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Boycott Shutterstock: One Year Later

7/3/21

In Boycott Boycott Shutterstock I discussed my understanding of Shutterstock's new pay structure and complaints pertaining to it. The pay structure and complaints were enough to make some contributors try and start a "Boycott Shutterstock" movement. Here, I look at the "Boycott Shutterstock" movement a year later.

But first, please sign up for FREE using my reference link to be a contributor to Shutterstock. OK, on to the discussion.

First, earnings. Since the pay table change, my earnings are actually about the same, sometimes less, and sometimes greater than my earnings before the pay table change. It really varies.

Second, some other stock photo agencies have lowered their payments as well. This is most likely because of the stock industry, COVID, and literally everyone has a decent camera in their phone and internet connection. Most people even have a decent DSLR!

Let's also look at Shutterstock's assets (total pictures, vectors, videos, and illustrations) from the time of the boycott to about a year later. Actually, a website set up to track these numbers shut itself down a while ago, and the other one stopped tracking numbers around 4/2021.

And now the same graph, but using a baseline of 0.

I estimate that total assets on Shutterstock have increased by a count of at least 40 million. The boycott was a small blip that most people rejected.

The boycott crowd is very inactive and hardly has any social media presence (alone or in their "coalition"). Judging from some online discussion boards, they have resorted to sharing that they got banned from Shutterstock and/or the forum as some badge of honor, petty complaints about Oringer's old photos, and reading tea leaves in Shutterstock's stock price. They are still trying to figure out why they have a hard time selling photos on their own.

A year later I'm very glad I was never convinced by the vocal arguments from the boycotters, or intimidated by their threatening of some of us who dared disagree with them. Plus, stock photography is a hobby of mine, and the pay is just a nice bonus. What I do almost has literally nothing to do with any of the complainers.

Please sign up for FREE using my reference link to be a contributor to Shutterstock.

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