It's Opt Out month! Can anyone provide some guidance?

[KateR]

So, the diary reminder i set months ago tells me that it's time to opt out of Novel Use, as we can only do that in April (because of course. Hang on, why?!)

 

Anyway, I had that reminder after one of my images was sold for joke money a while ago. I am in the fortunate position of not having to take every cent and contribute to the steady decline in value of our images, so I've opted out of that.  I was already opted out of PU after a batch of sales which seemed extremely unlikely to me to be PU.

 

Then i see there are various other things that i can only opt in or out of in April. Distribution, for example, where we need to guess which countries have distributor arrangements that mean the photographer's cut will be barely worth having.

 

I'm sure the small print is out there somewhere, but I'm both lazy and overwhelmed with other stuff i need to do this month. Has anyone got a "rule of thumb" list for which sales options one should opt out of, should one wish to prevent one's images being sold for next to nothing? 

[NYCat]

I've had a couple of sales in Japan that were definitely worth it even with all the commissions paid.

 

Paulette

[Robert M Estall]

I agree it is worth trying to keep away from the silly pricing markets, but there is still no certainty that some next-to-nothing sales will not happen. I can't see how any of these ultra low prices can be worth it for anyone. And I can't embrace the "something is better than nothing" attitude.

Edited April 1 by Robert M Estall

[John Mitchell]

Fortunately, I seldom see any ultra-low sales from those silly pricing markets, so I remain opted in for just about everywhere and everything, except for a few badly-behaving countries (like Russia and China) plus Novel Use.

[Steve F]

I've just opted out of novel use because the images can be used for AI training. Don't see stupidly low distribution fees normally.

[shearwater]

Never been in Novel Use. And last year I opted out of distribution to China.

Fortunately I haven´t got any ridiculously extreme low sales (<$1). Fingers crossed.

Edited April 2 by shearwater

[Michael Ventura]

 Never been in Novel Use and no regrets.  I am in distribution except for China and the Russian Federation.

[spacecadet]

NU licences make up 0.2% of my sales. So, not worth leaving. Not when my latest RM sale was a quarter as much as my first NU.

[Mr Standfast]

Just searched back to 2007.  9 Novel use sales.  I can live with that.

 

 

[John Mitchell]

I opted out of Novel Use years ago due to the low prices and licenses that didn't look very "novel" to me. Just curious, what do NU sales look like these days -- i.e. what type of usages count as "novel"? 😕

[Foreign Export]

I opt out of certain countries - entirely on the basis of how I view them politically.

So fairly predictably I dont licence to China, Russia etc 

Makes me feel good

Edited April 4 by Foreign Export
typo

[sb photos]

3 hours ago, Foreign Export said:

I opt out of certain countries - entirely on the basis of how I view them politically.

So fairly predictably I dont licence to China, Russia etc 

Makes me feel good

 

Same here, + few more undemocratic countries.

[John Mitchell]

8 minutes ago, sabastian said:

"Novel Use" refers to a type of licensing for creative works like novels, where the buyer gets permission to use the work in unique or unconventional ways. However, in the past, some people found that the prices were too low, and the licenses didn't offer enough flexibility for what they considered truly innovative uses. These days, the landscape might be changing. "Novel Use" sales could encompass a wider range of uses that are considered fresh or original. For example, using a novel as the basis for an interactive app or incorporating it into a multimedia project might qualify as novel uses. It's all about finding creative and innovative ways to use the work beyond traditional formats.

 

Why wouldn't those types uses be covered by existing licenses -- e.g. the new "standard" and "enhanced" licenses? Also, the terms of Alamy licenses are now totally flexible and unpredictable. When Alamy introduced the novel use option many years ago, this wasn't the case. The traditional RM and RF licensing models were still more or less intact. It strikes me that most sales are "novel" now, so the category has become obsolete.

[Rubens Alarcon]

I'm not in Novel use, and it seems most comments here are from people that have also cancelled it. With the lower fees we are all seeing with "standard" licenses, I would be interested in hearing from contributors that ARE still subscribed to Novel use. How often do you get a Novel use license? What kind of prices are you getting? Are they much lower than what the contributors regularly report in the forum? Based on the current scenario, do you think it would be worthwhile to reinstate it as an experiment for 2024?

[Steve F]

5 minutes ago, Rubens Alarcon said:

I'm not in Novel use, and it seems most comments here are from people that have also cancelled it. With the lower fees we are all seeing with "standard" licenses, I would be interested in hearing from contributors that ARE still subscribed to Novel use. How often do you get a Novel use license? What kind of prices are you getting? Are they much lower than what the contributors regularly report in the forum? Based on the current scenario, do you think it would be worthwhile to reinstate it as an experiment for 2024?

 

I oped out in 2023. I had the occasional novel use. Licenses I can see for 2022-2023:

 

$0.14

Country: Worldwide

Usage: Editorial, Use in syndicated editorial news features, single context only. Novel Use.
Media: Newspaper - national
Print run: Unlimited

 

$0.15

Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial, Use in syndicated editorial news features, single context only. Novel Use.
Media: Newspaper - national
Print run: Unlimited

 

$0.16

Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial, Use in syndicated editorial news features, single context only. Novel Use.
Media: Newspaper - national
Print run: Unlimited

 

$0.34

Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial, Use in syndicated editorial news, single context only. Novel Use.
Media: Newspaper - national
Print run: Unlimited

 

$0.34

Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial, Use in syndicated editorial news, single context only. Novel Use.
Media: Newspaper - national
Print run: Unlimited

 

Out of circa 200+ licenses. Doesn't seem worth it. And especially not a fan of my images being used for AI training.

[Rubens Alarcon]

3 hours ago, Steve F said:

 

Out of circa 200+ licenses. Doesn't seem worth it. And especially not a fan of my images being used for AI training.

This is great feedback. Thank you!

[Phil Robinson]

I opted out of Novel Use a long time ago (is it still a thing?) I remain in distribution because annoying as the percentage is, it still brings in some decent amounts of money - for example Japan, as mentioned above.
I have opted out of a couple of countries for ideological reasons and one for the derisory amounts from any sales I got but otherwise I'm staying in.