The latest round of changes at iStock represent a loss for most contributors there. Both for Exclusive and Non-Exclusive contributors….
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Tags: advice, agencies, change, changes, earnings, easy, exclusive, info, istock, istockphoto, keywording tips, list, many, multiple, non-exclusive, policy, shafted, tips, workflow
September 9, 2010 at 12:42 am
Hi Bob, how are you?.. What do you think exclusives will do if this new IS royalty changes continues.. ?? Joining all other agencies?? It is just crazy what IS is doing.. There isn’t a contributor happy I guess
September 9, 2010 at 12:59 am
I’m sure the biggest sellers at iStock will still be pretty happy, clearly iStock are trying to please their top contribs and no longer trying to maintain a huge base of contributors. It’s a good move for their business model, and a lot of photographers and illustrators moving out to the other agencies will help the market overrall, though it will certainly mean tougher competition for those of us who have previously submitted mainly to the non-iStock agencies.
September 9, 2010 at 5:58 am
You are wrong with the statement that the top tier is not hurt by this change. I would say that significant portion of diamond and even black diamond contributors reacted and all with *no exception* stated that it is impossible for them to keep their current %. It is possible that Yuri is.
The only people saying that they can keep their current % are those with lower levels – I saw only couple silver ones to say they can keep up.
September 9, 2010 at 6:12 am
That very top tier is the one I’m referring too
There are only a handful of people producing enough to hit that top bracket, and I think they’ll do well on the new system. Everyone else will clearly suffer.
September 9, 2010 at 11:57 am
For non-exlusives we need to have 93k XL sales per year.. or better GIVE 1.4millions euros to IS
http://blog.photocase.com/en/2010/09/08/1-4-million-euros/
September 9, 2010 at 7:26 am
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September 17, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I’ll stay just so see how those changes will affect my sales at IS and then I’ll decide.
September 28, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Thanks for the great info. I’m a vector contributor for iStock and they are really sticking it to us. With the new deal we won’t even be getting as much per credit as photographers. The community seems frustrated and angry for the most part and we’re not getting much in the way of answers. I am kicking myself now for going exclusive with this company. Seems I put all my eggs in one basket and now the bottom is falling out. I’m looking into dropping my exclusive status and listing my 525 illustrations with other agencies but I’m dreading the amount of time that it will take!!