Martyn Chillmaid Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Just handed in my notice to the MD with an explanation. I've sought and found a new library and am going to put all my efforts into transferring my library to them. I have been in the business for forty decades and have seen the landslide of prices and terms brought on, I believe, by accountants who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I will have much more control over my prices now and hope it will work out as this was supposed to be a supplement to my pension. Here, for what it's worth is my goodbye email: Dear Ms. Shelley, I am writing to advise that due to the unacceptable change in contract and fee share I am withdrawing my images as from todays date. I have revoked exclusivity to Alamy as I am placing the images in another library. Please pay any outstanding sales and DACS payments when they come due. I deeply regret having to take this course but the new contract is not what I signed up for. Costs for taking images are very high and it is impossible to have a half profitable business with the proposed percentage share. You are not the first library I have left but your past reputation gave me hope that you might be a long term partner. Partnerships are based on trust and this change has destroyed that. You will see that, despite a fair number of sales for a newcomer last year, there have been no sales of my pictures this year. Alamy is not unique in this, the market is going through a very tough time but this is not the moment to pull the rug out on your product suppliers. With regret. Martyn f. Chillmaid 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tadman Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 "I have been in the business for forty decades " That certainly is a wealth of experience ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Robinson Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 I hope you find the new library is an improvement on what you have here. I have looked for years for something comparable to Alamy and have failed. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 500 images- so one would expect about 2 sales so far this year- zero is probably within the confidence interval for this small a port. So 40% of nothing is worse than 50% of nothing........... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert M Estall Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 534 images: well above average in concept and good information and very restrained runs of similars; but it's still a pretty modest offering. Good luck elsewhere but I doubt anywhere is now going to supplement pensions significantly. I am in a pretty similar position, I guess I've been in this business even longer and am disappointed how things have turned out. 22 sales so far in 2021 but not a whole lot of $$$ Once upon a time, I made a pretty good living out of stock photography both as a photographer and a niche agency Edited June 25, 2021 by Robert M Estall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 2 hours ago, Robert M Estall said: 534 images: well above average in concept and good information and very restrained runs of similars; but it's still a pretty modest offering. Good luck elsewhere but I doubt anywhere is now going to supplement pensions significantly. I am in a pretty similar position, I guess I've been in this business even longer and am disappointed how things have turned out. 22 sales so far in 2021 but not a whole lot of $$$ What longer than 400 years.😀 Explanation below. Allan 18 hours ago, Martyn Chillmaid said: I have been in the business for forty decades and have seen the landslide of prices and terms brought on, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Chillmaid Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 Four decades.... It was along night. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanderingemu Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 52 minutes ago, Allan Bell said: What longer than 400 years.😀 Explanation below. Allan nowhere did he claim the Decades were not concurrent 10 decades 2000-2010 2001-2011 2002-2012 2003-2013 2004-2014 2005-2015 2006-2016 2007-2017 2008-2018 2009-2019 ..... like three life sentences are usually only over one life Edited June 25, 2021 by meanderingemu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Chillmaid Posted June 25, 2021 Author Share Posted June 25, 2021 By the way - my sales on less than 500 images in 2020 was $352 and this year I have had my first sale - advised today ironically - for $109. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Martyn Chillmaid said: Four decades.... It was along night. Pity it wasn't forty decades, your early work would be worth serious money. It would predate the earliest surviving photograph (Nicéphore Niépce, le point de vue du Gras, 1826 by over 200 years! Edited June 25, 2021 by Martin P Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Standfast Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 49 minutes ago, Martyn Chillmaid said: Four decades.... It was along night. Easily done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 1 hour ago, Martyn Chillmaid said: By the way - my sales on less than 500 images in 2020 was $352 and this year I have had my first sale - advised today ironically - for $109. You are doing very well for such a small port on Alamy. Allan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidhu Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 4 hours ago, Martyn Chillmaid said: By the way - my sales on less than 500 images in 2020 was $352 and this year I have had my first sale - advised today ironically - for $109. Martyn, I reported one of yours in the Images Found thread - 02/06/2021, Daily Telegraph, 2BN3T1T. Was it this one invoiced today ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn Chillmaid Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Hi David, Thanks for that but not sure how I check it. Was the pic of the Le Corbusier chapel in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidhu Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 16 minutes ago, Martyn Chillmaid said: Hi David, Thanks for that but not sure how I check it. Was the pic of the Le Corbusier chapel in France. Martyn, If you put the reference number in the Alamy search box that will take you to the pic - looks like you've got another sale on the way 😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsessions Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 (edited) Small port but very nice, quality images. I like the images and the no 'clutter' of duplicates as well. I don't know why so many jokes; 'it was a long night' with possibly some stress on top of it. I do okay with my smallish port and some others I know are doing even better than I am with even smaller ports. Size isn't everything (no pun intended, wouldn't want to start something else going here). Sorry you have to leave Martyn, best of luck with at or is it with the new library. Helen Edited June 27, 2021 by hsessions 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colblimp Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 12 hours ago, hsessions said: Size isn't everything Helen Sessions - July 2021. 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsessions Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 6 hours ago, Colblimp said: Helen Sessions - July 2021. 🤣 Yap, deserved that one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giphotostock Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Martyn, Your name comes up in textbook credits quite a bit. I would imagine you were doing reasonably well with your science portfolio at SPL. Why not focus your efforts there? I cannot see Alamy bringing comparable returns on the "per-effort" basis. GI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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