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Does Alamy keep all its contributors happy ?


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If meant as a question to stimulate, provoke discussion - good job, it's succeeded.

 

(But if meant to be taken literally, I don't get the point,

since isn't it crafted in way to lead to response along lines of "No one has that info"

- or "No" considering odds of any company making all tens of thousands of contributors happy?)

 

Considering that Alamy has approx. 38 million images and tens of thousands of photographers, does it keep all its contributors happy with their sales ?

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I'm happy with Alamy, although not deliriously so.

 

A $10K license tomorrow morning would mean I head to the Slug and Lettuce in Salisbury for lunch. Battered Cod and Chips and a pint for a tenner(ish)!

 

But then, so would a $50 license. I'm a creature of habit.

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What is the criteria for happines?

 

Rights Managed = Yes

Charity activities = Yes

Opportunity = Yes

 

Actual sales = No

Policy on image credits = No

Sales not converted into my local currency upon sale = No (Means I need to do additional calculations at tax year end) 

 

3 and 3 to sit on the fence.

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Alamy isn't an agency. It's an image library. So they are not an agent and do not have an agency relationship with or fiduciary responsibility to contributors. Moaning about low prices isn't going to change this.

Furthermore..... This from Alamy yesterday;

 

"We've got a client working on a project where they specifically need images taken with either a Nikon D600 or D800.

 

If you have images online with us taken with this camera then let us know here and we will point our client at your work. There are no guarantees of sale but your images will be looked at and considered."

 

They are pointing out specific images to a client, this is the work of an 'agent' and 'agency' not a mere 'image libary'.

 

Alamy also use their staff to help clients in picture/image research.

 

Regards

Richard

 

Richard

Symantics. A true agent has a fiduciary responsibility to its clients (that would be us). This means they put the clients' economic well being ahead of their own. They do not. So they really aren't an agent no matter how the agreement states it.

fiduciary |fəˈdoō sh ēˌerē; - sh ərē|adjective Law involving trust, esp. with regard to the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary : the company has a fiduciary duty to shareholders.

 

They do have a fiduciary responsibility - this is how we trust them to give us our share of the money made on a licenced image we also have to trust them to give us our share of what they say has been paid for said licence. 

 

Symantics maybe but Alamy are acting as our agents in law - we have a contract with them to that effect - see Alamy terms etc..

 

Regards

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alamy isn't an agency. It's an image library. So they are not an agent and do not have an agency relationship with or fiduciary responsibility to contributors. Moaning about low prices isn't going to change this.

Furthermore..... This from Alamy yesterday;

 

"We've got a client working on a project where they specifically need images taken with either a Nikon D600 or D800.

 

If you have images online with us taken with this camera then let us know here and we will point our client at your work. There are no guarantees of sale but your images will be looked at and considered."

 

They are pointing out specific images to a client, this is the work of an 'agent' and 'agency' not a mere 'image libary'.

 

Alamy also use their staff to help clients in picture/image research.

 

Regards

Richard

 

Richard

Symantics. A true agent has a fiduciary responsibility to its clients (that would be us). This means they put the clients' economic well being ahead of their own. They do not. So they really aren't an agent no matter how the agreement states it.

fiduciary |fəˈdoō sh ēˌerē; - sh ərē|adjective Law involving trust, esp. with regard to the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary : the company has a fiduciary duty to shareholders.

 

They do have a fiduciary responsibility - this is how we trust them to give us our share of the money made on a licenced image we also have to trust them to give us our share of what they say has been paid for said licence. 

 

Symantics maybe but Alamy are acting as our agents in law - we have a contract with them to that effect - see Alamy terms etc..

 

Regards

Richard

I respectfully disagree. They're not a fiduciary under the law. Not at all as say a real estate agent or a sports agent are and definitely not as a corporation is to it's shareholders either. It's a different relationship and an agency in name only. And if folks think it is a fiduciary, why all the moaning, as they're obviously acting in our best interests. /snark

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A good question, one can say yes and no.

Its all changing a lot these days, and not for the better, when we started with Alamy, we had a good chance of making sales with good strong images for sensible prices, these days with the "pond" getting so huge with an unedited 38 million images.
Alamy are now putting the onus on to the photographer to be more responsible for the marketing of their own images with more keyword requirements and various other keyword refinements.
Correct me otherwise, but in my world my "Agent or Library' should be doing this as part of their 50% oh uhm 60% We photographers are now expected to spend so much time in doing this, as well as have the initial costs and the photographic skills in producing the images.
I also wonder if we are pulled into a false sense of security when we see our Images Sold showing a total of 1000.00, remember that is in dollars and gross, it actually equals £258 approx thats not a lot for a lot extra work.

I believe it all needs a good edit and a worldwide increase of prices for stock images. Some hope.

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I agree 100%...I will continue to contribute in hopes I'll get the occasional sale, but if I'm marketing my own images, I'm not going to do it and expect to pay a third party 50% of the gross royalty in exchange. 

 

....Alamy are now putting the onus on to the photographer to be more responsible for the marketing of their own images with more keyword requirements and various other keyword refinements.
Correct me otherwise, but in my world my "Agent or Library' should be doing this as part of their 50% oh uhm 60% We photographers are now expected to spend so much time in doing this, as well as have the initial costs and the photographic skills in producing the images...

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