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Contract Change 2021 - Official thread


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1 minute ago, GP Essex said:

How many contributors actually earn over 25k? I'd imagine it's a pretty small minority?

Why do you think the bar was set that high?

I didn't use to be cynical about Alamy and would stick up for them when unjustifiably criticised. Not so sure now.

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My prediction to calm you all down?

 

Same as last time.

 

They will reconsider and hit non-exclusives even harder  ( 30% maybe) and you will all be relieved and go along with it. 🙃

Edited by geogphotos
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3 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

My prediction to calm you all down?

 

Same as last time.

 

They will reconsider and hit non-exclusives even harder  ( 30% maybe) and you will all be relieved and go along with it. 

 

I am not convinced Ian. It is different owners and managers now; and unlike last time I assume that there is no sale of Alamy imminent.

 

I am just relieved that I have been putting my energies elsewhere.

Edited by Martin P Wilson
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I think a large part of the historical goodwill to Alamy from contributors has been around the fair commission structure. The proposals remove the incentive to be exclusive on Alamy. I understand that you're trying to compete with other agencies, is reducing the payment % to photographers the only way to be competitive? It just looks like a slippery slope to me. If you can't beat microstock, join them???!! Maybe trying to emulate microstock is not the way and you can continue to set yourselves apart from the competition.

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Doesn't Alamy now have a big conflict of interest to prevent contributors from earning more, so they can be downgraded to the lowest tiers?

 

With sales like the last one I got (for the astronomical amount of 0.22 USD) it will *only* take Alamy selling 1,136 more of my photographs at such rate to escape Silver.

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11 minutes ago, Michael2020 said:

I'm getting very confused by the word "commission".  It used to be that the photographer earned the money and the agent took commission

That's still the case but Alamy seem to have overlooked that. We pay their wages. By promoting the selling of images elsewhere they risk seeing a reduced income

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Sorely disappointed in this contract change, I won't bother uploading any more pictures to Alamy, I had been sorting through mine meaning to submit a significant number but don't really see the point if I'm going to end up on 20%.

I've made more sales privately than through Alamy (different pictures as I had kept those on Alamy as exclusive) so will take my images down once the contract change comes in to force.

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7 minutes ago, Steve F said:

I think a large part of the historical goodwill to Alamy from contributors has been around the fair commission structure. The proposals remove the incentive to be exclusive on Alamy. I understand that you're trying to compete with other agencies, is reducing the payment % to photographers the only way to be competitive? It just looks like a slippery slope to me. If you can't beat microstock, join them???!! Maybe trying to emulate microstock is not the way and you can continue to set yourselves apart from the competition.

 

Exactly what I was saying five year or more ago. For photographers the stock photography model is essentially dead, anyway this shows it is at least dying and on its last legs.

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When they changed the commission structure last time I went against the mainstream and changed from being exclusive to non exclusive. Looks like I was proved right to do so.

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Our growth plans are beginning to take shape. Your own individual results on our platform will vary, but overall sales via our website in 2021 are 45% higher than they were in the first 4 months of 2020. This increases the earning potential for all our contributors and we want to be sure our model supports sustainable growth.

 

 

Increase in number of sales maybe ? What is the increase in revenue?

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11 minutes ago, Travelshots said:

Our growth plans are beginning to take shape. Your own individual results on our platform will vary, but overall sales via our website in 2021 are 45% higher than they were in the first 4 months of 2020. This increases the earning potential for all our contributors and we want to be sure our model supports sustainable growth.

 

Interesting, so pay cuts come in the context of an increase of profits? That makes it look like sustainable growth is just an euphemism for a company's greed.

Edited by German
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I am pretty bloody cross (NO I'M NOT - I AM BLOODY LIVID) about all that wasted time marking exclusive images as well as a further cut in commission. Remembering the axiom "Act in haste" etc. I am not giving notice today but I may very well do so tomorrow OR EVEN LATER TODAY. Fortunately I have much better sales elsewhere for a niche library that returns me twice as much from half as many images. They are easier and nicer to deal with too.

Edited by Bill Allsopp
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Just now, imageplotter said:

Let's be absolutely clear:

This is a kick in the stomach of contributors. And an even worse kick in the stomach for all those who have - after the last set of changes, which favoured exclusive content - obediently changed many or most of their images to be exclusive to alamy.  

 

Sorry, alamy. You've completely lost my trust now, and you've lost whatever credibility you may have had left pretending to be a 'high quality' 'editorial' agency, rather than microstock. Cheap as chips. 

 

And not very good at the microstock model either ...

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2 minutes ago, Travelshots said:

but overall sales via our website in 2021 are 45% higher than they were in the first 4 months of 2020.

 

Given the chaos early last year from covid it's hardly a surprise 😂

 

As for the changes here, not much change for those who didn't go chasing after the exclusivity bone that was chucked around last time. I do still submit some stuff here when I get time but in all honesty, Alamy is only $2.5k for me and my efforts are elsewhere... I can get that from one agency in less than a month. I'll not be jumping through hoops here to increase it by a few cents.

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31 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

So much for all the fuss about the extra for exclusive barely 18 months ago.

This would be a kick in the teeth at the best of times. With things as they are it's a kick in the teeth, then another one lower down for the gentlemen.

 

also note the blog, they claim they are doing this because some people didn't do it properly.  So everyone gets penalised because they don't trust the people they do business with. 

In other words, Alamy is blaming contributors for the change.  

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A tip for new contributors who have yet to sign up to Alamy. Rather than apply with a collection of just a few images and continuously upload new work as soon as it’s created, wait until you have several hundred images ready. Then apply and upload it all at once as soon as you’re accepted and you’ll have a much better chance of beating the $250 limit within your first year.

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