Midway

[Phil Crean]

On 40% volume and 40% gross. 🤔

 

Still room for + changes

 

Phil

[Abiyoyo]

Currently 68% of 2019 sales and 82% revenue. Not bad so far.

[Jill Morgan]

Sales and revenue at 48% of gross of last year, so hanging in there to finish around the same.  May actually add some images this summer if I get out and about since I'm not doing any trade shows.

 

Jill

[shearwater]

Considering 6 months in this year against 2019:

87,5% of sales

50% of gross

52% of net

So, more sales, but less money per sale (-41% aprox).

Good luck to everyone in this second half of the year 👍

Edited June 24, 2020 by shearwater

[Marianne]

12 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Hmmm... Could this have something to do with goings-on at a certain big MS agency, I wonder. 🤔

 

7 hours ago, Stokie said:

 

Have I read this wrong, but doesn't it mean 14% more people buying images rather than 14% more contributors?

 

John.

 

A lot of former ss contributors have said they are encouraging their clients to license images elsewhere. Many people don't care how a company treats their workers/suppliers, but many do, so the uptick in new clients Alamy is seeing could indeed be a result of the goings-on at that big MS agency. I agree with John's assessment. Since my zooms have finally risen this month, I hope that means a few of those new clients are looking and that they choose my work. This current drought has lasted too long. 

[John Mitchell]

59 minutes ago, Marianne said:

 

 

A lot of former ss contributors have said they are encouraging their clients to license images elsewhere. Many people don't care how a company treats their workers/suppliers, but many do, so the uptick in new clients Alamy is seeing could indeed be a result of the goings-on at that big MS agency. I agree with John's assessment. Since my zooms have finally risen this month, I hope that means a few of those new clients are looking and that they choose my work. This current drought has lasted too long. 

 

That is what I was thinking. There are probably customers who sympathize with SS contributors. Also, some buyers may not like the instability caused by all the friction. Then there is the matter of many contributors deactivating their accounts and reducing the number of images available. All this must be good for Alamy and hopefully us as well.

Edited June 24, 2020 by John Mitchell

[Steve F]

Deleted

Edited June 24, 2020 by Steve F

[John Mitchell]

Just now, Steve F said:

Alamy said they're increasing their customer base in June:

 

 

That's what I was referring to.

[Steve F]

2 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

That's what I was referring to.

My bad, didn't read the rest of the thread!

[Marianne]

46 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

That is what I was thinking. There are probably customers who sympathize with SS contributors. Also, some buyers may not like the instability caused by all the friction. Then there is the matter of many contributors deactivating their accounts and reducing the number of images available. All this must be good for Alamy and hopefully us as well.

 

Ironically by reading and responding to this discussion I realized that since my images at ss are no longer available there, it means that many of my photos are now only available here. I had added many from Alamy to ss at the end of 2019, since I was seeing shrinking sales here along with much lower prices, but a resurgence of growth there. Turns out it was bad timing on my part, though the move was a good earning one for me, so maybe not. Anyway, now that things have changed, I think I may make many exclusive to Alamy and see how that works out. 

 

The response to falling sales can be giving up, or it can be finding new ways to increase sales. I continued to upload heavily in 2019 and early 2020. Finding a way to earn more from the sales I make here seems like a good additional strategy. I'm encouraged that Alamy's client base is suddenly growing. 

 

Europe is ahead of the US in terms of beginning to recover from the Covid crisis, so it makes sense that clients may be growing at a photo agency across the pond, especially as one of their competitors here in NY is experiencing "friction," as you say. I'd think that ss's move might also be seen as an admission that things aren't going so well, and that might discourage clients from committing to long-term contracts, though for larger companies it's not a big outlay. But for smaller companies in the current uncertain economic environment, it may well be significant. Designers and other small business customers are also more likely to identify with the plight of those shafted by the latest move. 

 

Glad I didn't tell the person considering going totally exclusive that he was "crazy," though I stand by my advice that I would not put all my eggs in one basket. I have images that are doing well on other sites, earning as much or more than I think they would here so I'm not making changes to those, but I have others that have been licensed here before or which are as likely to be licensed here as elsewhere that I may as well mark exclusive. I can always revisit my decision in six month when I assess how things have gone for 2020. And since Covid may still be an issue in December, I may just give it more time than that. 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2020 by Marianne

[John Mitchell]

38 minutes ago, Steve F said:

My bad, didn't read the rest of the thread!

 

Of course, more clients means more contributors, which in turn means more competition. But that's life in the big city.

[IanDavidson]

18 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Hmmm... Could this have something to do with goings-on at a certain big MS agency, I wonder. 🤔

I find it very hard to believe a 14% weekly increase in customers.  That would equate to an enormous number of buyers.  One wonders how they measure this and. Strongly suspect an arithmetic error.  I could just about believe 1.4%.  In addition, What percentage have they “lost”  - the “churn” rate.  
 

Don’t get me wrong I strongly like Alamy and am grateful to them for the sales but I just find the concept of 14% without a similar churn to be difficult. 

[spacecadet]

19 hours ago, Marianne said:

feast or famine

welcome to my income stream for the past 30 years.

Edited June 24, 2020 by spacecadet

[Marianne]

1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Of course, more clients means more contributors, which in turn means more competition. But that's life in the big city.

 

I remember when places like Alamy and others had 8 million images and I was amazed that people found and licensed my images. Now there are over 205 million and I have more sales than when I started, but the competition grows all the time. My biggest concern right now is that my views are down by about 35%, but with the pandemic and my portfolio being mostly travel, it's not surprising. Who knows what the future will bring. 

[Marianne]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

welcome to my income stream for the past 30 years.

 

I'm a freelancer in my "day job" so believe me I can relate. 

[John Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Marianne said:

 

I remember when places like Alamy and others had 8 million images and I was amazed that people found and licensed my images. Now there are over 205 million and I have more sales than when I started, but the competition grows all the time. My biggest concern right now is that my views are down by about 35%, but with the pandemic and my portfolio being mostly travel, it's not surprising. Who knows what the future will bring. 

 

My zooms are down significantly too, as are most people's by the sounds of it. Strangely enough, sales are good, both number and price-wise. Something else I've noticed is that a higher proportion of my zoomed licenses are licensing, which is puzzling but fine with me.

[gvallee]

54.7% of last year's sales

46.8% of last year's revenue

 

Zooms are down but not a total collapse.