Contract Change 2021 - Official thread

[jillhyland]

1 hour ago, Sally R said:

If I decide to terminate my contract, my understanding is I give Alamy 45 days notice. They in turn state they will do the following:

1. On termination Alamy will:
   1. delete from the Alamy Websites any Content provided by you under this Contract;
   2. continue to report to you in respect of Licences granted prior to the date of termination of this Contract or Licences granted after the date of termination of this Contract as permitted herein;
   3. not return to you any data, of whatever kind, relating to any Content or the Content itself.

However, it has also has been stated in this thread that the images stay up for 6 months. Can someone point me to where this is in the contract? If images stay up for 6 months that contradicts the above where it states that the images will be removed at the point of termination which would be at 45 days.

 

Alamy announced the changed contract 44 days prior to the 1 July, thus less than 45 days away. But presumably if I quit before the 1 July I am doing so under the terms of the existing contract (not the new one).

 

I had the same concern about the 44 days notice and 45 days to close an account, so I sent notice yesterday that I will not agree to the new contract terms.  The reply email from Alamy said my account will be closed on June 30th.

[Jansos]

2 hours ago, Flash68 said:

Has anyone requested their data? I've just downloaded mine and the tags and supertags are blank. Is this usual or has it been removed?

Can you remind me where we can download our data from? Just had a look around but nothing obvious is jumping off the page. Trying to get my tags and supertags. Thanks! 🙂

[Martin P Wilson]

1 minute ago, Jansos said:

Can you remind me where we can download our data from? Just had a look around but nothing obvious is jumping off the page. Trying to get my tags and supertags. Thanks! 🙂

Right hand sidebar on Image Manager. You may have to request it and then download later, perhaps the following day.

[Michael Photo]

The top topic on this board is "Alamy Blog - We Want Your Suggestions", which is another way of saying, "we want your help".

Why would I help a company that just reduced my commission by 20%?

[Cryptoprocta]

1 minute ago, Jansos said:

Can you remind me where we can download our data from? Just had a look around but nothing obvious is jumping off the page. Trying to get my tags and supertags. Thanks! 🙂

On the Image Manager page, at the bottom of the right hand column, Download Your Data,

 

Now, if anyone could tell me an easy way of getting the data from the Excel file into my files, I'd be really grateful!

[noelbennett]

I wonder would Alamy provide an independent lawyer or even their own lawyer to review the contract and provide answers here. We are not in the legal profession and lay people are often apt to misinterpret contracts.  

[Jansos]

2 minutes ago, Martin P Wilson said:

Right hand sidebar on Image Manager. You may have to request it and then download later, perhaps the following day.

Found it - many thanks! 🙂

 

[Jansos]

1 minute ago, Cryptoprocta said:

On the Image Manager page, at the bottom of the right hand column, Download Your Data,

 

Now, if anyone could tell me an easy way of getting the data from the Excel file into my files, I'd be really grateful!

That would be nice, wouldn't it? When I get my data in 24 hours I'll have a look and see if there is any obvious key field to use that links with original file. I very much doubt it though.

[Harry Harrison]

Just now, Jansos said:

When I get my data in 24 hours

You'll get it right now, it's automated, just refresh the page, the '24 hours' is out of date

[Joseph Clemson]

Alamy, I would really like to see a blog from explaining the rationale behind the various changes to the  parts of the new contract not related to commission. What I read (with a non-legal mind) about copyright, legal action, indemnification, content deemed to be indecent etc, is very worrying and seems to greatly increase the jeopardy of the contributor when compared to the existing contract. Can you clarify that this is your intention? Are we seeing genuine new legal requirements in your changes or not? This is a significant matter as on it will hinge my  decision on whether I can keep my content on Alamy. I think others may appreciate some clarity too.

[Nathaniel Noir]

3 minutes ago, Joseph Clemson said:

Alamy, I would really like to see a blog from explaining the rationale behind the various changes to the  parts of the new contract not related to commission. What I read (with a non-legal mind) about copyright, legal action, indemnification, content deemed to be indecent etc, is very worrying and seems to greatly increase the jeopardy of the contributor when compared to the existing contract. Can you clarify that this is your intention? Are we seeing genuine new legal requirements in your changes or not? This is a significant matter as on it will hinge my  decision on whether I can keep my content on Alamy. I think others may appreciate some clarity too.

 

Yes, would love to hear from Alamy regarding the changes.

[Cryptoprocta]

7 minutes ago, Jansos said:

That would be nice, wouldn't it? When I get my data in 24 hours I'll have a look and see if there is any obvious key field to use that links with original file. I very much doubt it though.

Thanks, I've been copying and pasting, but it's taking me ages.

I have NO idea why I didn't put the metadata into my files until a couple of years ago.

[PuffinsPictures]

Given the new scheme combined with the fact that my sales tanked from decent to nothing for months, I guess I'd better start rationing the instant noodles.

[Alamy]

Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone.

 

We will of course be publishing a formal response here very soon, certainly by the end of the week. 

 

With so many responses we have to do things in this way rather than post here addressing each point. Thanks for your pateince on this, we are reading every post.

 

There will be no more responses from us here until then where we will update page one of the thread and also the latest post here too.

 

Best regards

 

Alamy

[Cryptoprocta]

18 minutes ago, Joseph Clemson said:

Alamy, I would really like to see a blog from explaining the rationale behind the various changes to the  parts of the new contract not related to commission. What I read (with a non-legal mind) about copyright, legal action, indemnification, content deemed to be indecent etc, is very worrying and seems to greatly increase the jeopardy of the contributor when compared to the existing contract. Can you clarify that this is your intention? Are we seeing genuine new legal requirements in your changes or not? This is a significant matter as on it will hinge my  decision on whether I can keep my content on Alamy. I think others may appreciate some clarity too.

I won't accept any 'word' from Alamy about what they intend or don't intend.

I'll only accept clear, unambiguous wording in the contract.

Alamy have already shown us that we have to suspect what they say.

11th Feb FAQs:

Q. Alamy prides itself on offering a better commission rate than most other agencies. Will PA Media Group continue to offer the same commission rates to Alamy’s existing contributors?

A. There are no plans to change that.

See, that's ambiguous. They didn't actually say they wouldn't change commission within six months.

 

I want it clearly set out in the contract, for example:

That files I designated as RM will not be sold as RF (that's a deal-breaker as I have an RF-exclusive contract elsewhere).

That files I indicated have no releases will not be sold commercially.

That Alamy will not use, and will educate buyers not to use, files in racist, defamatory etc etc ways.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Cryptoprocta

[Allan Bell]

4 minutes ago, Alamy said:

There will be no more responses from us here until then where we will update page one of the thread and also the latest post here too.

 

Allan

 

[Martin P Wilson]

10 minutes ago, Cryptoprocta said:

Thanks, I've been copying and pasting, but it's taking me ages.

I have NO idea why I didn't put the metadata into my files until a couple of years ago.

 

If you have access to PhotoMechanic, perhaps even just limited time evaluation you could do it using PM's Coode Replacem,ent feature. Search the forums on CameraBits. PM is my metadata editor of choice, has been for many years.

[MizBrown]

30 minutes ago, Martin P Wilson said:

 

I think many people are thinking along similarr lines. I would have thought it would trouble the Platinum, and Gold,  contributors more than Silver. That could actuaally backfire on Alamy if that is the case. I don't know where else they could go though. Rock and a Hard Place I think.

 

Twenty percent isn't the real kicker.  That's unfortunately the common base rate pretty much everywhere I checked that wasn't screwing the buyers.  Being legally liable for all problems is.  Not having restrictions on sales respected is.  

 

 

[Cryptoprocta]

2 minutes ago, Martin P Wilson said:

 

If you have access to PhotoMechanic, perhaps even just limited time evaluation you could do it using PM's Coode Replacem,ent feature. Search the forums on CameraBits. PM is my metadata editor of choice, has been for many years.

Thanks, I'll take a look.

[ManfredG]

2 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

 

Twenty percent isn't the real kicker.  That's unfortunately the common base rate pretty much everywhere I checked

 

 

20 % WOULD be  a real kicker. I will never understand all these people accepting such conditions. All of my current other agencies split 50:50.

[Paul Glendell]

I have been with Alamy since 2005, through many years of self employment, which Alamy has greatly helped me with.  Fortunately I now work full time as a photographer for a regional newspaper in Scotland so Alamy had become extra income for me which has helped.   Over the years the income from alamy has fallen steadily due almost entirely to the contract changes. I am comfortably above the $250 per year income so will be on the 40% commission but like so many feel it has become a waste of my time.  The total income from my photos  is well over $100,000 since I joined,   alamy and I have worked well for each other.  But now at 40% what is the point.  The point for alamy is there are now too many contributors on alamy and they don't really want to bother with the smaller end contributors but they have a model of accepting all images, as long as the quality is good enough, from anyone. It seems to me the model no longer works.  That is why these changes have been put in place.    My collection of images will keep me at 40% but my interest in uploading has gone,  but that is exactly what Alamy want.   It looks like putting up images on my, now last, photolibrary has become pointless.

[Michael Photo]

Just now, ManfredG said:

All of my current other agencies split 50:50.

Would love to know what these agencies are.

[MizBrown]

28 minutes ago, noelbennett said:

I wonder would Alamy provide an independent lawyer or even their own lawyer to review the contract and provide answers here. We are not in the legal profession and lay people are often apt to misinterpret contracts.  

I would way rather have someone not connected with Alamy do the review.   Someone might have a lawyer friend who could do it pro bono.  Or we could take up a collection.

 

 

[MizBrown]

2 minutes ago, ManfredG said:

20 % WOULD be  a real kicker. I will never understand all these people accepting such conditions. All of my current other agencies split 50:50.

 My email address is mac0g0ense @ gmail....   sub lower case for the numerics and complete the obvious.   I'd love to know some agencies that split 50:50. 

[ManfredG]

4 minutes ago, Michael Photo said:

Would love to know what these agencies are.

Most non microstock agencies (Getty IS microstock nowadays) I know about will offer at least 40 %. But of course, these agencies will not accept every photographer and all images. Indeed most of them are very picky.