For people starting up or starting over

[MizBrown]

Years ago, one of the people who isn't active in this forum now suggested that anyone who signs on with Alamy should start with a couple thousand good photos so they could have zooms and sales early and keep their photos showing up in first through third pages of searches.  I understand why I started small -- to see if this was something I could do -- but I think getting a substantial portfolio up within a week or two of being accepted is better than putting up 500 or fewer over the course of several months.   Fewer makes it more likely that you'll only be getting 20% of the gross for a long time. 

 

 

 

 

[kimba]

 

This is absolutely true. The more images one can get into their Alamy portfolio the more chances of sales. I bet the people who are making big bucks through Alamy have tens of thousands of images on the site. 

 

I was very slack for a long time on Alamy, and part of that was because my cameras were stolen, but it's my intent to ramp up and post as much as possible going forward. 

[spacecadet]

5 minutes ago, kimba said:

tens of thousands

Hundreds.

[meanderingemu]

1 hour ago, kimba said:

 

. I bet the people who are making big bucks through Alamy have tens of thousands of images on the site. 

 

I was very slack for a long time on Alamy, and part of that was because my cameras were stolen, but it's my intent to ramp up and post as much as possible going forward. 

 

 

. I bet the people who are making big bucks through Alamy have tens of thousands of images on the site.   are shareholders and paid through profit sharing plans 

 

 

 

note: this is not specific to Alamy, but a reflection on the industry in 2021

Edited May 25, 2021 by meanderingemu

[Ed Rooney]

1 hour ago, kimba said:

 

This is absolutely true. The more images one can get into their Alamy portfolio the more chances of sales. I bet the people who are making big bucks through Alamy have tens of thousands of images on the site. 

 

I was very slack for a long time on Alamy, and part of that was because my cameras were stolen, but it's my intent to ramp up and post as much as possible going forward. 

 

deleted

Edited May 25, 2021 by Ed Rooney

[MizBrown]

17 minutes ago, kimba said:

 

This is absolutely true. The more images one can get into their Alamy portfolio the more chances of sales. I bet the people who are making big bucks through Alamy have tens of thousands of images on the site. 

 

A couple of people with tens of thousands of images said that they wouldn't have made $25K this past year.   Agencies can have several photographers working who collectively produce over 300,000 images.   Newspapers had photographers doing work for hire and retained copyrights on their staff photographer's work.  A newpaper archive could be several million photographs dating back to when printing could reproduce photos (the NY Times archive has to be huge).

Edited May 25, 2021 by MizBrown
more details

[Skyscraperfan]

Alamy promised that new people that join after July 2021 would stay in the gold category until at least June 30th, 2023, because otherwise they would have less than a year to reach the $250 in sales. Anyone who is already at Alamy will have time until June 30th, 2022. So the sale count starts on July 1st ans lasts a year. I am not sure though if DACS payments count into the $250. And what about money from infringements? However even gold just gives us only 40% commission.

 

[meanderingemu]

5 minutes ago, Skyscraperfan said:

Alamy promised that new people that join after July 2021 would stay in the gold category until at least June 30th, 2023, because otherwise they would have less than a year to reach the $250 in sales. Anyone who is already at Alamy will have time until June 30th, 2022. So the sale count starts on July 1st ans lasts a year. I am not sure though if DACS payments count into the $250. And what about money from infringements? However even gold just gives us only 40% commission.

 

 

actually they never promised such a thing.

 

the new contract says they wouldn't start monitoring the $250 threshold until the following year, but they also have this clause:

"lamy may vary this Contract by altering or deleting any of its provisions or adding any new provisions by giving you 45 days’ prior notice at any time. "

 

 

 

 

as for DACS, it doesn't seem to be included in the definition of Licence Fees, which is what triggers the Levels

 

"Licence Fees"
means any sum actually received by Alamy from any Customer in respect of the license of your Content whether a single payment or a royalty paid over time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Skyscraperfan]

That is a tweet of the Alamy Content Team:
 

Hi Matt - All new contributors start on Gold so will earn 40% commission for direct sales. It's only if you make less than $250 gross in an Alamy revenue year will you be on Silver. Anyone who joins after July 1st 2021 will remain on Gold until at least July 2023.

[MizBrown]

6 minutes ago, Skyscraperfan said:

Alamy promised that new people that join after July 2021 would stay in the gold category until at least June 30th, 2023, because otherwise they would have less than a year to reach the $250 in sales. Anyone who is already at Alamy will have time until June 30th, 2022. So the sale count starts on July 1st ans lasts a year. I am not sure though if DACS payments count into the $250. And what about money from infringements? However even gold just gives us only 40% commission.

 

 

My reading of that was gross sales or whatever Alamy got from distributors (if they include distributor's cut in the total, that would be some correction).  DAC probably would be incidental income.  Money from infringements?   My guess is that the most copied photos are the ones that have multiple sales.  They will also have to be exclusive with Alamy. 

 

They've pulled a hell of a year to not fire a number of people at PA (LinkedIn had a profile of someone who really needed to be managing a textile mill somewhere in Mexico) and put the pinch to their suppliers.    One problem with the suits and people doing creative work is the suits don't get how to motivate us.  I prefer working with a small press that doesn't have top rate distribution to someone who treated me like a wordsmith.   Alamy did in the past have people who liked photographers.   PA is coming from a culture where photographers did work for hire on assignment and the newspapers owned the copyrights.  PA Media was the newspapers' way of sharing the goods.

[Mr Standfast]

 

 

Advice for new starters...Read the whole contract not just the shortform on the FAQ page.

 

The actual contract is https://www.alamy.com/terms/contributor.aspx it is a lot longer than the FAQ page.

 

Existing contributors will point out that the digested version in the FAQ misses out many key points on the contributors liability.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Mr Standfast
1. spelling 2 Clarity! V1 was nonsense.

[MizBrown]

2 minutes ago, Skyscraperfan said:

That is a tweet of the Alamy Content Team:

 

And what matters and what is only binding is what's in the contract. 

[meanderingemu]

12 minutes ago, Skyscraperfan said:

That is a tweet of the Alamy Content Team:
 

Hi Matt - All new contributors start on Gold so will earn 40% commission for direct sales. It's only if you make less than $250 gross in an Alamy revenue year will you be on Silver. Anyone who joins after July 1st 2021 will remain on Gold until at least July 2023.

 

 

yes and 5 months ago they said ""We are budgeting for growth in 2021 and have no plans to change commission rates to achieve it"

 

 

 

a statement made on their twitter account has little value in court, they still have a right to amend the contract with 45 days notice and make the comment nul and void.  

[meanderingemu]

20 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

 

My reading of that was gross sales or whatever Alamy got from distributors (if they include distributor's cut in the total, that would be some correction).  DAC probably would be incidental income.  Money from infringements?   My guess is that the most copied photos are the ones that have multiple sales.  They will also have to be exclusive with Alamy. 

 

They've pulled a hell of a year to not fire a number of people at PA (LinkedIn had a profile of someone who really needed to be managing a textile mill somewhere in Mexico) and put the pinch to their suppliers.    One problem with the suits and people doing creative work is the suits don't get how to motivate us.  I prefer working with a small press that doesn't have top rate distribution to someone who treated me like a wordsmith.   Alamy did in the past have people who liked photographers.   PA is coming from a culture where photographers did work for hire on assignment and the newspapers owned the copyrights.  PA Media was the newspapers' way of sharing the goods.

 

 

Agree with your interpretation. Actually don't think we will get the full amount from Distro, mainly because it would mean we would know how much the fee is on their specific agreements, and you would think they would not want these public.  

 

 I think they will easily be able to exclude some or all of Infringement money with 2 arguments

 

a) They outsourced the recuperation, so they didn't receive the whole amount (same as distro)

b) Someone who infringed is not a "Customer".  

 

[Colblimp]

12 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

yes and 5 months ago they said ""We are budgeting for growth in 2021 and have no plans to change commission rates to achieve it"

 

Exactly.  It's lie after lie...

[MizBrown]

I feel sorry for the people who just got here and are all excited about having portfolios on Alamy.   Numbers matter.  Not ending on page 10 or worse on searches matters.   20% of the gross means one payout of $50 a year.   Take 10,000 of thousands of varied photographs, thin those down to no more than two or three of any scene, thin those down to photographs that you personally remember when you're not looking at them.  Get a thousand or more together.  Upload them in batches of 100, one batch at a time and upload the next batchs after individual batches pass Quality Control. 

 

Don't shoot nature unless you can identify what you're photographing; don't shoot common garden and house plants unless you've spent time looking at what Alamy already has and think you can do better.   Check to see if things you photograph have already been covered, and if so, how well.

[Cal]

"For people starting up or starting over"

Don't. That's my advice.