Contract Change 2021 - Official thread

[Nathaniel Noir]

2 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

I can see the reason for the lower "Silver tier" for the reasons that mentioned. However, the door is now open to other tiers and minimum earnings' thresholds being imposed in the future -- e.g. $10K gross annually  or you drop to the Iridium level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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At least that's not as low as the Polonium level, where you have 0% and pay extra £2 for every of your images sold

[Sultanpepa]

52 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

All of that time we spent fighting for our 50% until we got it with exclusivity, I can see it now. People behind closed doors, rubbing their hands, saying, “We’ll let them think they won for now. Wait until they see our next move...hahahaha!”

 

Also at issue with our permission for Alamy to chase uses...they can recover costs of chasing??? Hmmm. I wonder if a contributor will ever see a $ of recovery? More likely, a clause will be written where they chase, but Alamy charges us for the chase. We get nothing or may be debited for the chase. You all notice the timing of this “benefit to us” was released first.

Then this new contributor contract which makes all of us who were grateful to Alamy for chasing, now feel like if we want our images chased, we must stay exclusive.

From now on, anything Alamy announces for our benefit must be treated with the utmost suspicion.

Fool me once.....

 

That's a favourite management tactic. When you get something for nothing you know it's gonna cost you plenty.

[Malcolm Park]

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned in this thread, perhaps the top level should be rebadged the Unobtainium Level.

[AlexG]

Silver tier - it is damn absurd, honestly.

With earnings at just 20%, someone with already low volume is only bound to stay there a long time. The effort to increase the portfolio size significantly would be a thankless task, as the contributor might feel disillusioned and be long gone from the site by the time sales start catching up to potentially move them up to the Gold tier.

I had a total of 7 sales last calendar year, and yes my portfolio is rather small. No sales this year in 5 months, already posted about this on the forum.

 

Atrocious. Utterly disappointed and frustrated this morning.

[weshoot]

This change is quite a hit in the gut.  All of my images on Alamy are exclusive to Alamy, and I have been working every day since the pandemic started, to process, upload, and keyword additional images to max optimization so that when the pandemic is finally behind us, I can count on some income from Alamy.  I have been with Alamy since 2006, and I sold my first image in April of the following year.  There have been so many years when I haven't grossed $250 for the year!  I have thousands of images yet to process to add to the over 3,100 images I already have on the service, but I am disheartened at the prospect of only getting 20% for all my efforts.  If this is the case, one might make more money in micro stock, and I will have to really think about where I want to put my future images.

 

Alamy, please rethink this move, and reverse course here!

Edited May 17, 2021 by weshoot

[gardenbush]

Now, I am a small fish in this barrel (some 600 images), and I do, strangely make sales 🙂 I am also exclusive to Alamy - Question, if I am so moved to delete all my images and try my luck elsewhere, can I go exclusive with my new agency and not be penalised by Alamy - the reason I ask is because Alamy would keep my images live for 180 days after deletion...what say the wise ones 🙂

[Sally]

6 hours ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

New Clause:

 

 

2.10. By marking Content as Exclusive, you grant Alamy the right to chase third party infringements of the Content without Alamy having to consult you. Where pursuing such infringements if it is found that the Content has been licensed through another licensing platform, Alamy has the right to recoup any fees incurred in the pursuit of any action taken.

 

 

 

Wait, didn't we just make this election a couple of weeks ago and were allowed to opt in/out?  Now it's mandatory (or just remove "exclusive") 

 

This makes no sense to me - we can mark something as exclusive even if we sell directly through our own websites. I don't want Alamy chasing someone I have sold a license to directly without consulting me first, which is why I responded as such when that recent email was sent out. Some clarification is needed please.

[CarlMillerPhotos]

1 hour ago, MizBrown said:

 

60% of nothing is still nothing.  

But 80% of something leaves next to nothing.

[Jay D]

Pure greed.  

[Gabbro]

39 minutes ago, Malcolm Park said:

Don’t know if it’s been mentioned in this thread, perhaps the top level should be rebadged the Unobtainium Level.

 

...or Pie in the Sky level.

[jillhyland]

So if I do not want to agree to the new contract, is there an opt out button or do I have go through the usual process to delete my account? Because the website says account deletion takes 45 days and the contract goes "into force" on July 1 (in 44 days.)

[gardenbush]

12 minutes ago, Gabbro said:

 

...or Pie in the Sky level.

hmmm - Pie In the Sky - PITS

[Betty LaRue]

Looks like I’ll be spending more time working on my art and POD sites.

[hotbrightsky]

1 hour ago, Michael Photo said:

If a magazine buys a photo of Big Ben and a photo of the front line in Afghanistan, for example, surely these should not be sold at the same price?

 

This is what makes wildlife stock photography unsustainable. If I sit in a hide for 2 weeks to get a unique shot of a rare species I expect to get paid accordingly. Alamy offers no mechanism for that to happen. And now they demand 60% of my earnings for zero effort?!

[hotbrightsky]

24 minutes ago, Sally said:

I don't want Alamy chasing someone I have sold a license to directly without consulting me first

 

And I don't want to chase someone who Alamy has sold a licence to either. But since Alamy won't disclose which customers have licensed which images this creates a farcical situation.

[gardenbush]

1 minute ago, hotbrightsky said:

 

This is what makes wildlife stock photography unsustainable. If I sit in a hide for 2 weeks to get a unique shot of a rare species I expect to get paid accordingly. Alamy offers no mechanism for that to happen. And now they demand 60% of my earnings for zero effort?!

Yep - this week I was paid an average of 4 cents per image ( 5 images) of images in Tibet and south west China - dist bulk sale...long way to go for 20 cents from UK lol

[Bill Kuta]

3 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Looks like I’ll be spending more time working on my art and POD sites.

 

Yeah, I've already been doing that, since my POD income handily exceeded my Alamy income for 2020. (Granted, last year was my lowest Alamy revenue since 2005--but still well above the $250 threshold.)

[BobD]

2 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

If Alamy starts charging contributors to upload their images to them I will be out immediately.

 

Allan

 

 Make sure you don't get trampled on in the rush.

[Thyrsis]

As far as I am concerned this isn’t about ‘Alamy’ at all. Back in the year 2000 there was a budding company that was for the contributors. 80% commission was where we started.

Now it is ‘Alamy’ only in name but not in principles...the big boys have taken over and they have no morals. 

[Colin Woods]

12 minutes ago, Thyrsis said:

the big boys have taken over and they have no morals

Nope. Big business is entirely amoral. Anything that you read about how they value the clients or the suppliers is just window dressing. They (not just alamy but your insurance company, telephone company, etc, etc) value us solely as a means to generate income. In fact in my frustration with Alamy I am being hypocritical because when I buy food in the supermarket I never ask if the suppliers are being fairly treated. Now I am on the receiving end of getting screwed (again) and I don't like it.

[CMEckert]

!7 years with Alamy and it's turned out to be the biggest disappointment in my life and getting worse. Why bother charging anything for OUR images....just give them away.

[John Richmond]

1 hour ago, Nathaniel Noir said:

At least that's not as low as the Polonium level, where you have 0% and pay extra £2 for every of your images sold

You forgot the 'whilst poisoning you slowly and painfully until death is a welcome relief from your torments''.

[Cryptoprocta]

12 minutes ago, CMEckert said:

!7 years with Alamy and it's turned out to be the biggest disappointment in my life and getting worse. Why bother charging anything for OUR images....just give them away.

They've got that covered: "there is not and will not be during the term of this Contract, be any limitation or restriction on Alamy’s ability to license the Content"

[Barry Hitchcox]

As you can see I'm only very small fry indeed and such as I are surely the target for these new rules. I feel truly sorry for all you guys with thousands up, the average seems to be about 4-5000 images. Photography has no standing and no respect anymore.

[DawnOne]

Considering the pittance you charge clients for our images, we have a hard time even reaching your Silver limit. ie. 15 photos of mine sold totalled under $190.? It’s a joke. I made more on one individual sale I sold directly, and I confirmed my credit would appear, knew exactly where it would be published & limited how long the agreement was for. 40% is taking advantage of photographers. We have all worked hard to submit info and key words with our photos, thousands of hours, under an agreement of 50%, and this is Alamy’s reply?