Microstock Income Potential - 2010 Figures

This chart is designed to give the reader an understanding of the number of times images belonging to some of the top microstock photographers at iStockphoto are licensed in a given year and what that can mean in terms of gross revenue.
 
As of May 1, 2009 the first photographer listed on the chart, DNY59, had 508,396 total images licensed in his career with iStockphoto. As of July 1, 2010 he had between 750,000 and 760,000 total downloads. Also on this date he had 6692 total images in the iStock collection.
 
In the columns marked “12 Month Low Downloads” and “12 Month High Downloads” I did an extrapolation to determine the approximate number of total downloads each photographer had in the 12 month period between July 1, 2009 and July 1, 2010. The low number in DNY59’s case was based on total downloads of 750,000 and the high number on 760,000. For more information about why the extrapolation was necessary and the procedure used see Microstock Plateau: iStockphoto July 2010.



All these 168 photographers listed are exclusively represented by iStock and among the 350 with the most overall sales. Because they are exclusive they receive 40% of the gross license fee for each image and since January 1, 2010 their images have been priced at a higher level than those of non-exclusive photographers. Also included among some of those with the most downloads, but not listed on this chart, are some non-exclusive photographer. The non-exclusive photographers only receive 20% of royalties, but because they can place the same images on many other microstock sites they generally earn in total from all the agencies that represent their work more than those who are exclusive.
 
We have indications that iStock’s exclusive photographers are now earning in the range of $4.00, or higher per image downloaded on an average gross sale of around $10.00. At the end of 2009 before this year’s price increases the average return per download was more in the range of $2.60. Assuming an average of $4.00 per download the numbers in the last two columns are the estimated range of income for each individual photographer for the period in question. For example DNY59 probably earned between $828,336 and $862,656 depending on the actual number of downloads he had as of July 1, 2010. (If the average earnings per download was only $2.60 then the gross revenue can be determined by multiplying the 12 month low and high download number by $2.60.)



It should also be noted that many other contributors among the top 350 would have gross sales equal to some be higher sellers in this group, if we had access to their total information. It should not be assumed that all the other iStock contributors are earning less than the bottom person on the list. A few people who have had lots of sales in the past may have stopped adding new images for one reason or another and their recent sales may have dropped. The purpose of this list is to provide a general idea of what the top microstock sellers might be earning, not identify all the top sellers.

	B	C	D	E	F	12 Mo	12 Mo	I	12 Mo	12 Mo
	May 1st	Jul 1 2010		2010 July		Low	High		Low	High
	2009	Low		Images		DL	DL		Dollars	Dollars
DNY59	508396	750000		6692		207084	215664		$828,336	$862,656
sjlocke	468629	640000		8683		146892	155460		$587,568	$621,840
Lise Gagne	849305	1000000		7073		129168	137736		$516,672	$550,944
alexs1	172894	290000		5995		100380	108948		$401,520	$435,792
jhorrocks	297256	410000		5394		96636	105204		$386,544	$420,816
hidesy	484040	590000		14169		90828	99396		$363,312	$397,584
Neustockimages	46736	150000		4897		88512	97080		$354,048	$388,320
webphotographeer	122188	220000		10521		83844	92412		$335,376	$369,648
Nikada	158644	250000		6177		78300	86880		$313,200	$347,520
enjoynz	116456	190000		1976		63036	71604		$252,144	$286,416
shironosov	83012	150000		3790		57420	65988		$229,680	$263,952
AndrewJohnson	118244	180000		4466		52932	61500		$211,728	$246,000
skodonnell	158618	220000		2183		52608	61188		$210,432	$244,752
aldomurillo	83676	140000		3480		48276	56844		$193,104	$227,376
duncan1890	235514	290000		6202		46704	55272		$186,816	$221,088
blackred	225900	280000		3880		46368	54948		$185,472	$219,792
digitalskillet	79168	130000		4662		43572	52140		$174,288	$208,560
YinYang	90065	140000		5921		42804	51372		$171,216	$205,488
LUGO	101168	150000		4065		41856	50424		$167,424	$201,696
TommL	62463	110000		1264		40752	49320		$163,008	$197,280
sodafish	222584	270000		687		40644	49212		$162,576	$196,848
geopaul	103068	150000		2216		40224	48804		$160,896	$195,216
PeskyMonkey	47461	92000		6536		38172	39036		$152,688	$156,144
narvikk	87527	130000		1748		36408	44976		$145,632	$179,904
bubaone	127963	170000		11808		36036	44604		$144,144	$178,416
peepo	106142	190000		7405		35880	80448		$143,520	$321,792
nico blue	258301	300000		3247		35748	44316		$142,992	$177,264
bluestocking	108328	150000		915		35724	44292		$142,896	$177,168
mstay	120023	160000		4228		34272	42840		$137,088	$171,360
filo	120457	160000		2676		33900	42468		$135,600	$169,872
Floortje	60789	100000		3779		33612	42180		$134,448	$168,720
Juanmonino	62811	100000		10055		31872	40452		$127,448	$161,808
RapidEye	73605	110000		5302		31200	39768		$124,800	$159,072
enot-poloskun	113670	150000		369		31140	39708		$124,560	$158,832
A-Digit	113987	150000		3154		30864	39444		$123,456	$157,776
kate_sept2004	57516	93000		3943		30420	31272		$121,680	$125,088
4x6	175200	210000		7534		29832	38400		$119,328	$153,600
Kativ	125473	160000		1916		29592	38172		$118,368	$152,688
ZoneCreative	46995	81000		2123		29148	30000		$116,592	$120,000
Mlenny	146699	180000		8155		28548	37116		$114,192	$148,464
ooyoo	86727	120000		3129		28524	37092		$114,096	$148,368
billnoll	87659	120000		2629		27720	36288		$110,880	$145,152
Stockphoto4U	48756	81000		3578		27636	28500		$110,544	$114,000
mbbirdy	77881	110000		4132		27528	36108		$110,112	$144,432
LeggNet	68236	100000		6391		27228	35796		$108,912	$143,184
francisblack	54384	86000		740		27096	27960		$108,384	$111,840
jacomstephens	89503	120000		2270		26136	34716		$104,544	$138,864
Maliketh	79983	110000		560		25728	34296		$102,912	$137,184
MarsBars	43164	73000		856		25572	26436		$102,288	$105,744
sdominick	170267	200000		4868		25488	34056		$101,952	$136,224
mammamaart	180494	210000		1077		25296	33864		$101,184	$135,456
scottdunlap	58787	88000		260		25044	25896		$100,176	$103,584
Cimmerian	171350	200000		2942		24552	33132		$98,208	$132,528
dlewis33	71959	100000		3391		24036	32604		$96,144	$130,416
Jbryson	56276	84000		3282		23760	24624		$95,040	$98,496
Viorika	71390	99000		1722		23664	24528		$94,656	$98,112
DSGpro	44400	72000		1799		23652	24516		$94,608	$98,064
EricHood	54615	82000		3747		23472	24336		$93,888	$97,344
Sportstock	72759	100000		2641		23352	31920		$93,408	$127,680
kycstudio	74065	100000		1564		22236	30804		$88,944	$123,216
konradlew	67367	93000		1328		21972	22824		$87,888	$91,296
eyeidea	68575	94000		2523		21792	22656		$87,168	$90,624
mammuth	43790	69000		1695		21612	22464		$86,448	$89,856
THEPALMER	85081	110000		6664		21360	29928		$85,440	$119,712
TriggerPhoto	85574	110000		3400		20940	29508		$83,760	$118,032
kcline	135630	160000		2046		20892	29460		$83,568	$117,840
ImagineGolf	76059	100000		2637		20520	29088		$82,080	$116,352
buzbuzzer	76333	100000		1831		20292	28860		$81,168	$115,440
PLAINVIEW	59389	83000		526		20244	21096		$80,976	$84,384
johnwoodcock	70462	94000		2428		20172	21036		$80,688	$84,144
Veni	69463	93000		1234		20172	21036		$80,688	$84,144
leezsnow	64805	88000		2909		19884	20736		$79,536	$82,944
BlackJack3D	46980	70000		384		19728	20592		$78,912	$82,368
Grafissimo	107327	130000		3062		19428	28008		$77,712	$112,032
AVTG	97369	120000		2035		19404	27972		$77,616	$111,888
snapphoto	87484	110000		4346		19296	27876		$77,184	$111,504
fpm	87583	110000		450		19212	27792		$76,848	$111,168
Leontura	67848	90000		1553		18984	19848		$75,936	$79,392
browndogstudios	77875	100000		927		18960	27540		$75,840	$110,160
jangeltun	61356	83000		745		18552	19404		$74,208	$77,616
abzee	78930	100000		3723		18060	26628		$72,240	$106,512
subjug	51295	72000		560		17748	18600		$70,992	$74,400
duckycards	80007	100000		2717		17136	25704		$68,544	$102,816
RonTech2000	44232	64000		1722		16944	17796		$67,776	$71,184
JLGutierrez	44317	64000		2978		16872	17724		$67,488	$70,896
jsmith	100653	120000		585		16584	25152		$66,336	$100,608
arsenik	46944	66000		3980		16332	17196		$65,328	$68,784
solarseven	80977	100000		903		16308	24876		$65,232	$99,504
ULTRA GENERIC	81135	100000		2207		16176	24744		$64,704	$98,976
russelltatedotcom	91206	110000		2283		16104	24684		$64,416	$98,736
Vasko	81349	100000		3530		15984	24564		$63,936	$98,256
chuwy	57386	76000		1077		15960	16812		$63,840	$67,248
fstop123	43459	62000		5958		15888	16752		$63,552	$67,008
joshblake	111631	130000		1682		15744	24312		$62,976	$97,248
evirgen	55952	74000		447		15468	16332		$61,872	$65,328
ftwitty	68147	86000		2455		15300	16164		$61,200	$64,656
prill	52331	70000		7229		15144	16008		$60,576	$64,032
tacojim	102550	120000		4113		14952	23532		$59,808	$94,128
Kameleon007	47592	65000		11722		14916	15780		$59,664	$63,120
redmal	73667	91000		1424		14856	15720		$59,424	$62,880
onurdongel	56698	74000		465		14832	15684		$59,328	$62,736
Graffizone	92802	110000		3785		14736	23316		$58,944	$93,264
centauria	49836	67000		533		14712	15564		$58,848	$62,256
aabejon	61870	79000		3454		14688	15540		$58,752	$62,160
appleuzr	122933	140000		844		14628	23196		$58,512	$92,784
RBFried	83089	100000		2861		14496	23064		$57,984	$92,256
NickS	70090	87000		1759		14496	15348		$57,984	$61,392
aldra	113625	130000		7317		14040	22608		$56,160	$90,432
Blueberries	52695	69000		1884		13980	14832		$55,920	$59,328
chictype	48805	65000		647		13884	14736		$55,536	$58,944
rzdeb	81044	97000		1391		13680	14532		$54,720	$58,128
Illustrious	61201	77000		479		13548	14400		$54,192	$57,600
pkline	44422	60000		2730		13356	14208		$53,424	$56,832
belterz	68673	84000		3758		13140	13992		$52,560	$55,968
lucato	71220	86000		7001		12672	13524		$50,688	$54,096
LPETTET	74469	89000		2717		12456	13308		$49,824	$53,232
gmnicholas	83022	97000		3805		11976	12840		$47,904	$51,360
77DZIGN	53233	67000		1045		11796	12660		$47,184	$50,640
naphtalina	46459	60000		2274		11604	12468		$46,416	$49,872
Trout55	44606	58000		2273		11484	12336		$45,936	$49,344
Nic_Taylor	43708	57000		2640		11388	12252		$45,552	$49,008
sweetym	55914	69000		233		11220	12072		$44,880	$48,288
bkindler	42957	56000		952		11184	12036		$44,736	$48,144
molotovcoketail	97251	110000		526		10932	19500		$43,728	$78,000
davidf	61246	74000		4046		10932	11784		$43,728	$47,136
aleksandarvelasevic	97340	110000		337		10848	19428		$43,392	$77,712
kickstand	84464	97000		1193		10740	11592		$42,960	$46,368
Renphoto	51657	64000		2572		10584	11436		$42,336	$45,744
hypergon	48682	61000		577		10560	11412		$42,240	$45,648
penfold	61910	74000		947		10368	11220		$41,472	$44,880
tomazl	80925	93000		3220		10356	11208		$41,424	$44,832
andipantz	87960	100000		5645		10320	18888		$41,280	$75,552
simonox	73194	85000		6785		10116	10980		$40,464	$43,920
groveb	43418	55000		1740		9924	10788		$39,696	$43,152
grajte	50422	62000		528		9924	10776		$39,696	$43,104
creacart	43718	55000		2903		9672	10524		$38,688	$42,096
nano	89096	100000		959		9348	17916		$37,392	$71,664
Ceneri	48224	59000		1478		9240	10092		$36,960	$40,368
zoomstudio	43519	54000		2239		8988	9840		$35,952	$39,360
exdez	57066	67000		1276		8520	9372		$34,080	$37,488
bonniej	49070	59000		771		8508	9372		$34,032	$37,488
LoBoCo	58552	68000		1700		8100	8952		$32,400	$35,808
susaro	49905	59000		688		7800	8652		$31,200	$34,608
FreeTransform	45953	55000		739		7752	8616		$31,008	$34,464
Akirastock	49149	58000		983		7584	8448		$30,336	$33,792
Pinopic	54204	63000		746		7536	8400		$30,144	$33,600
Marje	54716	63000		1250		7104	7956		$28,416	$31,824
Luso	59831	68000		3540		7008	7860		$28,032	$31,440
claylib	52893	61000		1271		6948	7812		$27,792	$31,248
laartist	45954	54000		2112		6900	7752		$27,600	$31,008
Art-Y	89278	97000		690		6624	7476		$26,496	$29,904
Elerium	57697	65000		570		6264	7116		$25,056	$28,464
jamesbenet	54897	62000		2383		6084	6948		$24,336	$27.792
ggodby	89499	96000		594		5568	6432		$22,272	$25,728
AngelGILD	48582	55000		598		5496	6360		$21,984	$25,440
mecaleha	48653	55000		929		5436	6300		$21,744	$25,200
wolv	49057	55000		1513		5100	5952		$20,400	$23,808
aykuterdogan	48119	54000		157		5040	5904		$20,160	$23,616
kemie	124288	130000		997		4896	13464		$19,584	$53,856
StanRohrer	52346	58000		1344		4848	5700		$19,392	$22,800
Dizzo	45698	51000		993		4548	5400		$18,192	$21,600
Natural Warp	79931	85000		1131		4344	5208		$17,376	$20,832
Skashkin	42967	47000		1971		3456	4320		$13,824	$17,280
highhorse	47581	51000		500		2928	3792		$11,712	$15,168
prawny	47943	51000		1624		2616	3480		$10,464	$13,920
sx70	167562	170000		2115		2088	10656		$8,352	$42,624
Flutter_97321	44456	46000		882		1320	2184		$5,280	$8,736
alwyncooper	44946	46000		499		900	1764		$3,600	$7,056
		20,498,000		479,990		4,092,984	4,874,712		$16,371,896	$19,498,848