contributors. What do you do to try to make the situation better? Nothing, you actively make it worse. Never seen anyone try so hard to convince himself and everyone else that no one has any power so we should all shut up. That's pathetic.

I suggest that we create a good amount of ruckus on this. Friends, family, models etc should be a part of this. My earning less affects them too. Plus it messes up the entire MS pricing, even if you are not on SB you still get hurt if you don't put up a fight now. Lets do our share and drop in mails, send chat messages on insta, drop tweets faster than they can delete them. Lets put up a fight

Just signed it.