Bruce Livingstone founder of iStockphoto has launched
Stocksy.com. Stocksy has been designed as a co-op and pays photographers a 50% royalty on each sale. At the end of the year, the company divides 90% of its profits equally among contributors and other shareholders.
At launch there are over 100 contributors including many of the leading microstock shooters. There is an alphabetical list of contributors with real names, not the pseudonyms common on most microstock sites and a portfolio of the work of each. It is unclear whether all images on the site must be exclusive to Stocksy.
All images are licensed as royalty free. Prices per file size are $10 for Small, $25 for Medium, $50 for Large and $100 for XLarge. In addition for Unlimited Print Use the price is $300; for a Product for Resale, $500 and for an Electronic Product for Resale, $700.
Livingstone sold iStockphoto to Getty Images in 2006 for $50 million. Stocksy has been built out of his experience in shaping the ground floor of the microstock business. He has been unhappy with some of the directions iStock has taken under Getty’s tutelage and has tried to design Stocksy in a way that will respect the work of the artist
“We wanted to create a marketplace for photographers that was not only democratic, but fair and sustainable,” Livingstone says. “There’s no reason these artists shouldn’t be able to earn a living from what they produce. We believe that through this equitable, participatory structure and a straightforward, transparent compensation system—combined with the knowledge of the marketplace we bring to the table—Stocksy will quickly amass the finest pool of photographic content on the Web.”
The focus on fair compensation for photographers means that Stocksy photos will be more expensive than similar photos on other microstock sites. “We know that,” Livingstone says. “If you want a picture of an apple on a white background, we probably don’t have the shot you’re looking for, and I would say go ahead and buy it from someone else. That’s not the market we’re after.”
“Photographers have never had this level of participation and control in the stock world,” he says. “We believe Stocksy represents an opportunity to change the industry permanently—and for the better.”
The focus on fair compensation for photographers means that Stocksy photos will be more expensive than similar photos on other microstock sites. “We know that,” Livingstone says. “If you want a picture of an apple on a white background, we probably don’t have the shot you’re looking for, and I would say go ahead and buy it from someone else. That’s not the market we’re after.”
Photographers interested in joining Stocksy should check out the 23
Pinterest Boards with 792 images to get a sense of the style and direction the company would like to take with the collection. Also check out the
Curated Collection.