Standard licenses and morale?

[geogphotos]

This is getting me DOWN.

 

Giving SO much away for SO little.

 

I'm usually a keen, positive Alamy chappie but it is getting hard to see the positives in all this.........

 

Country: Worldwide Usage: Standard, Standard License for 1 user only. Allowed usage: across websites, social media, short-form video on video sharing sites, digital publishing, digital marketing, and print runs up to 100,000. Restrictions stated prior to or at time of purchase may limit the scope of permissible usage. Start: 11 April 2024 Duration: In perpetuity

$ 5.52

Edited April 12 by geogphotos

[Alexander Hogg]

21 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

This is getting me DOWN.

 

Giving SO much away for SO little.

 

I'm usually a keen, positive Alamy chappie but it is getting hard to see the positives in all this.........

 

Country: Worldwide Usage: Standard, Standard License for 1 user only. Allowed usage: across websites, social media, short-form video on video sharing sites, digital publishing, digital marketing, and print runs up to 100,000. Restrictions stated prior to or at time of purchase may limit the scope of permissible usage. Start: 11 April 2024 Duration: In perpetuity

$ 5.52

Quite agree with you Some have had as low as 1 cent which is scary 

At lot of us are getting these fees also so I can understand your frustration Seems to be the sign of the times 

[BidC]

22 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

This is getting me DOWN.

 

Giving SO much away for SO little.

 

I'm usually a keen, positive Alamy chappie but it is getting hard to see the positives in all this.........

 

Country: Worldwide Usage: Standard, Standard License for 1 user only. Allowed usage: across websites, social media, short-form video on video sharing sites, digital publishing, digital marketing, and print runs up to 100,000. Restrictions stated prior to or at time of purchase may limit the scope of permissible usage. Start: 11 April 2024 Duration: In perpetuity

$ 5.52

 

I would agree - though having worked in a profession where we give away so much for so little (for ourselves), I kind of accept this as sadly part of life .... 

[spacecadet]

$5.56? Luxury.

Try 20c. for "Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial, Website and Social media, any size, single placement and design, worldwide, in perpetuity
Media: Website, app and social media
Print run: Unlimited
Placement: Any - print inside, electronic, online
Image Size: Any size
Start: 01 April 2024
Duration: In perpetuity "

I don't put the likes of these up on the forum anymore unless I feel like a larf. As for my spreadsheet, they go down as $1, because when I drew it up the idea of penny sales was absurd.

 

Edited April 12 by spacecadet

[geogphotos]

Just now, spacecadet said:

$5.56? Luxury.

Try 20c. for "Country: Worldwide
Usage: Editorial, Website and Social media, any size, single placement and design, worldwide, in perpetuity
Media: Website, app and social media
Print run: Unlimited
Placement: Any - print inside, electronic, online
Image Size: Any size
Start: 01 April 2024
Duration: In perpetuity "

 

 

Is the date relevant?

[spacecadet]

4 minutes ago, geogphotos said:

 

 

Is the date relevant?

I guess I'm the fool. Missed that!🤪

Edited April 12 by spacecadet

[geogphotos]

The Standard Licence looks set to wipe out other licences and become the standard licence!

 

Why would anybody choose to pay for this when for a fiver you get a print run to 100,000 in perp?

 

Magazines and books 

£ 39.99

Use in a single magazine or book (print and/or digital), inside use, 2,500 circulation, worldwide (excludes advertising).

[Chuck Nacke]

4 hours ago, geogphotos said:

This is getting me DOWN.

 

Giving SO much away for SO little.

 

I'm usually a keen, positive Alamy chappie but it is getting hard to see the positives in all this.........

 

Country: Worldwide Usage: Standard, Standard License for 1 user only. Allowed usage: across websites, social media, short-form video on video sharing sites, digital publishing, digital marketing, and print runs up to 100,000. Restrictions stated prior to or at time of purchase may limit the scope of permissible usage. Start: 11 April 2024 Duration: In perpetuity

$ 5.52

I have written, commented on this many times.  In my belief, the problem is not only on Alamy, but the entire "STOCK" and publishing business.  It really is time for "Real Photographers" or content creators to hold the entire industry to account.  I also have no idea about how to do this, God knows I've tried.

 

Chuck 

[John Mitchell]

Standard licenses definitely seem to be trending. Mine have been ranging from about $7.00 to $19.00.

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

12 hours ago, geogphotos said:

This is getting me DOWN.

Alzarsi, paisano, alzarsi !!

 

2 antidotes, AFAIK:

 

a. decent assignment work (not me cup o tea anymore)

b. shoot volume, sell volume (e.g., 900+ licenses monthly elsewhere)

 

but...just did me taxes, me 2023 stock income < 20% me 2008 stock income...

thank blessed kilonovas & black holes, I put 2008 $$ to work, $$ making $$$...

[geogphotos]

9 hours ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

Alzarsi, paisano, alzarsi !!

 

2 antidotes, AFAIK:

 

a. decent assignment work (not me cup o tea anymore)

b. shoot volume, sell volume (e.g., 900+ licenses monthly elsewhere)

 

but...just did me taxes, me 2023 stock income < 20% me 2008 stock income...

thank blessed kilonovas & black holes, I put 2008 $$ to work, $$ making $$$...

 

a) I'm not good enough or interested - just an ex teacher with a camera

b) My estimate for your income of approx $1 per licence? (from an editing base of 150k images) with the mean sliding year on year- many fees under $1 some a few cents.

 

2023-24 was my best ever stock income. Alamy is a decreasing proportion of that. 

Standard licences seem to me to be a harbinger. The word 'Standard' suggests so.

 

The irony is that the growth sectors depend on image licensing - illegal copying and secondary uses. This is where volume is key.

Standard licences, in my view, will not be sufficiently compensated for by volume - could lead to competitors undercutting further.

 

Like you, the other 'stock' is $$$ and involves no effort just risk.

Edited April 13 by geogphotos

[Brian Yarvin]

Jeff, I don't think you've scratched the surface. Ian could sell text/photo packages, create souvenir books, learn video, and make a special effort to improve his technique so he could produce marketable images in subject categories he's never shot before.

 

And Ian, while many industries rely on professional photography as the core of their marketing efforts - the images they need don't have to be sourced from stock agencies. Find out where they're getting their images from and put yourself out there. 

[geogphotos]

32 minutes ago, Brian Yarvin said:

Jeff, I don't think you've scratched the surface. Ian could sell text/photo packages, create souvenir books, learn video, and make a special effort to improve his technique so he could produce marketable images in subject categories he's never shot before.

 

And Ian, while many industries rely on professional photography as the core of their marketing efforts - the images they need don't have to be sourced from stock agencies. Find out where they're getting their images from and put yourself out there. 

 

 

Thanks for the ideas Brian. I continue to explore other options and have done since starting to go non-exclusive in 2012. I do think that getting the images that I already have in more and more markets is increasingly important. Unfortunately, this is not the place to have that discussion.

[John Mitchell]

Is it my overactive imagination, or have PU and Presentation sales declined since standard licenses were introduced?

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

On 13/04/2024 at 01:53, geogphotos said:

b) My estimate for your income of approx $1 per licence?

 

2023 stock income net ~$48K includes DACS, etc.

Alamy $37,321 gross / 1121 licenses = $33.29 gross/license x ~47% = ~$15.64 net/license

~148K images throughout 2023;

 

elsewhere 2023

roughly $2.65 net/license from roughly 800 x 12 = 9600 licenses

roughly 52K images throughout 2023

 

UPDATED FOR ACCURACY:

 

2023 stock income net $47,310 includes DACS, etc.

 

Alamy $16,865 net / 1121 licenses = $15.04 net/license (~45% of gross)

from ~148K images throughout 2023;

 

other $26,852 net /  roughly 825 x 12 = 9900 licenses

$2.71 net/license, from 52K images throughout 2023

Edited April 14 by Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg

[geogphotos]

13 minutes ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

 

2023 stock income net ~$48K includes DACS, etc.

Alamy $37,321 gross / 1121 licenses = $33.30 gross/license x ~42% = ~$14 net/license

~148K images throughout 2023;

 

elsewhere 2023

roughly $2.65 net/license from roughly 800 x 12 = 9600 licenses

roughly 52K images throughout 2023

 

 

Apologies I wasn't clear.

 

The $1 average fee guesstimate was for the 900 licences at the 'other place'.  I based it on what I get for my usual 300 or so monthly licences from the same place. Maybe $1 was a bit too low and anyway you are doing better than that.

Edited April 13 by geogphotos

[mickfly]

Get ready for Alamy selling your datasets.
I have just had a 7c sale for a dataset at one of their video partners and the content would be much bigger at Alamy

[VbFolly]

2 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

Is it my overactive imagination, or have PU and Presentation sales declined since standard licenses were introduced?

Yes, I'm finding the same. Since my first standard license on 9th Feb, I have only had one personal use license and no presentations. 

The standard license terms include everything from websites to large print runs, so I can't imagine we'll be seeing many decent licenses any more.

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, VbFolly said:

Yes, I'm finding the same. Since my first standard license on 9th Feb, I have only had one personal use license and no presentations. 

The standard license terms include everything from websites to large print runs, so I can't imagine we'll be seeing many decent licenses any more.

 

Interesting. I've noticed fewer PU/Presentation sales as well. This could just be a coincidence of course. I agree, the standard licenses appear to be more bad news when it comes to fees and what remains of RM licensing. The "print runs up to 100K" is confusing -- print runs of what kinds of media, books, magazines, newspapers?

[geogphotos]

12 hours ago, VbFolly said:

Yes, I'm finding the same. Since my first standard license on 9th Feb, I have only had one personal use license and no presentations. 

The standard license terms include everything from websites to large print runs, so I can't imagine we'll be seeing many decent licenses any more.

 

 

This is what spooks me 🫣

[gvallee]

Just now, geogphotos said:

 

 

This is what spooks me 🫣

 

I just reported two 'standard licenses'. On a Sunday, it usually would have been Presentations.

 

 

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

On 12/04/2024 at 13:44, John Mitchell said:

Mine have been ranging from about $7.00 to $19.00.

similar, $5.45 -- $19 gross

(11) this month so far;

over half in $18 -- 19 gross range;

what was "standard" rate range in 2023?

[John Mitchell]

8 hours ago, gvallee said:

 

I just reported two 'standard licenses'. On a Sunday, it usually would have been Presentations.

 

 

 

I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but this seems (?) to be saying something about what a lot of Presentation and PU sales were really all about. I had a standard license for $5.52 yesterday, the lowest fee yet. 

[John Mitchell]

48 minutes ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

similar, $5.45 -- $19 gross

(11) this month so far;

over half in $18 -- 19 gross range;

what was "standard" rate range in 2023?

 

Didn't have any standards in 2023. First one Jan this year for $18.94. Four so far this month.

[giphotostock]

On 13/04/2024 at 12:10, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

 

 

 

UPDATED FOR ACCURACY:

 

2023 stock income net $47,310 includes DACS, etc.

 

Alamy $16,865 net / 1121 licenses = $15.04 net/license (~45% of gross)

from ~148K images throughout 2023;

 

other $26,852 net /  roughly 825 x 12 = 9900 licenses

$2.71 net/license, from 52K images throughout 2023

Jeff,

 

Huge thanks for making your numbers public. I always thought you were among the best-earning stock producers, shooting extremely high volumes of relevant and in-demand images. As such, your numbers are a testament of a sad state of industry.

 

On a somewhat positive side, in comparison, our own numbers then do not look as bad as I thought they were. We get about 1/2 of your total net, but from a much, much lower number of images, ~8000, that generate ~1000 licenses per year. Of course the difference is due to us mainly selling through a specialist agency supplying to a well-defined niche market.

 

GI

[geogphotos]

Who thinks that the introduction of Standard Licences will increase their Alamy income? Anybody?

 

Who thinks that it will it increase Alamy's profit? If so, please explain.

 

 

Edited April 15 by geogphotos