Pure Reviews

YAY announces new partnership with Pond5, Zoomy & Photokore.  Read about it below. Hi, I hope you are doing well! We at YAY would like to give you a short update on the latest news. First, we're happy to announce three new partners in our partner program: Pond5, Zoomy and Photokore. You will find more information and opt-out at the API information page . We know some of you would like to get more information about your sales at YAY, as well as your partner sales. We've been running a bit behind on this, but plan to update the pages soon. Therefore we would like to know what information you find most important, and what features you are missing on our sales- and api-page. Other suggestions are welcomed as well. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to understand why an image has been rejected. To improve our review service the reviewers can now e-mail the photographer and explain the reason for rejections. If you have questions about rejections you can also e-mail us at  ...

iStock continues to upset their core contributors by devaluing their work and opening their images up for possible free use on Google drive.  This whole ordeal spurred a massive movement of removing images to their site.  This action has spurred a response from the corporation owned by Getty images.  See the report below that basically says they are just working on it, but don't plan on providing changes right away.  Will you close your portfolio on iStock ? Google Drive You may have already read our last update in the forums but once again, we'd like to thank you for your continued patience. To reiterate from previous posts, royalties have been paid in connection with the Google Drive usage based on all consideration received by Getty Images under the licensing agreement. We understand your concerns relating to the deal and we are making progress in a productive dialogue with Google about these concerns and potential solutions. As many...

So Bigstock has announced that they are going to start doing subscription sales this year.  Joining what seems to be a new industry standard they are setting their royalty base at only $0.25.  Sadly this seems to be more and more common ( Fotolia , iStock , 123RF , etc).  The odd part of this announcement is that Bigstock was bought by Shutterstock so they could have pay as you go style site.  So this begs the question of why start moving your site to the SS formula with lower royalties.  How do you feel about the changes, comment below. As you know, we already offer Bigstock customers the flexibility of pre-paying with credits. Next week, we’ll be offering our customers an increasingly popular way to buy images:  subscriptions. How will this affect me? Subscriptions can generate higher download volumes, which can increase your total earnings from Bigstock. Here’s how you will earn royalties from Bigstock subscriptions: Eve...

Below is the layout of iStock's 2013 Royalty rates.  Overall there are very few changes from last year.  All the percentages are the same, but some of the redeemed credit categories have dropped.  For example for non exclusive last year the credits where 2,000 and are now 1,500.  Where do you fall on the chart below? 2012 Redeemed Credit Targets Below are the 2012 Redeemed Credit targets for iStockphoto contributors. We know that this news is behind schedule and we apologize for the long wait. Other projects and factors, both at iStockphoto and within the wider Getty Images business, have delayed our ability to definitively publish these numbers. We are happy to announce that there is no increase in any of the RC targets over the previous year — all redeemed credit targets for all file types will stay the same for 2012. These targets will determine your starting/minimum royalty rate for 2013. If you reach a new target during the remainder of ...

Below is the chart featuring the commission numbers for the month of May.  The three top stock sites this month where Dreamstime , Shutterstock , 123RF .  The chart only features sites I had a sale with and for a full list of stock sites my work is at see the right column of the screen.

Dreamstime launched their new level schedule for image pricing.  The new prices went live at the end of April.  Below is a image of the new chart classification comparing the 2011 levels with the 2012 levels.  Sign up here . In short terms, what will happen starting tomorrow is that new files will be automatically allocated to level 1, instead of level 0. All existent files that have downloads will shift with one level up. New files (or existent files) that didn't sell for more than 24 months will be level 0. In order to keep the royalties the same, we had to decrease them one per level. Because files went up one level they will actually bring you the same royalties, with the only drawback being that level 5 files have seen a cut. I hope this to be minimal though, thanks to the decrease in the number of downloads required (25 from 50d.). We have decided to keep the same royalties structure for subscriptions, as well as for exclusive contributors . This...

April was very close to March as far as sales and earnings go.  The top three sites this month are: 123RF , Shutterstock , Dreamstime .  Above is the full chart breakdown of all the sites I had earnings this month at.  For a full list of sites I have content with see the right side of the blog.

Dreamstime adds another element to your profile known as "Photographer Genre".  You can select up to five genre's that classify you as a personal photographer and your portfolio.  This will allow clients to search a type of photographer instead/or in addition to the standard Keyword or category search.  So head over to your profile and give it an update.  New to Dreamstime , join here as its one of the top stock agencies.

123RF launched their new royalty rates that will go into effect on Jan. 1st, 2013.  Originally they stated that a new rate would be fore new contributors, but it looks like that might have been abandoned for this new system at the end of this year.  They are leaving plenty of time between now and the end of the year to hear the feedback.  Below is their breakdown of how your rates will be give.  Join 123RF here .  It will be hard to swallow $0.216 for the lowest sub sales in the industry.  123RF.com will be changing its Contributor Commission Payout on January 1, 2013. From now till then, 123RF.com shall continue paying our Contributors at a rate of: 50% net value for credits $0.36 per download for subscriptions From January 1, 2013 onwards – 123RF shall adopt the new Contributor Commission Payout schedule depicted in the table below :      123RF shall round the monthly cumulative earnings to the nearest $0.01. ...

Above is a chart feature the sales data for January, also so far total sales are up compared to January of last year.  The leader of the pack this month was Alamy which was due to a larger extended license sale.  Other top sites for the month included Dreamstime , Depositphoto , and 123RF .

Commission changes are on the horizon at 123RF for new users.  The memo below has been posted about what is required to stay on the old commission rate for photographers.  No word on what the changes will be or how they will affect us, but guessing by point 3 they will be moving more to match the other big companies with lower payout rates.  At lest they seem to be honest and trying to hang in there for the long run.  123RF is based here in my home town, so we will keep a close eye on them and let you know more down the road. We will be changing our Contributors’ commission structure effective February 1, 2012. Here’s what you need to know: All existing contributors shall continue to enjoy the current 50% nett commission share ONLY IF they fulfill ALL of the following criteria.: Have registered with 123RF.com before February 1, 2012 . Have at least 150 accepted images in their respective portfolios by January 9, 2012 . Have had a ...

Envato has given a non-exclusive rate increase across all their sites and it is now officially live.  Typical marketplace authors where making 25% and will now they will be making 33%.  While several of the larger stock companies (Fotolia and iStock) have been giving us pay cuts, I am glad Envato is giving us a raise for our images.  If you are new to the Envato family check out their site here .  You can sell or buy several types of things from them, not just stock images. Non-Exclusive Rates Increase: Now Live! There's some exciting news for our non-exclusive Marketplace authors. We've increased the commission rate for all non-exclusive Marketplace authors from the old 25% to 33%. This means our non-exclusive authors will earn about a third more on each sale they make. Non-exclusive authors have no need to do anything and will automatically receive the higher commission rate for all sales made.

Veer makes good with their contributors after a large outcry on the very low subscription rates they announced in September.  They have gone back to the drawing board and raised the rates to a more industry standard with some extra bonuses compared to the other guys in town.  Below is there full write up on how the royalties brake down for contributors.  Veer Subscription Royalties Update Last week Veer announced its plan to launch a subscription service. Though we expected the response to be positive, we offered contributors the opportunity to opt out of the program if they so desired. The response from contributors has been loud and clear. Obviously we missed the mark. We’ve asked for your feedback and have been listening carefully over the last few days as we went back to the drawing board to revise our royalty model. Two key issues were raised by contributors: 1. Basi...

Dreamstime launches a student promo.  If you are a student and need some great stock photo's all you need is your student ID to get a discount of 25% off any plans.  Also they are giving away 5 ipads also, which 2 are will to go to student who buy images during this campaign.  5 more ipads will be open to student or regular members who refer any members.  New to Dreamstime, join here . Are you a STUDENT? 25% OFF for all images! Need A+ images for school? We know all about your sleepless study nights, scrambling to prepare presentations, pre-exam headaches and tight budgets. Your projects deserve the best visual support. We can't write the term paper for you, however we can certainly take the image prices down making it easier for you to produce quality work! We've got all images you need at 25% OFF, and you can win one of five iPad 2s! Any registered student will get 25% off all images and image packages for the month of September. Registr...

Fotolia rolled out their new website layout.  Shortly after announcing their price drop in royalties coming with the new site.  The site does have a cleaner and more user friendly look, which several buyers and contributors should both like.  Some of the new features include refined searching, which now lets you search by price point.  Also they have changed their subscription plans for buyers.  So log in and check it out . ...

Depositphoto's is rolling out more marketing features to bag some large profile contributors.  Very similar to when they launched their site they are offering features to help bring over your images to their platform.  One of these feature is getting a $0.10 per image, up to 500 images.  Also something I am not as thrilled about is higher positions in search results for large clients.  This is something I am sure several companies do, its just not something advertised.  If you are interested in joining Depositphotos click here.  Personal ranking of the site for me is between 3rd and 5th when it comes to earnings. Depositphotos offers individualized collaborative terms for those photographers who have a large portfolio and would like to upload it to our site. If you are a skilled and talented photographer or illustrator working with different stock photo agencies, and you have a large portfolio ready to upload to our site but no time to spare, we are ...

Stock photography sites continue to race to the bottom when it comes to royalty rates.  Fotolia has announced they are working hard to lower your earnings by dropping the royalty rates.  They are now aligning themselves with iStock , which had a large number of complaints when they lowered their royalties and became one of the more hates sites.  However iStock did not see the large fallout that was talked about and it appears that Fotolia has noticed that.  The biggest hit was to vectors, who royalties dropped almost 80%.  This also marks the second time in one year for contributors to drop in royalties at Fotolia , as they changed their ranking settings in the spring, which dropped several users down on earnings. We've been hard at work for the last few months adding features to make the site more convenient for both contributors and artists. With this latest release, we're also revising our subscription plans to align with what's happening in the marketplac...

123RF has launched a few new features on their site over the past month.  First off they now allow you to log in through your existing facebook or google accounts.  Second up they now offer a auto suggest feature, which shaves seconds off your searching and helps with spelling.  After all, we know a lot of us can use help in that department.  Other things they have improved is better algorithms for image searches, a subject cluster which allows better organize the images you are searching for.  Finally they announced changes to their rewards and loyalty program will be forth coming on August 18th of this year.  New to 123RF, Join Here

iStock is revamping their referral program in the very near future.  Currently they have given us a little taste of what is to come by bumped the reward from $10 to $20 for new buyers if they make a 26 credit purchase in 30 days.  To help convince the buyer to join they are also giving them 15 free credits to use.  There newsletter shows a third box about winning a trip, which goes to the two top users that refer the most new customers by August 31st..  Stay tune for the latest update.  Join iStock here In a couple of months, we're going to be launching a completely redesigned and rebuilt referral program. We've already made several improvements to streamline things, but most importantly we're doubling the referral bonus effective immediately. That means you can earn $20 (USD) for each and every new customer you refer to us, and as long as they make a purchase of 26 credits or more within 30 days of signing up, you're in the money. We'll even help you mo...

iStock did some minor tweaking to their site and added some new features.  First up you can now search by price range.  The fewer the dots the cheaper the images and this will make it easier for buyer to get exactly what they need for the price point they have in their mind.  Second you can now filter out editorial images or creative images...allowing you more tailored licensed content.  Final features, you can refine your searches by color, copyspace and image orientation.  So go checkout the new features and happy searching.  Join iStock here .