Storyblocks will be closing the Marketplace segment of its business on September 10th and moving back to a subscription only offering. Contributors who have outstanding payouts will receive those payments sometime after September 10th even if the amount owed has not met the minimum payout requirement.
According to TJ Leonard, CEO of Storyblocks, their subscription members have found it difficult to understand which images were included as part of their subscriptions and which ones they need to pay extra to use. He said, “these creatives want freedom of choice and flexibility, and we received overwhelming feedback that the Marketplace wasn’t for them. Less than 5% of our members were purchasing from the Marketplace, ultimately hurting contributors who were not able to earn enough.” Even at $3.99 per image used the Marketplace images were too expensive for most Storyblocks customers.
Leonard continued, “As we look to the future, we are committed to driving value for everyone — contributors and members alike. Our focus will be on an all-inclusive subscription experience that is easy to understand, is unrestrictive, and is in support of the Storyblocks mission: Helping a new generation of storytellers create more moving stories.”
Storyblocks was launch in
September 2017.