Richard Baker

That's the main problem. There are a hundred pages to sift through which means many hours spent isolating the real thorns. And then when you've found them there are very few which eventually lead to the legal agent taking it on - and then pursuing it to a conclusion. Yes, I broke even the first year but my theory is that it was at a time when infringers were more willing to play the game rather than refuse to engage with the agent as seems to be the case nowadays. So many of my cases were dropped because the toe-rags didn't reply to emails. Infuriating.

After 3 years I've just cancelled my ImageRights subs. In the first 12 months I made my annual fee back with UK and US theft but thereafter I increasingly found that of all the reports I gave them, very, very few found their way to any sort of conclusion. What became obvious over the last year was that virtually none were settled - hence my reason to cancel.

Worldwide Commercial electronic, Websites, apps, social media and blogs

They're the inspiring words I've been wanting to read all along. A doff of the cap to yer.

Agreed.

It's always been the privilege of the middle-man as opposed to the contributor. As the latter eyeing the facilitator, I've long given up being bitter about their posh car versus my jalopy.

I've always wondered why there wasn't a hierarchical commission for those with more in the pot. Newbies start with a lower rate - then, the more you upload and show a commitment for, the better the terms. My impression is that those who never build a sizeable collection aren't ever going to be making quality work worthy of better rewards. So I would like to know at what number of pictures reached will Alamy take your call about a different contract.

I'm also with a tier 1 and while the archive isn't an exact mirror of the other (over the years, to do with exclusive deal followed by a non-excl then back to an excl again) but can state that with twice the number of images on Alamy, I typically earn x4 as much via the tier 1 - and that's with a lower commission. Rgds, Richard.

Or DACS.

Can't see the context for the comment - what did you mean, Alan? Cheers, Richard.

Magazine, editorial print and digital use

Added to the comments above, you'll also find it tough to compete with all the bulk price structures and annual deals that are being done between buyers and the agencies. Just look at your own Alamy sales descriptions and gauge how many full-price licences there are (whatever they are, these days). Like Geogphotos, I use Photoshelter to curate everything I have online - and no matter how much I discount within the pricing profiles, I get fewer and fewer sales year-on-year. Buyers go for discounts.

A more lucrative interpretation of the P-word, perhaps:

My tuppence-worth: Eat breakfast before scrolling through this forum.

This has been a well-threaded .. er, thread, Kevin. As a major project, I've not touched mine. I have however tweaked a few that really needed it. But you're right, when one's collection runs into tens of thousands, it's just too much work and I value my evenings alongside my family, not hunched over Alamy tags. And now, many will disagree ..