New earnings structure for Contributors

[mpessaris]

obviously this isn't going anywhere. It's like suing one of those huge companies..they have they money to make the trial last last years while you lose everything..

deleting accounts or not uploading as I did hasn't had any effect and now we are earning peanuts. it breaks my heart saying this but I am considering admitting defeat and uploading again...I'm doing the work anyway for the other agencies so..

I hate this...I'm always wondering how these guys sleep at night, but they probably sleep better than me..in their high quality sheets and pillows...

and it's like Mick Harper said...I'm earning in dollars and paying in euros...loosing more money

it's even worse when you know there is a way to make both client and contributor happy...

pfffffffffffffffff

[HodagMedia]

294 - Jan 14, 2021

7 hours ago, mpessaris said:

obviously this isn't going anywhere.

deleting accounts or not uploading as I did hasn't had any effect and now we are earning peanuts. it breaks my heart saying this but I am considering admitting defeat and uploading again...I'm doing the work anyway for the other agencies so..

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." 👍

I see others like you who are recovering from the shock of the change. The alternative is find something else, not Microstock. The anger, protests and hostility will accomplish nothing. We've seen that futility before when other agencies modified terms, levels or payments.

[mpessaris]

so you're doing micro stock ..why? is that to get some extra cash at the end of the month? if that's the reason, what cash are you getting? that's my point. no matter why you're doing it, SS just killed everyone's "revenue"...I know you get it

if you stop doing micro stock, what else can you do that is similar in terms of activity/pay?

[Saurav022]

2 hours ago, mpessaris said:

if you stop doing micro stock, what else can you do that is similar in terms of activity/pay?

Even begging is better than microstock, beggars get more than 10 cents plus they do not have to spend money on camera, travel, hiring models, renting studio, expensive software etc.

[mpessaris]

30 minutes ago, Saurav022 said:

Even begging is better than microstock, beggars get more than 10 cents plus they do not have to spend money on camera, travel, hiring models, renting studio, expensive software etc.

I am not there yet..but yes..with ss we are beggars in our own homes..ridiculous

[HodagMedia]

6 hours ago, mpessaris said:

so you're doing micro stock ..why? is that to get some extra cash at the end of the month? if that's the reason, what cash are you getting? that's my point. no matter why you're doing it, SS just killed everyone's "revenue"...I know you get it

if you stop doing micro stock, what else can you do that is similar in terms of activity/pay?

If you figure out the something else, please share?

I used to supply websites and magazines, before Microstock. Websites have stopped paying for the most part and the magazine are out of business.

Yes I'm doing this for extra cash, but more about at the end of the year than anything about months. I take these photos, most of them, anyway. I have the equipment and I enjoy what I shoot. That makes it easier for me, than someone who needs or depends on the income.

Not everyone does Microstock for the money alone. That's my view. And from watching, it seems that if people loved photography to start with, working for the small payments and the disappointments can ruin the joy and happiness of experiencing making ones own photos as a personal experience.

I hope that explains that all of us aren't in this for the same reasons or only for the money.

 

[Crystal Eye Studio]

14 hours ago, HodagMedia said:

If you figure out the something else, please share?

I used to supply websites and magazines, before Microstock. Websites have stopped paying for the most part and the magazine are out of business.

Yes I'm doing this for extra cash, but more about at the end of the year than anything about months. I take these photos, most of them, anyway. I have the equipment and I enjoy what I shoot. That makes it easier for me, than someone who needs or depends on the income.

Not everyone does Microstock for the money alone. That's my view. And from watching, it seems that if people loved photography to start with, working for the small payments and the disappointments can ruin the joy and happiness of experiencing making ones own photos as a personal experience.

I hope that explains that all of us aren't in this for the same reasons or only for the money.

 

For many contributors Microstock was their daily income (feeding their families, paying the bills) and for some others it was extra cash..... then came the pandemic. Covid drastically changed the creative landscape, many creative agencies lost their clients as their clients don't need materials for their businesses. Lockdowns were imposed so who needs a brochure for promotional activities. Imagine the travel industry stopped so brochures that need travel images are also not created. So many designers and photographers who were already submitting their works to Microstock eventually lost their agency jobs. So they thought microstock was a savior, work-at-home full time work while Covid spreads its tentacles until May of last year 2020 (The rates changed)...suddenly, the savior was looking for something that could feed them and farming  was a viable option, even farming in the backyard just to survive the sudden unemployment and sudden small revenue from microstock could help. Farming maybe the savior these days... Hoping everything will become normal again and well, hopefully, the commission rates will also go back to what it was so it could be fair to the time, creativity, expenses in equipment and effort made by the contributors.

[The Solkotovic]

This is very interesting. I always thought it is set in stone with the percentage rate. I am glad you announced it, for now that means I need to add another thing to my to-do list to be able to earn some cash.

[Nick Doronin]

There are others who pay more for the same images.

[Thijs de Graaf]

Did I miss something?   😵 😵

I looked again at Kate's announcement and saw that there are only likes!!! Dislike is no longer possible on the forum. I hadn't even noticed. I don't watch it that often either. Only at the announcement is it a very striking difference. I added a 'sad'. 😒

An ignorant visitor now thinks when he sees the announcement, that we are very enthusiastic.

[Wilm Ihlenfeld]

4 hours ago, Thijs de Graaf said:

Did I miss something?   😵 😵

I looked again at Kate's announcement and saw that there are only likes!!! Dislike is no longer possible on the forum. I hadn't even noticed. I don't watch it that often either. Only at the announcement is it a very striking difference. I added a 'sad'. 😒

An ignorant visitor now thinks when he sees the announcement, that we are very enthusiastic.

Oh, Thijs, you're right! It seems that there have been changes.

[paula french]

Not sure about anyone else, but I seem to be having a lot more SOD's - don't get me the wrong the payout is paltry mainly 0.66 as haven't hit level 2 yet - but they are 4 x greater than subs - not a complaint, but strange??

Right as this moment if it carries on I 'might' just make payout!!  

[stevemart]

19 hours ago, Thijs de Graaf said:

Did I miss something?   😵 😵

I looked again at Kate's announcement and saw that there are only likes!!! Dislike is no longer possible on the forum. I hadn't even noticed. I don't watch it that often either. Only at the announcement is it a very striking difference. I added a 'sad'. 😒

An ignorant visitor now thinks when he sees the announcement, that we are very enthusiastic.

Less ignorant visitors will look down Page #1 to see that the contributors saying that they think that the new rates are S*** have more than 1,000 likes (therefore 'dislikes') to Kate's 13 miserable brownie points. 🙂

BTW when feebay made it almost impossible for a vendor to give a buyer negative feedback, I stopped selling stuff there.

[Thijs de Graaf]

15 minutes ago, stevemart said:

Less ignorant visitors will look down Page #1 to see that the contributors saying that they think that the new rates are S*** have more than 1,000 likes (therefore 'dislikes') to Kate's 13 miserable brownie points. 🙂

Of course. But first it was immediately visible through all those red dislikes. Which would make one think, "What's going on here?"
I suspect this was the reason for getting rid of the dislikes. Apparently our admins didn't like that.

 If everyone adds 'sad', they will also be abolished. 😁 

[Alex Vitanov]

As a former trade unionist and I've seen many companies do the same thing SS did. Writing complains to company's chief staff does nothing in most cases and signals get ignored. That's exactly what we witness right now and it's of no surprise to me. But in 'real life' you can also send a complain to a higher authority that the company violates minimum wage laws. All European countries have minimum wage laws and it's a very common procedure. I'm not familiar how things are in other countries though. Is such thing possible in SS case?

[Thijs de Graaf]

34 minutes ago, Alex Vitanov said:

As a former trade unionist and I've seen many companies do the same thing SS did. Writing complains to company's chief staff does nothing in most cases and signals get ignored. That's exactly what we witness right now and it's of no surprise to me. But in 'real life' you can also send a complain to a higher authority that the company violates minimum wage laws. All European countries have minimum wage laws and it's a very common procedure. I'm not familiar how things are in other countries though. Is such thing possible in SS case?

Doesn't seem to me.
The rights of employees are described in the Netherlands. That was very different during the industrial revolution
However, we are not salaried employees and Shutterstock is an international company. We have no rights. We can only switch to another Stocksite.  

 

[Alex Vitanov]

7 minutes ago, Thijs de Graaf said:

Doesn't seem to me...
... We have no rights. We can only switch to another Stocksite.  

 

Yes, looks like it. Move on to another site where it will be even harder to survive. Enjoy capitalism.

[HodagMedia]

1 hour ago, Alex Vitanov said:

As a former trade unionist and I've seen many companies do the same thing SS did. Writing complains to company's chief staff does nothing in most cases and signals get ignored. That's exactly what we witness right now and it's of no surprise to me. But in 'real life' you can also send a complain to a higher authority that the company violates minimum wage laws. All European countries have minimum wage laws and it's a very common procedure. I'm not familiar how things are in other countries though. Is such thing possible in SS case?

These aren't wages and we aren't employees.

Roughly speaking, independent contractors. I work that way myself during the year, we get a day rate. Someone filed a claim with the state, basically what you are saying, claiming we get below minimum wage, and the answer is, as a hired independent, there is no minimum wage.

If they pay me $100 a day, and I work 12 hours or 7 hours, I get paid the same.

Back to here, we are paid a percentage or a set commission, on what the person paid to license the image. That's not a wage.

[DOCTOR BLACK]

In honor of the New Year and Christmas, I would like to wish all directors of company SS, something warm: for example, hellfire. After all, it was through their efforts that my earnings fell several times over the past half year.

[HodagMedia]

6 hours ago, Andreas Prott said:

Btw do new percentages apply immediately after passing the threshold or next day or whatever? Will we get a “congratulatory” email?

Midnight in New York at the Empire State Building. And last time I checked they back date to the time of the download that clicked you over. It just takes until the end of day to make the changes. You don't lose anything.

 

[Wilm Ihlenfeld]

7 hours ago, Andreas Prott said:

Btw do new percentages apply immediately after passing the threshold or next day or whatever? Will we get a “congratulatory” email?

If you have already left the first 100 dls behind you, you must have gotten the “congratulatory” e-mail.

[Wilm Ihlenfeld]

39 minutes ago, Andreas Prott said:

Well I didn't get the email, but I also didn't get the email concerning the "New Earnings Structure" EO May last year. And in my Spam folder there are only bitcoin and blue pills messages.

Well, then at least that's consistent, Andreas. Then there must be a problem with the e-mail communication between shutterstock and you.

[Jes Abeita]

I turned off licensing once this happened and only turned it back on Jan 1st. Will likely move out of microstock into hosting my own and/or selling digital downloads via Etsy.

[DOCTOR BLACK]

The next step of the SS will be 100% commission from the author and the collection of fees from the authors for posting our works on their site.))))

[vesperstock]

1 hour ago, Andreas Prott said:

You are right. I just sent an email to support but don't expect any meaningful answer.

You will most likely hear from another contributor who will offer their opinion but nothing from a SS employee because that's how SS has set up "support" now