The following is a list of the 50 iStockphoto contributors with the most career downloads and thus the highest earning as of the end of 2008. Non-microstock photographers may use this list, and the links provided, to learn a little more about microstock’s potential.
The question for stock photographers is how to maximize revenue. Is RM better then RF? Is traditional RF better then Microstock and what about Subscriptions? This article provides some thinking on this subject.
Two major newspapers are about to drastically reduce circulation. Such trends are strong indicators of what many believe will happen with magazines and other information suppliers in the not too distant future.
Several stock photographers have shared their strategies to cope with the rapidly changed business environment. Cost cutting and diversifying top the list.
One stock-photography mystery is why advertisers have calculated that an eyeball looking at a Web site is only worth about one-tenth to one-fifteenth of an eyeball looking at a printed publication. This is important because fees paid to content creators are based to a large extent on what advertisers are willing to pay for ads.
The grim outcome of Greenberg vs. The National Geographic Society should be of deep concern to every photographer who believes copyright offers legal protection. Rather, this case teaches us two things: the law is not always fair or equitable, and those who have deeper pockets tend to win.
Alamy's growth slowed in the third quarter of 2008, with gross sales of $8,186,000, up 9% compared to the same quarter in 2007 but down about 4% from the second-quarter high of $8,520,000. The company said the effects of the Sterling weakening against the Dollar exaggerated the decline.
Many view iStockphoto as the microstock industry leader. However, online forum threads about the company's November sales and the future for non-exclusive microstockers offer a very different perspective. It appears that, in its pursuit of exclusive contributors, iStock is becoming a less important income source for many microstock shooters—not only those just starting out, but also those earning a living from microstock.
The first thing a photographer must consider when pondering microstock exclusivity is why any distributor needs exclusive representation of a royalty-free image—which, but its very nature, is a non-exclusive product.
a21 and its subsidiaries SuperStock and ArtSelect have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company has also filed separate a motion to sell the U.S. assets of SuperStock to Masterfile Corp. for $1.5 million, though this agreement is subject to better offers at a forthcoming auction.