Micro-Macro-Whatever-Stock

[Jansos]

7 hours ago, Cal said:

 

I know this is a bit of a contentious issue on here, but I'd say don't hate the player, hate the game.

 

I have a small port (around 1/20th of what I have on Alamy) on some "other" sites. There is some overlap to Alamy but there are also some unique items that I think would be better suited to MS. While it was never intended to be an experiment, it is clear to me that for a lot of what I shoot, some of the MS sites are actually more lucrative. I have photos that never sell on Alamy (and never did, long before I started MS) that fly off the MS shelf almost daily. Yes, per sale the amounts are tiny, but despite the size of my port "over there", in terms of volume it is a very, very successful one. I ran the numbers to work out what the revenue from microstock could amount to if I was to extrapolate the size of my port over there to what it is here. The results surprised me. Basically, I'd be significantly more well off. As a result, I've started to adjust, and aside from certain subjects that I know are particularly well suited to Alamy, much more of my content will be going "over there". If one can earn more overall from the lifetime of an image, regardless of how the dynamics of the sales work, that's a win. I will continue to run what has become an "experiment" and assuming it is indeed more lucrative to focus more heavily on MS, I will continue to. I see no point in dying on this hill of principle while clearly depriving myself of earnings.

Fair point, horses for courses etc., but assuming it is, eventually, a race to the bottom, what comes next in pricing as far as MS sites are concerned? If it is cents now what will it be in 2-3 years time, and will that mean that the likes of Alamy lower their prices still further? I assume, with time, your port might sell equally well on Alamy but for higher returns? 

[Michael Ventura]

51 minutes ago, Jansos said:

Fair point, horses for courses etc., but assuming it is, eventually, a race to the bottom, what comes next in pricing as far as MS sites are concerned? If it is cents now what will it be in 2-3 years time, and will that mean that the likes of Alamy lower their prices still further? I assume, with time, your port might sell equally well on Alamy but for higher returns? 

 

It's just not a sustainable business model for a company like Alamy to be able to stay in business selling all the photos for cents per license.  Not sure where stock is going but but it is pretty much in self immolation mode

[Cal]

12 hours ago, Jansos said:

Fair point, horses for courses etc., but assuming it is, eventually, a race to the bottom, what comes next in pricing as far as MS sites are concerned? If it is cents now what will it be in 2-3 years time, and will that mean that the likes of Alamy lower their prices still further? I assume, with time, your port might sell equally well on Alamy but for higher returns? 

 

I think Alamy prices will continue to sink lower, in order to remain competitive. Regarding that last part, I have no idea. Volume needs to rise to offset the lower average price. Alamy is fast becoming an outlier in the market though, still possible to get high value sales, and must be one of the only agencies now where non-MS prices are still possible.

[John Mitchell]

16 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

It's just not a sustainable business model for a company like Alamy to be able to stay in business selling all the photos for cents per license.  Not sure where stock is going but but it is pretty much in self immolation mode

 

I agree. It seems like a lose-lose situation to me. There's little incentive for contributors to produce and upload new images, and the profits for Alamy must often not even cover the paperwork (to use an old-fashioned word). This said, my average price is up slightly this year from 2022 --- to $39 from $35 -- which is a small miracle.

 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by John Mitchell