iStockphoto Update: Examining Microstock Trends

Posted on 7/7/2011 by Jim Pickerell | Printable Version | Comments (1)

In 2009 I started to use iStockcharts to track about 196 of the top 250 sellers on iStockphoto. While figures for the other 54 of the 250 contributors were available, their names were not. Consequently I left them out of my research. iStock has over 100,000 contributors, but it is believed that well over 90% of the images in the collection and well over 90% of the total downloads belong to the 37,085 contributors whose information is available on iStockcharts.

iStock says they have over 9 million images in their collection and the contributors listed on iStockcharts currently have a combined total of 8,356,862 images. 6,412 of the people listed on the iStockcharts  have had fewer than 10 downloads of their images. My guess is that most of the other 63,000+ contributors fall into that category.

As of July 1, 2011 I had been tracking these 196 for a little over 2 years. 166 of them were still among the top 250 but most had fallen to a lower position on the list as a few  rising stars took their place. Only 35 of the 196 either stayed in the same position or actually rose to a higher position. Thirty from my original group are now lower than 250th. One contributor with 1,065 images on the site has dropped to the 428th position. He has had fewer than 3,400 downloads in two years. Several of those whose sales positions have declined have had less than 6,000 downloads in two years. One of these has close to 2,000 images on the site and another a little over 1,500. (On the chart below the second column shows the contributors position on June 1, 2009 and the third column shows the position on July 1, 2011.)



One of the favorite arguments of photographer in the RM and traditional RF business is that “It is impossible to make money selling at low microstock prices.” Some will acknowledge that a few of the early adopters may be doing quite well (Yuri Arcurs and Lise Gagne both have had more than 1.1 million downloads since they started contributing images in October 2005 and April 2003 respectively), but the traditionalists argue that because search algorithms are weighted in favor of early adopters no one starting now has a chance of ever becoming a top producer.
 
The best example or a late starter who has been spectacularly successful is monkeybusinessimages which first uploaded images in March 2008. Currently their download total is between 310,000 and 320,000 and they are 13th from the top of those with the most downloads. When I started tracking two years ago the lowest person in the top 250 had less than 44,000 downloads and monkeybusinessimages was not in that top 250.



To put a dollar perspective on the download numbers, non-exclusive contributors have been averaging royalties in the range of $1.30 per download. The average for exclusive contributors has ranged from $4.00 to $6.00 per download and contributors with images in the Vetta and The Agency Collection (TAC) report average royalties of $8.00 and up  per download.

Among the others relatively new contributors with spectacular rises in sales is Daniel Laflor who has 9374 images on the site and is 83rd on the iStockcharts list. Steve Coles is 88th on the list with only 1751 images on the site. Both have between 130,000 and 140,000 total downloads and neither had more than 44,000 when I started my research 2 years ago.
 
Exclusive or Non-Exclusive



Of the top 250 whose images have been licensed the most times 211 (84%) are exclusive with iStock. The other 39 are non-exclusive. Monkeybusinessimages is non-exclusive; Laflor and Coles are exclusive. Yuri Arcurs is non-exclusive and Lise Gagne is exclusive. (The first column on the lists below indicates whether the contributor is exclusive or non-exclusive.)

Changes at iStock that have taken place mostly in the last year-and-a-half now heavily favor exclusive contributors. The company now offers a significant number of images at higher price points and favors them in the search return order. Only contributors who are exclusive with iStock are allowed to participate. Not only are these images licensed at a higher price point, but exclusive contributors receive a higher royalty share of the licensing fee.
 
Downloads

On June 1, 2009 there had been 63,801,192 total downloads reported from 29,201 contributors. On July 1, 2011 total downloads from 37,085 contributors exceeded 0106,007,929+. Thus, there were a minimum of 42,206,737 downloads in 25 months.

(iStockphoto stopped reporting the actual number of downloads in June 2009. Since then they have put a + behind the numbers reported meaning that the actual number is something in the range between the number reported and the next higher whole number.
 
Thus, the actual number of downloads as of July 1, 2011 for the 250 top contributors is somewhere between 36,666,000 and 38,491,000. Based on these numbers the average would be 37,578,500 downloads, or a 2.5% increase over the minimum download number reported.)

If we add the same 2.5% to 106,007,929 the number of downloads since iStockphoto was launched almost a decade ago would be approximately 108,658,127. Over half of that number has been in the last three years. It is important to recognize that about 11% of iStock’s total collection -- some 925,286 total images -- were provided by the top 250 contributors. These images generate about 35% of the total downloads and a significantly higher percentage of the revenue since many are in the higher priced collections.

When we subtract the 63,801,192 from my 108,658,127 estimate for actual downloads by July 1, 2011 we get 44,856,935 for 25 months or 21,531,328 per year for the last two years. We believe that, in fact, 2009 downloads were higher and they dropped by 1 or 2 million in 2010. The number of downloads is still declining in 2011 due mostly, we believe, to customers seeking lower priced options on other microstock sites. It is important to note that in 2007 Getty Images reported that iStock licensed rights to 17,550,000 images.

For the 196 we have been tracking, total downloads from June 1, 2009 to July 1, 2011 went from 18,229,697 to between 27,970,000 and 29,381,000. If we take an average for the top number the actual number of images downloaded was probably in the range of 28,675,500. Thus, this group of 196 licensed rights to about 10,445,803 images in the 25 month period.
 
Price Increase – Decline In Sales


Gross revenue generated by iStock in 2007 was $55.55 million. In 2010 the gross revenue has been estimated at around $300 million and is expected to be in the range of $350 million for 2011. Since the number of images licensed is up only slightly, growth in revenue is due almost entirely to price increases. In addition to a general increase in prices iStock has dramatically increased its video clip business and added a number of higher priced collections – Exclusive, Exclusive+, Vetta and The Agency Collection.

These higher priced collections are only available to exclusive photographers, but they generate much more money per sale for the photographers because they earn a higher royalty share on much higher dollar sales.
 
According to my calculations the 196 contributors had between 4,646,439 and 5,351,938 downloads between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011.  The minimum downloads for the previous 13 months was 5,405,877. Thus, it is possible that there were as many as 759,438 fewer downloads in the last year compared to the previous one. That could be as much as a 14% decline, however it seems more likely that the decline might have been in the 5% to 7% range. At least 128 individuals on my list saw the number of total downloads drop while 68 had some increase in the number of units licensed. Keep in mind that 84% of the people on my list are exclusive and the current sales strategy favors exclusives.
 
In the last 12 months these 196 contributors have added a total of 101,130 new images to their combined collections and now have a total of 662,150 images in their collections. This is 18% increase in the number of images compared to a year earlier.
 
Do More Images Mean More Dollars?

Another common misconception is that in order to earn decent revenue it is necessary to have thousands of images on the site. When images in the collection are compared with total downloads that theory is clearly proven wrong. Simonkr has 19,165 images in the collection and 85,000 total downloads, but is 188th on the list of top sellers at the moment. At 7995 images Yuri Arcurs, the number 1 seller, has less than half as many images and he has had over 1.1 million downloads. Blackred has over 310,000 downloads from 4197 images.
 
Over one-third of the 206 contributors have fewer than 2,000 images in the collection. Jgroup has had 240,000 downloads from 1857 images. Mammamaart has 220,000 downloads from 1309 images. Thirty-five or the 206 have fewer than 1,000 images in the collection. Enot-Poloskun has 180,000 downloads from just 383 images.

Much more important than the number of images is the concepts the photographer chooses to illustrate. Some concepts are in much higher demand than others. A great image of a subject or concept for which there is little demand, will never sell as well as a good image of a high demand concept. Another factor that plays an important is the number of competitive images of the particular subject matter that are available. And then there is that all important position in the search-return-order.

In general these statistics and anecdotal information from non-exclusive photographers seem to indicate several important points:
    1 – Microstock sales overall have reached at a plateau and are not growing.
    2 - The growing number of image provides more choice for customers, but makes it less likely that sales for any individual contributor will grow.
    2 - As prices rise at iStock customers who need images for small uses will turn to other sites in greater numbers.
    4 – iStock will be viewed as a source of premium priced (not necessarily premium quality) imagery.
    3 -Sales at iStock are declining, while sales at Shutterstock, Dreamstimes and to some extent Fotolia are growing.
    6 – Given the preferences showered on exclusive contributors, to do well at iStock it will be necessary to be exclusive.
    7 – Photographers who want to work with many agencies on a non-exclusive basis will become increasingly dissatisfied with their iStock results.
    8 – Agencies representing a collection of photographers will become an increasingly important source of new material for iStock. Blend, Cultura and monkeybusinessimages are examples.

    This list is indexed on downloads as of July 1, 2011 and compares downloads from June 1, 2009 to July 1, 2011. To see each contributor's portfolio go to www.istockphoto.com and enter the contributor's name in the search box.
        July 2011     Total Downloads      
  June July   July 1 2011 Images   June 1 2009 July 1 2010 July 1 2010 July 1 2011 July 1 2011  
  2009 2011   2011 On File   2009 Low High Low High  
N 2 1 Yuri Arcurs 1100000 7995   594990 920000 930000 1100000 1200000  
E 1 2 Lise Gagne 1100000 7542   862623 1000000 1010000 1100000 1200000  
E 3 3 DNY59 910000 8004   524961 750000 760000 910000 920000  
E 5 4 sjlocke 770000 10541   479968 640000 650000 770000 780000  
E 4 5 hidesy 650000 15746   492118 590000 600000 650000 660000  
E 6 6 jhorrocks 480000 6311   305831 410000 420000 480000 490000  
E 12 7 alexs1 430000 5948   180112 290000 300000 430000 440000  
E 18 9 Nikada 330000 7837   164874 250000 260000 330000 340000  
E 8 10 duncan1890 330000 7977   239456 290000 300000 330000 340000  
E 7 12 nico blue 320000 3411   261541 300000 310000 320000 330000  
N   13 monkeybusinesimages 310000 3568         310000 320000  
E 9 15 blackred 310000 4197   229561 280000 290000 310000 320000  
E 10 16 sodafish 300000 748   225267 270000 280000 300000 310000  
E 19 20 skodonnell 270000 2628   163314 220000 230000 270000 280000  
E 26 21 webphotographeer 270000 11113   128050 220000 230000 270000 280000  
N 20 22 Andresr 260000 3545   154181 220000 230000 260000 270000  
E 13 23 4x6 250000 13919   177865 210000 220000 250000 260000  
N 23 26 jgroup 240000 1857   136287 190000 200000 240000 250000  
E 39 27 peepo 240000 8194   110951 190000 200000 240000 250000  
E 32 28 enjoynz 240000 2498   121941 190000 200000 240000 250000  
E 142 32 Neustockimages 220000 7228   54329 150000 160000 220000 230000  
N 16 33 kirstypargeter 220000 4015   171687 200000 210000 220000 230000  
E 11 34 mammamaart 220000 1309   182840 210000 220000 220000 230000  
E 15 36 sdominick 220000 5491   173114 200000 210000 220000 230000  
E 14 37 Cimmerian 220000 3029   173971 200000 210000 220000 230000  
E 31 38 AndrewJohnson 210000 5552   122507 180000 190000 210000 220000  
N 49 39 GlobalP 210000 6652   97763 160000 170000 210000 220000  
N 67 40 shironosov 210000 5476   87278 150000 160000 210000 220000  
E 25 41 bubaone 210000 14104   132132 170000 180000 210000 220000  
E 21 43 Mlenny 200000 8756   149220 180000 190000 200000 210000  
E 30 44 mstay 190000 5558   123537 160000 170000 190000 200000  
E 51 45 YinYang 180000 7193   93643 140000 150000 180000 190000  
E 64 46 aldomurillo 180000 5288   88136 140000 150000 180000 190000  
E 22 47 kcline 180000 2294   137885 160000 170000 180000 190000  
E 29 48 filo 180000 2862   123597 160000 170000 180000 190000  
E 24 49 Kativ 180000 2157   132882 160000 170000 180000 190000  
E 34 50 enot-poloskun 180000 383   116729 150000 160000 180000 190000  
E 17 51 sx70 180000 2140   168611 170000 180000 180000 190000  
E 54 53 narvikk 170000 2220   91257 130000 140000 170000 180000  
E 73 54 digitalskillet 170000 5294   83308 130000 140000 170000 180000  
E 38 55 bluestocking 170000 916   111199 150000 160000 170000 180000  
E 33 56 A-Digit 170000 3826   116960 150000 160000 170000 180000  
E 41 57 geopaul 170000 2250   106546 150000 160000 170000 180000  
E 42 58 LUGO 170000 4236   104464 150000 160000 170000 180000  
E 28 61 appleuzr 160000 978   124940 140000 150000 160000 170000  
E 88 62 RapidEye 150000 8015   76389 110000 120000 150000 160000  
E   63 pixdeluxe 150000 7298         150000 160000  
E 40 65 Grafissimo 150000 3759   109274 130000 140000 150000 160000  
E 57 68 billnoll 150000 3587   90097 120000 130000 150000 160000  
E 110 69 Juanmonino 140000 12964   65718 100000 110000 140000 150000  
E 61 71 ooyoo 140000 3599   89233 120000 130000 140000 150000  
E 109 72 TommL 140000 1887   65829 110000 120000 140000 150000  
E 53 73 jacomstephens 140000 2536   91925 120000 130000 140000 150000  
N 107 74 Palto 140000 1984   68068 110000 120000 140000 150000  
E 35 75 aldra 140000 7656   115125 130000 140000 140000 150000  
E 46 76 AVTG 140000 2196   99335 120000 130000 140000 150000  
N 83 77 nyul 140000 3766   79644 110000 120000 140000 150000  
N 47 78 aleksandarvelasevic 140000 414   99154 110000 120000 140000 150000  
E 37 79 joshblake 140000 1725   113515 130000 140000 140000 150000  
E 43 81 tacojim 140000 4334   104293 120000 130000 140000 150000  
E   82 skynesher 130000 8297         130000 140000  
E   83 laflor 130000 9374         130000 140000  
E 66 84 THEPALMER 130000 8388   87288 110000 120000 130000 140000  
N 144 85 MorganL 130000 6156   53598 99000 100000 130000 140000  
E 27 80 kemie 140000 1019   125507 130000 140000 140000 150000  
E 99 86 LeggNet 130000 7673   71106 100000 110000 130000 140000  
E 80 87 mbbirdy 130000 5132   80262 110000 120000 130000 140000  
E   88 stevecolesccs 130000 1751         130000 140000  
E 52 90 russelltatedotcom 130000 2518   93222 110000 120000 130000 140000  
E 82 91 browndogstudios 130000 999   79690 100000 110000 130000 140000  
E 45 92 jsmith 130000 586   102365 120000 130000 130000 140000  
E 36 93 barsik 130000 2296   114025 120000 130000 130000 140000  
E 59 94 fpm 130000 454   89938 110000 120000 130000 140000  
E 75 95 Maliketh 130000 724   82791 110000 120000 130000 140000  
E 60 96 snapphoto 130000 4343   89597 110000 120000 130000 140000  
N 129 97 Elenathewise 120000 6302   58063 92000 93000 120000 130000  
E 112 98 Floortje 120000 4635   63257 100000 110000 120000 130000  
N 72 100 ULTRA GENERIC 120000 2563   83541 100000 110000 120000 130000  
N 91 101 Sportstock 120000 3148   74732 100000 110000 120000 130000  
E 50 102 Graffizone 120000 4137   94406 110000 120000 120000 130000  
E 156 103 PeskyMonkey 120000 7749   49984 92000 93000 120000 130000  
N 44 104 PhotoEuphoria 120000 5126   102668 110000 120000 120000 130000  
E 48 106 molotovcoketail 120000 554   98477 110000 120000 120000 130000  
N 121 108 koun 120000 233   60690 100000 110000 120000 130000  
E 65 109 TriggerPhoto 120000 2702   87620 110000 120000 120000 130000  
E   110 pagadesign 110000 4514         110000 120000  
E   111 asiseeit 110000 8358         110000 120000  
E 154 112 Stockphoto4U 110000 4617   50216 81000 82000 110000 120000  
E 137 113 francisblack 110000 1003   56446 86000 87000 110000 120000  
E 93 114 dlewis33 110000 3826   74139 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 124 115 kate_sept2004 110000 4370   60058 93000 94000 110000 120000  
E 100 116 eyeidea 110000 2789   70358 94000 95000 110000 120000  
E 74 117 Vasko 110000 3708   82983 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 85 118 ImagineGolf 110000 3203   78161 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 87 119 kycstudio 110000 1929   76449 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 78 121 duckycards 110000 3038   81296 100000 110000 110000 120000  
N 63 122 M-I-S-H-A 110000 1369   88388 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 84 123 buzbuzzer 110000 1863   78283 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 94 124 Viorika 110000 1861   73252 99000 100000 110000 120000  
E 81 125 abzee 110000 4015   80102 100000 110000 110000 120000  
N 123 126 iofoto 110000 1573   60250 93000 94000 110000 120000  
E 55 127 nano 110000 958   90332 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 69 128 RBFried 110000 2868   84859 100000 110000 110000 120000  
E 62 130 andipantz 100000 6572   89000 100000 110000 100000 110000  
E 108 131 leezsnow 100000 3605   66441 88000 89000 100000 110000  
N   132 DomenicoGelermo 100000 4227         100000 110000  
E 128 133 Jbryson 100000 5086   58172 84000 85000 100000 110000  
E 136 134 EricHood 100000 4848   56665 82000 83000 100000 110000  
N   135 robynmac 100000 3323         100000 110000  
N   136 diego_cervo 100000 3110         100000 110000  
E 95 137 johnwoodcock 100000 2669   72405 94000 95000 100000 110000  
N 86 138 PIKSEL 100000 4334   76540 94000 95000 100000 110000  
E 104 139 konradlew 100000 1480   69372 93000 94000 100000 110000  
N 70 141 lovleah 100000 4059   84521 94000 95000 100000 110000  
E 165 142 ZoneCreative 100000 2885   48753 81000 82000 100000 110000  
E   143 akurtz 100000 1387         100000 110000  
E 68 144 kickstand 100000 1311   85552 97000 98000 100000 110000  
E 119 145 scottdunlap 100000 358   61141 88000 89000 100000 110000  
E 76 146 rzdeb 100000 1633   82415 97000 98000 100000 110000  
E 58 148 Art-Y 100000 690   90003 97000 98000 100000 110000  
E 56 149 ggodby 100000 594   90112 96000 97000 100000 110000  
E 71 150 gmnicholas 100000 3849   84221 97000 98000 100000 110000  
E 103 151 Leontura 100000 1892   69527 90000 91000 100000 110000  
E 98 152 Veni 100000 1296   71231 93000 94000 100000 110000  
E   153 LajosRepasi 100000 1443         100000 110000  
N 118 154 loooby 100000 1185   62066 84000 85000 100000 110000  
E 77 155 tomazl 100000 3276   81870 93000 94000 100000 110000  
N 90 156 redmal 99000 480   74892 91000 92000 99000 100000  
E 120 159 PLAINVIEW 98000 621   61059 83000 84000 98000 99000  
N 106 160 phildate 98000 4668   68257 87000 88000 98000 99000  
N 155 161 Eraxion 98000 5832   50023 78000 79000 98000 99000  
E 89 162 LPETTET 97000 3373   75603 89000 90000 97000 98000  
E 97 163 NickS 97000 1763   71511 87000 88000 97000 98000  
E 115 164 jangeltun 96000 859   62824 83000 84000 96000 97000  
E 184 165 MarsBars 95000 1015   45240 73000 74000 95000 96000  
E   166 H-gall 95000 497         95000 96000  
E 102 167 ftwitty 95000 2654   69594 86000 87000 95000 96000  
E   169 photomorphic 94000 1847         94000 95000  
E 101 170 belterz 94000 4075   69801 84000 85000 94000 95000  
E 96 171 lucato 94000 6971   72390 86000 87000 94000 95000  
E 178 172 DSGpro 94000 2161   46180 72000 73000 94000 95000  
E   173 ArtisticCaptures 93000 2910         93000 94000  
E 92 175 simonox 91000 8362   74220 85000 86000 91000 92000  
E 126 177 chuwy 89000 1248   58721 76000 77000 89000 90000  
E 113 178 aabejon 89000 3740   63147 79000 80000 89000 90000  
E 147 179 subjug 89000 554   52707 72000 73000 89000 90000  
E 79 181 Natural_Warp 88000 1131   80398 85000 86000 88000 89000  
E   182 deliormanli 87000 1651         87000 88000  
E 132 183 onurdongel 87000 653   57621 74000 75000 87000 88000  
E 185 184 mammuth 86000 2603   45220 69000 70000 86000 87000  
E 133 185 evirgen 86000 523   57100 74000 75000 86000 87000  
E   186 sandocir 86000 683         86000 87000  
E   187 1001nights 85000 13658         85000 86000  
N   188 simonkr 85000 19165         85000 86000  
N 116 189 Illustrious 85000 496   62632 77000 78000 85000 86000  
N 131 190 Paha_L 83000 4459   57822 73000 74000 83000 84000  
E 117 191 davidf 83000 4679   62288 74000 75000 83000 84000  
E 167 192 BlackJack3D 83000 433   48490 70000 71000 83000 84000  
N 152 194 matka_Wariatka 82000 8342   50555 69000 70000 82000 83000  
E 135 195 Blueberries 82000 2689   56879 69000 70000 82000 83000  
E   196 vm 82000 3467         82000 83000  
E   197 thesuperph 82000 1404         82000 83000  
E 114 198 penfold 82000 959   62863 74000 75000 82000 83000  
E   199 Bim 81000 2018         81000 82000  
N   200 Franck-Boston 81000 3043         81000 82000  
E 143 202 prill 80000 8596   53622 70000 71000 80000 81000  
E 166 205 Kameleon007 79000 12780   48615 65000 66000 79000 80000  
E   206 Petrovich9 78000 196         78000 79000  
E   207 CTRd 78000 587         78000 79000  
E 169 209 arsenik 77000 4718   48405 66000 67000 77000 78000  
E   210 slobo 77000 3947         77000 78000  
E 183 211 RonTech2000 77000 2194   45372 64000 65000 77000 78000  
N 105 212 danielle71 77000 490   68754 74000 75000 77000 78000  
E   213 sisoje 77000 7378         77000 78000  
N 153 214 YanC 77000 2694   50357 67000 68000 77000 78000  
E   215 da-kuk 76000 2224         76000 77000  
E 157 216 chictype 75000 683   49909 65000 66000 75000 76000  
E 130 217 exdez 75000 1389   57928 67000 68000 75000 76000  
E 134 218 sweetym 75000 240   57057 69000 70000 75000 76000  
E 188 219 fstop123 74000 6910   44758 62000 63000 74000 75000  
E 180 220 JLGutierrez 74000 3136   45821 64000 65000 74000 75000  
E   221 studiovision 74000 403         74000 75000  
N 111 222 webking 74000 3818   63379 70000 71000 74000 75000  
N 141 224 77DZIGN 73000 1071   54605 67000 68000 73000 74000  
N   225 Beboy_Ltd 73000 1376         73000 74000  
E 122 226 Luso 72000 3558   60417 68000 69000 72000 73000  
E 148 227 Renphoto 72000 3213   52633 64000 65000 72000 73000  
N   228 kzenon 72000 3764         72000 73000  
E   229 jaroon 72000 5526         72000 73000  
N   230 AlexRaths 72000 1773         72000 73000  
E 125 231 LoBoCo 72000 1698   59433 68000 69000 72000 73000  
E   233 Contour99 70000 3906         70000 71000  
E   234 Melhi 70000 3697         70000 71000  
E   235 wragg 69000 7306         69000 70000  
E   236 mipan 69000 583         69000 70000  
E 149 237 grajte 69000 527   51483 62000 63000 69000 70000  
N 186 238 JoeGough 69000 4129   45097 59000 60000 69000 70000  
E   240 mattjeacock 68000 7658         68000 69000  
E 173 242 naphtalina 68000 2951   47556 60000 61000 68000 69000  
E   243 travelinglight 68000 3902         68000 69000  
N   245 procurator 68000 617         68000 69000  
E 127 246 Elerium 68000 569   58341 65000 66000 68000 69000  
E 140 247 Pinopic 68000 740   55014 63000 64000 68000 69000  
E 181 248 pkline 68000 2730   45619 60000 61000 68000 69000  
E 139 249 Marje 67000 1409   55411 63000 64000 67000 68000  
E 138 250 jamesbenet 67000 2657   55506 62000 63000 67000 68000  
E 160 251 hypergon 67000 577   49777 61000 62000 67000 68000  
E 164 257 Ceneri 66000 1700   49087 59000 60000 66000 67000  
E 182 259 Trout55 65000 2536   45380 58000 59000 65000 66000  
E 189 261 Nic_Taylor 65000 2753   44654 57000 58000 65000 66000  
E 145 262 claylib 65000 1296   53540 61000 62000 65000 66000  
N 194 265 endopack 65000 803   44291 57000 58000 65000 66000  
N 174 266 klikk 65000 1385   47235 59000 60000 65000 66000  
E 150 274 susaro 64000 871   50704 59000 60000 64000 65000  
E 158 275 bonniej 64000 775   49868 59000 60000 64000 65000  
E 192 278 creacart 63000 3431   44502 55000 56000 63000 64000  
E 159 284 Akirastock 63000 1012   49815 58000 59000 63000 64000  
E 195 286 bkindler 63000 971   44048 56000 57000 63000 64000  
N 177 288 keeweeboy 63000 4996   46584 56000 57000 63000 64000  
E 193 294 groveb 62000 1751   44336 55000 56000 62000 63000  
N 175 295 FreeTransform 62000 825   46777 55000 56000 62000 63000  
E 146 296 StanRohrer 62000 1384   52905 58000 59000 62000 63000  
E 191 309 zoomstudio 60000 2267   44516 54000 55000 60000 61000  
N 163 315 mecaleha 59000 1266   49150 55000 56000 59000 60000  
E 176 317 laartist 59000 2109   46619 54000 55000 59000 60000  
E 161 325 wolv 58000 1608   49522 55000 56000 58000 59000  
N 162 329 AngelGILD 58000 627   49498 55000 56000 58000 59000  
N 170 338 aykuterdogan 57000 170   48373 54000 55000 57000 58000  
E 168 339 dreaming2004 57000 799   48433 53000 54000 57000 58000  
N 151 351 Tolchik 55000 1699   50570 54000 55000 55000 56000  
E 179 353 Dizzo 55000 997   46130 51000 52000 55000 56000  
N 172 374 highhorse 53000 500   47914 51000 52000 53000 54000  
N 171 376 prawny 53000 1572   48262 51000 52000 53000 54000  
E 187 414 alwyncooper 49000 499   45059 46000 47000 49000 50000  
E 196 416 Skashkin 49000 1974   43398 47000 48000 49000 50000  
E 190 428 Flutter_97321 47000 1065   44616 46000 47000 47000 48000  
                         
      Total to 250th Place 29,929,000 779,768   17,251,560 22,434,000 23,392,000 29,929,000 31,458,000  
                         
      Grand Total 31,722,000 823,986   18,677,123 24,083,000 25,071,000 31,722,000 33,281,000  


    This chart is indexed by the total images each contributor has on iStock. It demonstrates that the number of images a contributor has on the site has very little to do with the number of times his or her images will be downloaded.

  June July   July 1 2011   2010 July 2010 Dec 2011 July  
  2009 2011       Images Images Images  
N   188 simonkr 85000       19165  
E 4 5 hidesy 650000   14169 15048 15746  
E 25 41 bubaone 210000   11808 13471 14104  
E 13 23 4x6 250000   7534 9953 13919  
E   187 1001nights 85000       13658  
E 110 69 Juanmonino 140000   10055 11514 12964  
E 166 205 Kameleon007 79000   11722 12442 12780  
E 26 21 webphotographeer 270000   10521 11115 11113  
E 5 4 sjlocke 770000   8683 9750 10541  
E   83 laflor 130000       9374  
E 21 43 Mlenny 200000   8155 8442 8756  
E 143 202 prill 80000   7229 7650 8596  
E 66 84 THEPALMER 130000   6664 7363 8388  
E 92 175 simonox 91000   6785 7327 8362  
E   111 asiseeit 110000       8358  
N 152 194 matka_Wariatka 82000   6982 7605 8342  
E   82 skynesher 130000       8297  
E 39 27 peepo 240000   7405 7843 8194  
E 88 62 RapidEye 150000   5302 6609 8015  
E 3 3 DNY59 910000   6692 7211 8004  
N 2 1 Yuri Arcurs 1100000   5897 6519 7995  
E 8 10 duncan1890 330000   6202 7131 7977  
E 18 9 Nikada 330000   6177 6771 7837  
E 156 103 PeskyMonkey 120000   6536 7217 7749  
E 99 86 LeggNet 130000   6391 6941 7673  
E   240 mattjeacock 68000       7658  
E 35 75 aldra 140000   7317 7480 7656  
E 1 2 Lise Gagne 1100000   7073 7245 7542  
E   213 sisoje 77000       7378  
E   235 wragg 69000       7306  
E   63 pixdeluxe 150000       7298  
E 142 32 Neustockimages 220000   4897 4767 7228  
E 51 45 YinYang 180000   5921 6441 7193  
E 96 171 lucato 94000   7001 6821 6971  
E 188 219 fstop123 74000   5958 6312 6910  
N 49 39 GlobalP 210000   4781 5583 6652  
E 62 130 andipantz 100000   5645 6042 6572  
E 6 6 jhorrocks 480000   5394 5850 6311  
N 129 97 Elenathewise 120000   4964 5522 6302  
N 144 85 MorganL 130000   4819 5825 6156  
E 12 7 alexs1 430000   5995 5800 5948  
N 155 161 Eraxion 98000   1049 1135 5832  
E 30 44 mstay 190000   4228 4840 5558  
E 31 38 AndrewJohnson 210000   4466 5436 5552  
E   229 jaroon 72000       5526  
E 15 36 sdominick 220000     5202 5491  
N 67 40 shironosov 210000   3790 4365 5476  
E 73 54 digitalskillet 170000   4662 4928 5294  
E 64 46 aldomurillo 180000   3480 4276 5288  
E 80 87 mbbirdy 130000   4132 4549 5132  
N 44 104 PhotoEuphoria 120000   4977 5083 5126  
E 128 133 Jbryson 100000   3282 4225 5086  
E 136 134 EricHood 100000   3747 4087 4848  
E 169 209 arsenik 77000   3980 4205 4718  
E 117 191 davidf 83000   4046 4385 4679  
N 106 160 phildate 98000   4609 4663 4668  
E 112 98 Floortje 120000   3779 4016 4635  
E 154 112 Stockphoto4U 110000   3578 3978 4617  
E   110 pagadesign 110000       4514  
N 131 190 Paha_L 83000   3395 3749 4459  
E 124 115 kate_sept2004 110000   3943 4277 4370  
E 60 96 snapphoto 130000   4346 4343 4343  
E 43 81 tacojim 140000   4113 4274 4334  
N 86 138 PIKSEL 100000   3834 4091 4334  
E 42 58 LUGO 170000   4065 4158 4236  
N   132 DomenicoGelermo 100000       4227  
E 9 15 blackred 310000   3880 3977 4197  
E 50 102 Graffizone 120000   3785 3918 4137  
N 186 238 JoeGough 69000   3685 3917 4129  
E 101 170 belterz 94000   3758 3918 4075  
N 70 141 lovleah 100000   3573 3741 4059  
N 16 33 kirstypargeter 220000   3296 3611 4015  
E 81 125 abzee 110000   3723 3992 4015  
E   210 slobo 77000       3947  
E   233 Contour99 70000       3906  
E   243 travelinglight 68000       3902  
E 71 150 gmnicholas 100000   3805 3831 3849  
E 33 56 A-Digit 170000   3154 3419 3826  
E 93 114 dlewis33 110000   3391 3598 3826  
N 111 222 webking 74000   3818 3818 3818  
N 83 77 nyul 140000   3199 3445 3766  
N   228 kzenon 72000       3764  
E 40 65 Grafissimo 150000   3062 3331 3759  
E 113 178 aabejon 89000   3454 3461 3740  
E 74 117 Vasko 110000   3530 3637 3708  
E   234 Melhi 70000       3697  
E 108 131 leezsnow 100000   2909 3215 3605  
E 61 71 ooyoo 140000   3129 3332 3599  
E 57 68 billnoll 150000   2629 3073 3587  
N   13 monkeybusinesimages 310000       3568  
E 122 226 Luso 72000   3540 3578 3558  
N 20 22 Andresr 260000   2865 3346 3545  
E   196 vm 82000       3467  
E 7 12 nico blue 320000   3247 3304 3411  
E 89 162 LPETTET 97000   2717 2985 3373  
N   135 robynmac 100000       3323  
E 77 155 tomazl 100000   3220 3741 3276  
E 148 227 Renphoto 72000   2572 2908 3213  
E 85 118 ImagineGolf 110000   2637 2895 3203  
N 91 101 Sportstock 120000   2641 2965 3148  
E 180 220 JLGutierrez 74000   2978 3018 3136  
N   136 diego_cervo 100000       3110  
N   200 Franck-Boston 81000       3043  
E 78 121 duckycards 110000   2717 2842 3038  
E 14 37 Cimmerian 220000   2942 3012 3029  
E 173 242 naphtalina 68000   2274 2471 2951  
E   173 ArtisticCaptures 93000       2910  
E 165 142 ZoneCreative 100000   2123 2456 2885  
E 69 128 RBFried 110000   2861 2867 2868  
E 29 48 filo 180000   2676 2734 2862  
E 100 116 eyeidea 110000   2523 2647 2789  
E 181 248 pkline 68000   2730 2730 2730  
E 65 109 TriggerPhoto 120000   3400 3104 2702  
N 153 214 YanC 77000   2693 2794 2694  
E 135 195 Blueberries 82000   1884 2253 2689  
E 95 137 johnwoodcock 100000   2428 2559 2669  
E 138 250 jamesbenet 67000   2383 2529 2657  
E 102 167 ftwitty 95000   2455 2573 2654  
E 19 20 skodonnell 270000   2183 2328 2628  
E 185 184 mammuth 86000   1695 2067 2603  
N 72 100 ULTRA GENERIC 120000   2207 2363 2563  
E 53 73 jacomstephens 140000   2270 2383 2536  
E 52 90 russelltatedotcom 130000   2283 2371 2518  
E 32 28 enjoynz 240000   1976 2180 2498  
E 36 93 barsik 130000   2296 2296 2296  
E 22 47 kcline 180000   2046 2222 2294  
E 41 57 geopaul 170000   2216 2248 2250  
E   215 da-kuk 76000       2224  
E 54 53 narvikk 170000   1748 1957 2220  
E 46 76 AVTG 140000   2035 2113 2196  
E 183 211 RonTech2000 77000   1722 1933 2194  
E 178 172 DSGpro 94000   1799 2077 2161  
E 24 49 Kativ 180000   1916 2107 2157  
E 17 51 sx70 180000   2115 2138 2140  
E   199 Bim 81000       2018  
N 107 74 Palto 140000   1556 1741 1984  
E 87 119 kycstudio 110000   1564 1686 1929  
E 103 151 Leontura 100000   1553 1738 1892  
E 109 72 TommL 140000   1264 1492 1887  
E 84 123 buzbuzzer 110000   1831 1820 1863  
E 94 124 Viorika 110000   1722 1943 1861  
N 23 26 jgroup 240000   1693 1755 1857  
E   169 photomorphic 94000       1847  
N   230 AlexRaths 72000       1773  
E 97 163 NickS 97000   1759 1759 1763  
E   88 stevecolesccs 130000       1751  
E 37 79 joshblake 140000   1682 1719 1725  
E 125 231 LoBoCo 72000   1700 1698 1698  
E   182 deliormanli 87000       1651  
E 76 146 rzdeb 100000   1391 1474 1633  
N 123 126 iofoto 110000   1534 1573 1573  
E 104 139 konradlew 100000   1328 1372 1480  
E   153 LajosRepasi 100000       1443  
E 139 249 Marje 67000   1250 1263 1409  
E   197 thesuperph 82000       1404  
E 130 217 exdez 75000   1276 1362 1389  
E   143 akurtz 100000       1387  
N   225 Beboy_Ltd 73000       1376  
N 63 122 M-I-S-H-A 110000   932 1047 1369  
E 68 144 kickstand 100000   1193 1275 1311  
E 11 34 mammamaart 220000   1077 1101 1309  
E 98 152 Veni 100000   1234 1253 1296  
E 126 177 chuwy 89000   1077 2077 1248  
N 118 154 loooby 100000   1064 1068 1185  
E 79 181 Natural_Warp 88000   1131 1131 1131  
N 141 224 77DZIGN 73000   1045 1071 1071  
E 27 80 kemie 140000   997 1021 1019  
E 184 165 MarsBars 95000   856 968 1015  
E 137 113 francisblack 110000   740 868 1003  
E 82 91 browndogstudios 130000   927 966 999  
E 28 61 appleuzr 160000   844 881 978  
E 114 198 penfold 82000   947 962 959  
E 55 127 nano 110000   959 958 958  
E 38 55 bluestocking 170000   915 915 916  
E 115 164 jangeltun 96000   745 814 859  
E 10 16 sodafish 300000   687 711 748  
E 140 247 Pinopic 68000   746 742 740  
E 75 95 Maliketh 130000   560 604 724  
E 58 148 Art-Y 100000   690 690 690  
E   186 sandocir 86000       683  
E 157 216 chictype 75000   647 658 683  
E 132 183 onurdongel 87000   465 565 653  
E 120 159 PLAINVIEW 98000   526 557 621  
N   245 procurator 68000       617  
E 56 149 ggodby 100000   594 594 594  
E   207 CTRd 78000       587  
E 45 92 jsmith 130000   585 585 586  
E   236 mipan 69000       583  
E 127 246 Elerium 68000   570 570 569  
E 48 106 molotovcoketail 120000   526 554 554  
E 147 179 subjug 89000   560 1135 554  
E 149 237 grajte 69000   528 527 527  
E 133 185 evirgen 86000   447 490 523  
E   166 H-gall 95000       497  
N 116 189 Illustrious 85000   479 496 496  
N 105 212 danielle71 77000   490 490 490  
N 90 156 redmal 99000   1424 1461 480  
E 59 94 fpm 130000   450 451 454  
E 167 192 BlackJack3D 83000   384 404 433  
N 47 78 aleksandarvelasevic 140000   337 383 414  
E   221 studiovision 74000       403  
E 34 50 enot-poloskun 180000   369 372 383  
E 119 145 scottdunlap 100000   260 269 358  
E 134 218 sweetym 75000   233 239 240  
N 121 108 koun 120000   233 233 233  
E   206 Petrovich9 78000       196  
                   
      Total 206 Records 29,929,000   519,544 566,754 779,768  


Copyright © 2011 Jim Pickerell. The above article may not be copied, reproduced, excerpted or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author. All requests should be submitted to Selling Stock at 10319 Westlake Drive, Suite 162, Bethesda, MD 20817, phone 301-461-7627, e-mail: wvz@fpcubgbf.pbz

Jim Pickerell is founder of www.selling-stock.com, an online newsletter that publishes daily. He is also available for personal telephone consultations on pricing and other matters related to stock photography. He occasionally acts as an expert witness on matters related to stock photography. For his current curriculum vitae go to: http://www.jimpickerell.com/Curriculum-Vitae.aspx.  

Comments

  • Bruno Passigatti Posted Jul 9, 2011
    Very nice job, Thanks! On a side-note, they just started Photo+, a higher priced collection for NON-exclusives. Will see how that goes.

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