Contract Change 2021 - Official thread

[Vincent Lowe]

1 hour ago, Sally said:

This is no problem if you use Alamy Lightroom Bridge, which I keep blaming on about but few people seem to use. It will download all captions and keywords automatically once you’ve matched the images in Lightroom to those on Alamy.

 

I tried it, and actually paid for it.  I had about 20K files at the time but I had keyworded about 13K of these online so didn't have copies in my own files.  At first it downloaded the data at a reasonable rate but very soon it slowed to an absolute crawl (and I have a very fast broadband connection).  I calculated that at the rate it steadied at it would take at least three weeks to complete if I left the computer on 24/7.  I gave up on it.

 

I have been using IMatch for years and the latest version has a CSV Importer module so I converted the Excel file to a CSV file and imported the keywords and captions from that.  Not quite as straightforward as it sounds, mostly caused by a few stray commas in the Excel and/or CSV file which caused problems, but it was all sorted in a couple of days.

 

Sorry, straying off topic....

 

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Vincent Lowe

[M.Chapman]

1 hour ago, Alan Beastall said:

Just tried to 'download your data' in Image manager but getting this message. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong or have Alamy stopped this facility?

 

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e)

That's an error that's been around for a long time. It seems to happen if there's a discrepancy in the number of images the system thinks are in your collection. Alamy can fix this for you.

 

Mark

[Broad Norfolk]

4 hours ago, Stokie said:

I have been a contributor to Alamy for the last 14 years.

 

I first submitted images (on a CD!) when I was still working in local government.

 

In 2007 I took early retirement and redundancy and started my own architectural design business from home and set up a photography business selling stock. It was exciting times and both businesses grew. The photography was enjoyable, and the income enhanced my pension.

 

Fast forward 14 years and the architectural design business is still going strong. Not so the photography side.

 

Yesterday saw the easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK and there was a feeling of optimism about the future – until the Alamy announcement. I know there are far worse things than a cut in commission but yesterday I just felt down all day instead of joyful.

 

I will have to rethink what I do about photography. Probably like most people, I will dust my self down and carry on, like all the previous times there was a cut in commission until the point it isn’t worth it. I haven’t reached that point yet, but under this regime I don’t think it will be long before I do.

 

What a sad day.

 

John.

 

I also have been a fairly long term Contributor to Alamy and, to a certain extent, my path from early retirement has been been very similar.

 

I love photography and set up a small business run in my own way which incorporated several aspects including stock, print sales, National and International  Salons. The least successful of these has become stock which, to be honest, is subsidized by other parts of the business and hasn't been sustainable for a while now.

 

I never include my successful Salon images in my stock portfolio. These fetch £££ as print sales and the thought of one of them being in stock and fetching $0.10 is just not bearing thinking about. Once again, a situation partially caused by a saturated market. 

 

I had a successful Business career and know what should be done, although a little late, as I'm sure many other Contributors are of a like mind.

 

There are many telling comments in this thread and the one I would like to add is the apparent attitude of Alamy towards it's Contributors. It is very noticeable to me over recent years how the Business nous of it's Contributors has become very underestimated. To put it bluntly, I don't like being treated like an idiot.

 

Sad times,

 

Jim.

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

6 minutes ago, Broad Norfolk said:

 

I also have been a fairly long term Contributor to Alamy and, to a certain extent, my path from early retirement has been been very similar.

 

I love photography and set up a small business run in my own way which incorporated several aspects including stock, print sales, National and International  Salons. The least successful of these has become stock which, to be honest, is subsidized by other parts of the business and hasn't been sustainable for a while now.

 

I never include my successful Salon images in my stock portfolio. These fetch £££ as print sales and the thought of one of them being in stock and fetching $0.10 is just not bearing thinking about. Once again, a situation partially caused by a saturated market. 

 

I had a successful Business career and know what should be done, although a little late, as I'm sure many other Contributors are of a like mind.

 

There are many telling comments in this thread and the one I would like to add is the apparent attitude of Alamy towards it's Contributors. It is very noticeable to me over recent years how the Business nous of it's Contributors has become very underestimated. To put it bluntly, I don't like being treated like an idiot.

 

Sad times,

 

Jim.

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

I think we’re being treated like Cinderella by the wicked stepmother.

[Tim Jones]

DACS payments

When the last contract was issued by mistake (i don't know how) I gave Alamy permission to claim against DACS on my behalf. As they take I assume half in commission I always regretted it.

Does anyone know with this new contract I can reverse that decision?

Many thanks

[Nathaniel Noir]

7 minutes ago, Tim Jones said:

DACS payments

When the last contract was issued by mistake (i don't know how) I gave Alamy permission to claim against DACS on my behalf. As they take I assume half in commission I always regretted it.

Does anyone know with this new contract I can reverse that decision?

Many thanks

 

Good point, I have done this too and at the time I was pretty clueless, is there a way you can claim with DACS yourself for your stock sales without going through Alamy?

[Bill Kuta]

8 minutes ago, Tim Jones said:

DACS payments

When the last contract was issued by mistake (i don't know how) I gave Alamy permission to claim against DACS on my behalf. As they take I assume half in commission I always regretted it.

Does anyone know with this new contract I can reverse that decision?

Many thanks

 

Or how leaving Alamy affects that.

[Stokie]

1 minute ago, Nathaniel Noir said:

 

Good point, I have done this too and at the time I was pretty clueless, is there a way you can claim with DACS yourself for your stock sales without going through Alamy?

Yes, you can claim for yourself.

 

I have done every year since I found out about DACS, and you get to keep all the money!

 

John.

[Richard Tadman]

Just re-visiting the "Why should I sell stock with Alamy?" blurb on their main page. I think I might be inclined to take issue with some of these claims: -

 

1. We’re fair, transparent and easy to work with
   We make it easy for you to work with us, we’re non-exclusive, we don’t tie you in with a long term contract and we let you choose what you want to sell. We also offer a better commission than most other agencies and you can earn up to 50% commission. Click here to view our commission models.
2. You can send us anything
   Our customers love us and the encyclopaedic nature of our collection – we have a bigger, broader, more unique collection than any other library so we want everything you’ve got.
3. We’re ethical
   We really care! We aim to create the best environment for buying and selling imagery. As an independent agency, we’re not corporate and we have a friendly and open approach, underpinned by integrity and efficiency.
4. We’ve paid over $200 million to our contributors
   We have an international network of happy contributors who’ve shared in this $200 million!

Is Alamy "fair"?
Is Alamy ethical - do they really care?

Does Alamy have an international network of happy contributors?

 

Contributors buy expensive top end kit and peripherals, often travelling extensively to take images. They post-process them, check them carefully, select those that will pass QC, upload them for approval, keyword them carefully and upload for sale. We know that this a very time-consuming, labour intensive business for no guaranteed returns and regularly derisory payments.
What does Alamy do? (serious question) Most agents work hard to actively promote their clients and are proactive to generate fair returns for both parties. I may be wrong, but I don't see much evidence of Alamy doing other than acting as a shop window and passively at that and earning a hugely disproportionate share of the sale proceeds .

Something to muse over.

 

 

[BidC]

On 17/05/2021 at 13:37, meanderingemu said:

 

 

sorry, didn't mean to be abrupt, just going through all the clauses changes, and more cut and pasting.  sorry. 

 

My bad - I've just logged in to apologise for being 'hot headed', and have seen your message. Thats very kind - and again, I'm sorry for just not taking a couple of deep breaths (!)

[spacecadet]

1 minute ago, Stokie said:

Yes, you can claim for yourself.

 

 

Not if you didn't opt out during a very short period a few years ago.

If you didn't you have no choice but to let Alamy take 50% (or is it 60% now?) of your claim, permanently.

[BidC]

19 hours ago, Gabbro said:

 

Why does it matter? None of us will live to see it happen anyway. 🙄

 

Oh ! I hope your life is long and happy ... (sincerely).

[meanderingemu]

1 minute ago, BidC said:

 

My bad - I've just logged in to apologise for being 'hot headed', and have seen your message. Thats very kind - and again, I'm sorry for just not taking a couple of deep breaths (!)

no problem.  it was a tough day for most of us...  

[Stokie]

1 minute ago, spacecadet said:

Not if you didn't opt out during a very short period a few years ago.

If you didn't you have no choice but to let Alamy take 50% (or is it 60% now?) of your claim, permanently.

 

Yes, I think I misunderstood the OP's post.

 

If Alamy already claim I don't know if you can opt out and make the claim yourself.

 

John.

[BidC]

1 minute ago, meanderingemu said:

no problem.  it was a tough day for most of us...  

 

Thank you

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Broad Norfolk said:

There are many telling comments in this thread and the one I would like to add is the apparent attitude of Alamy towards it's Contributors. It is very noticeable to me over recent years how the Business nous of it's Contributors has become very underestimated. To put it bluntly, I don't like being treated like an idiot.

 

Sad times,

 

Jim.

 

 

1 hour ago, Betty LaRue said:

I think we’re being treated like Cinderella by the wicked stepmother.

 

 

Quote

Quote from Emily Shelley's blog post

Declaring images as exclusive to Alamy is voluntary and relies on honesty. We’ve had ambitions to actively market exclusive images on our site, but we can never be sure that these images really are unique to us. Since launching our infringements programme, we’re discovering that a significant minority of contributors have not been forthcoming about other arrangements, or forgot to change their settings when they listed elsewhere. Unfortunately, it’s no longer sustainable for us to pay out 50% across the board for images that may or may not be exclusively with us.

 

This is reminiscent of being a school kid and being told the whole class is going to be punished for the sins of a few. I can think of more extreme examples of this approach but for the sake of peace will refrain from mentioning. I wonder has Emily considered the impact of the loss of goodwill with contributors which is one of the things that really sets Alamy apart from other stock agencies and indeed many businesses (contributors - customers - supporters). The tone of this is patronising in my opinion and terribly unfair to those contributors who have acted with honestly and integrity. If this is really the case then punish the perps and not the entire class. But maybe it is just an excuse 🤔.

 

PS: I had intended to make a lot of my images exclusive but never got around to it for one reason or another so the direct effect of this on me is zero right now, but, had I spent the time checking my images and making them exclusive, then I would be pretty mad about it.

Edited May 18, 2021 by MDM

[Nathaniel Noir]

14 minutes ago, Stokie said:

Yes, you can claim for yourself.

 

I have done every year since I found out about DACS, and you get to keep all the money!

 

John.

 

Thank you John. Is there any place where I can find more info about it? Do you get DACS for all images sold or only some? Do you just need to provide a list of images that you have sold on Alamy? (Sorry about all the questions, I don't know very much about the process)

[Nathaniel Noir]

14 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

Not if you didn't opt out during a very short period a few years ago.

If you didn't you have no choice but to let Alamy take 50% (or is it 60% now?) of your claim, permanently.

 

Are you serious? Can I not just write to them to terminate my permission?

[spacecadet]

Just now, Nathaniel Noir said:

 

Are you serious? Can I not just write to them to terminate my permission?

No. It was a new money-making wheeze in the last contract.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by spacecadet

[Thyrsis]

4 minutes ago, Nathaniel Noir said:

 

Thank you John. Is there any place where I can find more info about it? Do you get DACS for all images sold or only some? Do you just need to provide a list of images that you have sold on Alamy? (Sorry about all the questions, I don't know very much about the process)

https://www.dacs.org.uk/for-artists/payback

 

You can only claim for work  published in the UK in a book, magazine or on TV

[Nathaniel Noir]

2 minutes ago, spacecadet said:

No. It was a new money-making wheeze in the last contract.

 

 

I have to say I'm flabbergasted 

[Barry Hitchcox]

6 minutes ago, Stokie said:

 

Yes, I think I misunderstood the OP's post.

 

If Alamy already claim I don't know if you can opt out and make the claim yourself.

 

John.

I'm a member of DACS, and you claim for usages (UK only), and you need to know the details. In my case, editorial: ISBN/ISSN nos., page nos. date of publication etc. etc. I never use images that I've got on a library. Alamy say they claim on DACS if you've opted in, but it's a pittance. But since it's almost impossible to know these usage details unless you happen across it in a mag. or book, Alamy will never share that info. So quit Alamy and join DACS!

[MizBrown]

15 minutes ago, Richard Tadman said:

We’ve paid over $200 million to our contributors
We have an international network of happy contributors who’ve shared in this $200 million!

 

To 60,000 photographers and agencies, more or less.  Averages $3,334 rounded up.   My guess is that agencies got most of it, a few individual contributors got some of it and on average, nobody selling as an individual qualifies for platinum (I suspect agencies commonly will be able to).

[Joseph Clemson]

5 minutes ago, Nathaniel Noir said:

 

Thank you John. Is there any place where I can find more info about it? Do you get DACS for all images sold or only some? Do you just need to provide a list of images that you have sold on Alamy? (Sorry about all the questions, I don't know very much about the process)

 

Clause 22 in the new (and previous) contract. Unless you informed them before July 2016 that you wanted to claim DACS yourself, Alamy do it automatically and there is no opt out. Basically ensnares everyone who joined since that date. It has some pros and cons. The biggest pro is that Alamy can claim for usages which you may not be able to find, though it may not make up for the cut they take.

[Nathaniel Noir]

1 minute ago, Barry Hitchcox said:

I'm a member of DACS, and you claim for usages (UK only), and you need to know the details. In my case, editorial: ISBN/ISSN nos., page nos. date of publication etc. etc. I never use images that I've got on a library. Alamy say they claim on DACS if you've opted in, but it's a pittance. But since it's almost impossible to know these usage details unless you happen across it in a mag. or book, Alamy will never share that info. So quit Alamy and join DACS!

 

Ok, thank you for the explanation, I do have a colleague who used to work for DACS, would be a good time to quiz her about things!