The number of downloads from iStockphoto may have declined by 46% in 2012 compared to 2011 and almost 56% since 2010. Here’s how we arrived at that number.
For more than three years we have been tracking the number of downloads of about 200 of iStock’s most productive contributors. The bulk of this list is made up of individuals who were listed on the iStockcharts online service as having the most downloads.
Until the Spring of 2012, iStockcharts, a service of multimedia.de, published daily statistics of about 38,000 iStockphoto contributors. Their data covered virtually all the major contributors and more than 90% of all images on iStockphoto. The data could be ordered by downloads. While individual positions in the order of most downloads changed slightly, month to month, overall the relative positions of those with the most downloads remained substantially the same. Multimedia.de ceased publishing the iStockcharts list in early 2012.
At the end of 2011 the minimum number of total downloads for this group of 194 contributors was 29,417,000. In order to determine the approximate number of total downloads we needed to determine the maximum possible number of downloads using iStock’s method of calculation.
In the early years iStock used to provide the actual number of downloads of each contributor on the contributor’s “User_view” page. In June of 2009 they switched to listing a whole number and indicating that the total downloads were “greater than” that number. When downloads hit the next higher whole number that number was listed. For example a contributor’s downloads may have been listed at >10,000. The actual number was somewhere between 10,000 and 10,999. When the number hits 11,000 it would be shown as >11,000.
Using this strategy the maximum possible downloads for 2011 was 31,096,000. In 2012 the minimum downloads was 31,362,000 and the maximum 33,206,000. Considering that some contributors have just passed the minimum number and others are just about to reach the next higher whole number we have taken an average of these two numbers as a rough estimate of the total downloads of this group of contributors for each of the years since 2009. The average for 2012 is 30,284,000. See the chart below for the previous years.
| |
Low |
High |
Total |
Average |
DL in Year |
Pecent Decline |
| 2009 |
21,471,000 |
22,387,000 |
43,858,000 |
21,929,000 |
|
|
| 2010 |
25,768,000 |
27,227,000 |
52,995,000 |
26,497,500 |
4,568,500 |
|
| 2011 |
29,417,000 |
31,096,000 |
60,513,000 |
30,256,500 |
3,759,000 |
17.75% |
| 2012 |
31,362,000 |
33,206,000 |
64,568,000 |
32,284,000 |
2,027,500 |
46.06% |
The chart shows the “Low” or minimum number and the possible “High” number for the lifetime downloads of each of the years. Then we “Totaled” the two numbers and divided by 2 to get the “Average.” Finally we subtracted the 2009 number from the 2010 number to determine that actual number of downloads during 2010. That number appears in the “DL in Year” column. We used the same procedure to determine downloads in 2011 and 2012.
Finally, we calculated at percentage of decline of 17.75% in 2011 compared to 2010 and a percentage of decline of 46.06% in 2012 compared to 2011. Overall, the two year decline from the end of 2010 until the end of 2012 was 55.63%.
In 2011 I
estimated iStock had about 21,503,353 downloads. If the download decline my group of leading sellers experienced in 2012 is representative then total iStock downloads for 2012 would be down to around 10 million -- about the same as iStock had in 2006.
Can 194 Contributors Be Representative?
As of January 2, 2012 the 38,163 contributors iStockcharts was tracking had a combined minimum total of 114,875,519 downloads since the founding of iStock. These contributors owned over 90% of all the images on iStock. As of that date 701,767 of the images in the collection belonged to my group of 194 contributors. But these contributors had 29,417,000 of the downloads or 25.6 percent of all downloads.
Since the beginning of 2012, I have expanded my research and tracked an additional 229 contributors for a total of 423 of the top sellers. The 423 have a minimum of 44,917,000 downloads. (See
here.) If we assume that total iStock downloads are now something less than 130 million then these 423 contributors represent about 35% of all iStocks downloads. For specifics on each individual's downloads and uploads in 2012 see
iStockphoto Upload Trends In 2012. The trends for the 423 are substantially the same as those of the 194.
Revenue Declines May Not Be As Severe
Fewer downloads doesn’t necessarily mean lower revenue. Prices have risen substantially. In 2006 the average price per image downloaded was $2.80. It is unclear what the average price of an iStock image is today, but it would not be surprising if it were in excess of $30. It is hard to find small web size images on iStock that cost less than $3.00 unless the customer buys a large package of credits. The prices for some images are well above $100. Nevertheless, given contributor complaints on the blogs, one suspects that gross revenue is also down significantly from what it was in 2010.
Some long time iStock shooters complain that Getty is pushing its Flickr imagery and imagery from The Agency Collection. They claim that is why their number of downloads have been falling. If Flickr imagery is selling well on iStock we’re certainly not hearing any comments to that effect from Flickr photographers. It is true that when The Agency Collection was first introduced on iStock around September 2011 the images were pushed to the top of the search return order and sold extremely well for a few months.
But, customers were going to iStock for “inexpensive” imagery. When they saw the TAC prices many thought all the good images were that expensive and began to turn away from iStock in droves. Probably what happened is that art directors had been told by their accounting people to use iStock because it was cheap. The art directors loved the TAC images and used them a lot. But, when the accountants saw the bills they said, “Don’t use iStock anymore. Find another less expensive source.” Once given such an order, it is very hard to get those customers back to iStock.
Getty recognized that they were losing customers as a result of the higher priced TAC images so they changed the search return order to push lower priced images to the top. This probably included Vetta and Exclusive+, but that is not clear. It is clear that TAC sales dropped dramatically to the point that now many of the TAC contributors will no longer produce new images for the TAC collection.
iStock also encouraged many of its exclusive photographers to move their images up to Exclusive+. Then Getty moved many of the Exclusive+ images to the Getty site. Exclusive contributors are now complaining that their images are low in the iStock search return order and not getting used by iStock customers. At the same time there is no indication that these images are selling well on the Getty site.
Getty also chased many customers away from iStock when they
lowered contributor royalties in January 2011. Not that most customers care about how much contributors earn, but in the case of iStock (and most microstock agencies) a significant percentage of
active contributors are also customers.
Getty had lowered royalties before on GettyImages.com with no negative reaction from customers so they thought the same thing would happen at iStock. But, when the iStock customers who were also contributors determined that they, as contributors, were being treated unfairly they turned to other sources to buy their images. This didn’t happen all at once, but over the last couple of years it looks like it has resulted in a significant decline in iStock sales. And those customers won’t be coming back.
The following are the download trends for 194 iStock contributors from May 2009 through January 1, 2013.
| |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
| |
29-May |
1-Jan |
1-Jan |
1-Jan |
1-Jan |
| Yuri Arcurs |
594,990 |
760,000 |
1,000,000 |
1,300,000 |
1,400,000 |
| Lise Gagne |
862,623 |
950,000 |
1,000,000 |
1,100,000 |
1,100,000 |
| DNY59 |
524,961 |
650,000 |
830,000 |
980,000 |
1,000,000 |
| sjlocke |
479,968 |
570,000 |
710,000 |
830,000 |
890,000 |
| hidesy |
492,118 |
550,000 |
620,000 |
670,000 |
700,000 |
| jhorrocks |
305,831 |
360,000 |
450,000 |
510,000 |
530,000 |
| alexs1 |
180,112 |
230,000 |
350,000 |
490,000 |
560,000 |
| Nikada |
164,874 |
210,000 |
280,000 |
360,000 |
400,000 |
| duncan1890 |
239,456 |
260,000 |
310,000 |
340,000 |
360,000 |
| blackred |
229,561 |
260,000 |
290,000 |
330,000 |
340,000 |
| nico blue |
261,541 |
280,000 |
310,000 |
330,000 |
340,000 |
| sodafish |
225,267 |
250,000 |
280,000 |
310,000 |
330,000 |
| webphotographeer |
128,050 |
170,000 |
240,000 |
300,000 |
330,000 |
| skodonnell |
163,314 |
190,000 |
280,000 |
290,000 |
310,000 |
| 4x6 |
177,865 |
190,000 |
230,000 |
270,000 |
310,000 |
| Andresr |
154,181 |
190,000 |
240,000 |
270,000 |
290,000 |
| enjoynz |
121,941 |
150,000 |
210,000 |
270,000 |
300,000 |
| Neustockimages |
54,329 |
110,000 |
180,000 |
260,000 |
310,000 |
| peepo |
110,951 |
150,000 |
220,000 |
260,000 |
280,000 |
| jgroup |
136,287 |
170,000 |
220,000 |
250,000 |
260,000 |
| GlobalP |
97,763 |
130,000 |
180,000 |
230,000 |
270,000 |
| shironosov |
87,278 |
120,000 |
180,000 |
230,000 |
250,000 |
| bubaone |
132,132 |
160,000 |
190,000 |
230,000 |
260,000 |
| kcline |
137,885 |
150,000 |
170,000 |
230,000 |
190,000 |
| sdominick |
173,114 |
190,000 |
210,000 |
230,000 |
240,000 |
| Cimmerian |
173,971 |
190,000 |
210,000 |
230,000 |
230,000 |
| kirstypargeter |
171,687 |
180,000 |
210,000 |
220,000 |
230,000 |
| mammamaart |
182,840 |
190,000 |
210,000 |
220,000 |
230,000 |
| AndrewJohnson |
122,507 |
150,000 |
200,000 |
220,000 |
240,000 |
| mstay |
123,537 |
140,000 |
170,000 |
210,000 |
240,000 |
| aldomurillo |
88,136 |
120,000 |
160,000 |
200,000 |
240,000 |
| Mlenny |
149,220 |
160,000 |
190,000 |
200,000 |
210,000 |
| YinYang |
93,643 |
120,000 |
160,000 |
190,000 |
220,000 |
| A-Digit |
116,960 |
130,000 |
160,000 |
190,000 |
210,000 |
| filo |
123,597 |
140,000 |
170,000 |
190,000 |
210,000 |
| Kativ |
132,882 |
140,000 |
170,000 |
190,000 |
190,000 |
| enot-poloskun |
116,729 |
140,000 |
170,000 |
190,000 |
200,000 |
| digitalskillet |
83,308 |
110,000 |
150,000 |
180,000 |
210,000 |
| narvikk |
91,257 |
110,000 |
150,000 |
180,000 |
190,000 |
| LUGO |
104,464 |
130,000 |
160,000 |
180,000 |
200,000 |
| bluestocking |
111,199 |
130,000 |
160,000 |
180,000 |
190,000 |
| geopaul |
106,546 |
130,000 |
160,000 |
180,000 |
190,000 |
| sx70 |
168,611 |
170,000 |
180,000 |
180,000 |
190,000 |
| RapidEye |
76,389 |
98,000 |
130,000 |
170,000 |
200,000 |
| TommL |
65,829 |
91,000 |
120,000 |
170,000 |
210,000 |
| appleuzr |
124,940 |
130,000 |
150,000 |
170,000 |
190,000 |
| Juanmonino |
65,718 |
89,000 |
120,000 |
150,000 |
170,000 |
| MorganL |
53,598 |
78,000 |
110,000 |
150,000 |
170,000 |
| billnoll |
90,097 |
100,000 |
130,000 |
150,000 |
170,000 |
| Grafissimo |
109,274 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
160,000 |
| Palto |
68,068 |
92,000 |
130,000 |
150,000 |
160,000 |
| joshblake |
113,515 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
150,000 |
| aleksandarvelasevic |
99,154 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
150,000 |
180,000 |
| PeskyMonkey |
49,984 |
73,000 |
100,000 |
140,000 |
160,000 |
| LeggNet |
71,106 |
92,000 |
110,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| Floortje |
63,257 |
83,000 |
110,000 |
140,000 |
160,000 |
| mbbirdy |
80,262 |
97,000 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| ooyoo |
89,233 |
100,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| jacomstephens |
91,925 |
100,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| AVTG |
99,335 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| Turnervisual |
82,791 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| browndogstudios |
79,690 |
94,000 |
110,000 |
140,000 |
160,000 |
| tacojim |
104,293 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| fpm |
89,938 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
140,000 |
| kemie |
125,507 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| nyul |
79,644 |
98,000 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
150,000 |
| aldra |
115,125 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
140,000 |
| THEPALMER |
87,288 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
150,000 |
| Elenathewise |
58,063 |
75,000 |
100,000 |
130,000 |
150,000 |
| Graffizone |
94,406 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
130,000 |
| russelltatedotcom |
93,222 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
| jsmith |
102,365 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
130,000 |
| barsik |
114,025 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
| koun |
60,690 |
83,000 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
| snapphoto |
89,597 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
| ULTRA GENERIC |
83,541 |
99,000 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
140,000 |
| Stockphoto4U |
50,216 |
64,000 |
96,000 |
120,000 |
140,000 |
| ImagineGolf |
78,161 |
92,000 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| dlewis33 |
74,139 |
89,000 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| buzbuzzer |
78,283 |
90,000 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
| francisblack |
56,446 |
72,000 |
99,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
| Viorika |
73,252 |
89,000 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| molotovcoketail |
98,477 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| RBFried |
84,859 |
96,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| abzee |
80,102 |
97,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| nano |
90,332 |
99,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| PhotoEuphoria |
102,668 |
110,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| Sportstock |
74,732 |
90,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
130,000 |
| TriggerPhoto |
87,620 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
120,000 |
| andipantz |
89,000 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
110,000 |
| kycstudio |
76,449 |
90,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| ZoneCreative |
48,753 |
65,000 |
93,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| leezsnow |
66,441 |
78,000 |
97,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| eyeidea |
70,358 |
83,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| kate_sept2004 |
60,058 |
79,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| johnwoodcock |
72,405 |
85,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| Veni |
71,231 |
84,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
110,000 |
| duckycards |
81,296 |
91,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| konradlew |
69,372 |
82,000 |
99,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| iofoto |
60,250 |
79,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| EricHood |
56,665 |
71,000 |
91,000 |
110,000 |
140,000 |
| scottdunlap |
61,141 |
77,000 |
96,000 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
| Vasko |
82,983 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| M-I-S-H-A |
88,388 |
97,000 |
110,000 |
110,000 |
120,000 |
| Leontura |
69,527 |
81,000 |
99,000 |
110,000 |
130,000 |
| PIKSEL |
76,540 |
87,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
| lovleah |
84,521 |
90,000 |
97,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| LPETTET |
75,603 |
83,000 |
93,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| rzdeb |
82,415 |
91,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
| jangeltun |
62,824 |
75,000 |
89,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| MarsBars |
45,240 |
60,000 |
83,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
| kickstand |
85,552 |
93,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| Art-Y |
90,003 |
94,000 |
99,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| DSGpro |
46,180 |
60,000 |
83,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| Eraxion |
50,023 |
65,000 |
88,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
| ggodby |
90,112 |
94,000 |
99,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| gmnicholas |
84,221 |
91,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
| loooby |
62,066 |
74,000 |
91,000 |
100,000 |
110,000 |
| NickS |
71,511 |
80,000 |
92,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| phildate |
68,257 |
78,000 |
93,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| tomazl |
81,870 |
88,000 |
97,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| redmal |
74,892 |
84,000 |
95,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| Jbryson |
58,172 |
72,000 |
92,000 |
100,000 |
120,000 |
| belterz |
69,801 |
77,000 |
89,000 |
98,000 |
100,000 |
| ftwitty |
69,594 |
79,000 |
90,000 |
98,000 |
100,000 |
| lucato |
72,390 |
80,000 |
90,000 |
97,000 |
100,000 |
| mammuth |
45,220 |
59,000 |
77,000 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
| simonox |
74,220 |
81,000 |
88,000 |
94,000 |
98,000 |
| chuwy |
58,721 |
70,000 |
83,000 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
| subjug |
52,707 |
63,000 |
88,000 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
| onurdongel |
57,621 |
67,000 |
80,000 |
94,000 |
100,000 |
| aabejon |
63,147 |
73,000 |
84,000 |
92,000 |
95,000 |
| evirgen |
57,100 |
66,000 |
80,000 |
91,000 |
99,000 |
| Natural_Warp |
80,398 |
84,000 |
87,000 |
89,000 |
91,000 |
| Illustrious |
62,632 |
71,000 |
81,000 |
88,000 |
91,000 |
| Paha_L |
57,822 |
66,000 |
78,000 |
87,000 |
92,000 |
| davidf |
62,288 |
69,000 |
78,000 |
87,000 |
92,000 |
| BlackJack3D |
48,490 |
60,000 |
76,000 |
87,000 |
94,000 |
| matka_Wariatka |
50,555 |
61,000 |
76,000 |
86,000 |
90,000 |
| Kameleon007 |
48,615 |
58,000 |
72,000 |
85,000 |
94,000 |
| penfold |
62,863 |
69,000 |
78,000 |
85,000 |
89,000 |
| prill |
53,622 |
63,000 |
75,000 |
83,000 |
89,000 |
| RonTech2000 |
45,372 |
56,000 |
70,000 |
83,000 |
91,000 |
| arsenik |
48,405 |
59,000 |
72,000 |
82,000 |
88,000 |
| fstop123 |
44,758 |
55,000 |
67,000 |
79,000 |
89,000 |
| chictype |
49,909 |
58,000 |
70,000 |
79,000 |
83,000 |
| YanC |
50,357 |
60,000 |
72,000 |
79,000 |
82,000 |
| exdez |
57,928 |
63,000 |
71,000 |
78,000 |
82,000 |
| danielle71 |
68,754 |
72,000 |
75,000 |
78,000 |
78,000 |
| JLGutierrez |
45,821 |
57,000 |
69,000 |
77,000 |
79,000 |
| sweetym |
57,057 |
64,000 |
72,000 |
76,000 |
77,000 |
| Renphoto |
52,633 |
60,000 |
68,000 |
74,000 |
78,000 |
| 77DZIGN |
54,605 |
63,000 |
70,000 |
75,000 |
77,000 |
| webking |
63,379 |
67,000 |
72,000 |
75,000 |
77,000 |
| Luso |
60,417 |
65,000 |
70,000 |
74,000 |
76,000 |
| JoeGough |
45,097 |
53,000 |
64,000 |
73,000 |
78,000 |
| LoBoCo |
59,433 |
65,000 |
70,000 |
73,000 |
75,000 |
| grajte |
51,483 |
57,000 |
66,000 |
71,000 |
75,000 |
| naphtalina |
47,556 |
55,000 |
64,000 |
71,000 |
73,000 |
| Marje |
55,411 |
59,000 |
65,000 |
70,000 |
72,000 |
| pkline |
45,619 |
54,000 |
64,000 |
70,000 |
72,000 |
| jamesbenet |
55,506 |
59,000 |
64,000 |
69,000 |
71,000 |
| Elerium |
58,341 |
62,000 |
67,000 |
69,000 |
71,000 |
| hypergon |
49,777 |
57,000 |
64,000 |
69,000 |
71,000 |
| Pinopic |
55,014 |
60,000 |
66,000 |
69,000 |
70,000 |
| Trout55 |
45,380 |
52,000 |
61,000 |
68,000 |
73,000 |
| endopack |
44,291 |
51,000 |
60,000 |
68,000 |
71,000 |
| Ceneri |
49,087 |
55,000 |
62,000 |
68,000 |
68,000 |
| claylib |
53,540 |
58,000 |
64,000 |
67,000 |
68,000 |
| Nic_Taylor |
44,654 |
52,000 |
61,000 |
67,000 |
69,000 |
| klikk |
47,235 |
54,000 |
62,000 |
67,000 |
70,000 |
| susaro |
50,704 |
55,000 |
61,000 |
66,000 |
70,000 |
| creacart |
44,502 |
51,000 |
59,000 |
66,000 |
71,000 |
| bonniej |
49,868 |
55,000 |
62,000 |
66,000 |
68,000 |
| Akirastock |
49,815 |
54,000 |
60,000 |
65,000 |
67,000 |
| bkindler |
44,048 |
51,000 |
59,000 |
65,000 |
68,000 |
| groveb |
44,336 |
51,000 |
59,000 |
65,000 |
68,000 |
| FreeTransform |
46,777 |
52,000 |
58,000 |
64,000 |
69,000 |
| keeweeboy |
46,584 |
52,000 |
59,000 |
64,000 |
67,000 |
| StanRohrer |
52,905 |
56,000 |
60,000 |
63,000 |
64,000 |
| zoomstudio |
44,516 |
50,000 |
57,000 |
62,000 |
64,000 |
| laartist |
46,619 |
51,000 |
57,000 |
60,000 |
62,000 |
| mecaleha |
49,150 |
52,000 |
57,000 |
60,000 |
63,000 |
| wolv |
49,522 |
52,000 |
56,000 |
60,000 |
62,000 |
| AngelGILD |
49,498 |
52,000 |
56,000 |
59,000 |
60,000 |
| aykuterdogan |
48,373 |
53,000 |
56,000 |
59,000 |
60,000 |
| dreaming2004 |
48,433 |
51,000 |
55,000 |
58,000 |
60,000 |
| Tolchik |
50,570 |
52,000 |
55,000 |
56,000 |
57,000 |
| Dizzo |
46,130 |
49,000 |
53,000 |
56,000 |
57,000 |
| highhorse |
47,914 |
50,000 |
52,000 |
53,000 |
55,000 |
| prawny |
48,262 |
50,000 |
52,000 |
53,000 |
54,000 |
| Skashkin |
43,398 |
45,000 |
48,000 |
49,000 |
50,000 |
| alwyncooper |
45,059 |
45,000 |
47,000 |
49,000 |
50,000 |
| Flutter_97321 |
44,616 |
45,000 |
47,000 |
48,000 |
48,000 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
18,559,185 |
21,471,000 |
25,768,000 |
29,417,000 |
31,362,000 |