I think it's quite saturated and the success depends on how well you can attract companies who already use some other stock.
Currently, the best-paying stock is Adobe. Getty isn't as bad as "new" Shutterstock but they also lowered their rates years ago. The same portfolio earns 52% at Shutterstock, 25% at Getty/iStock, 12% at Adobe, 6% at 123RF, 5% at four more small stocks.
On Shutterstock more than 50% of sales come from outside the US, so it doesn't seem like there's much room to grow globally. The problem with Shutterstock is being a public company with growth expectations while not diversifying whatsoever.
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Is there a business opportunity here? Would it make sense to open up a competitor to Shutterstock? How well is Getty doing?
Or has that ship sailed and the service (as it is, anyway) can't grow any more due to having satisfied the market demand?
I think it's quite saturated and the success depends on how well you can attract companies who already use some other stock.
Currently, the best-paying stock is Adobe. Getty isn't as bad as "new" Shutterstock but they also lowered their rates years ago. The same portfolio earns 52% at Shutterstock, 25% at Getty/iStock, 12% at Adobe, 6% at 123RF, 5% at four more small stocks.
On Shutterstock more than 50% of sales come from outside the US, so it doesn't seem like there's much room to grow globally. The problem with Shutterstock is being a public company with growth expectations while not diversifying whatsoever.
I am expecting it to move towards unlimited subscriptions due to the vast amounts of existing content like every other form of media.
But that would decrease, not increase payouts to photographers.