We’ve posted some important information on our blog and there is an accompanying video from James West Alamy CEO to explain some changes at Alamy.
In summary;
Your royalty percentage will be decreasing by 10 percentage points in early 2013 for direct and distributor image sales.
The change applies to all images from all our contributors, regardless of which commission structure you are on. For example, Alamy Blue contributors will move from receiving 60% of each sale to receiving 50%. Video royalties will remain unchanged at 50%.
Why are we doing this? Alamy is a profitable business, however we are at a stage in our development where we have reached the limits of our expansion under our current set-up.
Alamy has developed significantly over the past 18 months. We introduced a News Sport and Entertainment division and we are now selling video. We’ve started curating the collection for creative picture buyers and continue to bring innovation and high quality service to the editorial market. We have ambitious plans to gain market share from our competitors and grow the business.
We’ve increased our sales staff in our core UK and US offices and also in key growth markets such as Germany, India and Australia. We’re also simplifying the buying process for our customers by introducing sales focused initiatives such as Alamy iQ.
In early 2013 we’ll unveil our new look website. Alamy is transforming into a Sales and Marketing led business with the ultimate goal of growing sales.
All of this is designed to drive sales and this will be accompanied by further initiatives planned for 2013 to improve the contributor experience.
We understand that reducing your share by ten percentage points cannot be seen as great news in the short term. However, this investment will provide Alamy with the foundation to greatly improve our presence and penetration and so increase sales.
When we made a change like this back in 2008 it was to fund expansion into the US. We’ve been true to our word. Our US office sales performance is growing at the rate of 30% year on year. The US is now our largest direct sales operation and we are currently recruiting staff to expand it further. Our experience shows that investing in the right things does pay off.
All contributors will receive a formal notification via email of the changes to the contract.
We have made some changes to your Alamy Contributor Contract and as per our terms we are giving you 45 days notice of these changes.
The key changes are listed here. We advise you to review the new contract here.
The changes take effect on January 5th 2013, 45 days from November 20th 2012.
We recommend that you read through the changes thoroughly and print off a copy of the new contract for your records, there is no need for any further action on your part. The key reason for issuing a new contract is the 10 percentage points increase in Alamy's commission on direct and distributor sales.
The following commission splits will apply to you from January 5th;
Alamy Blue: Alamy commission 50%, Contributor commission 50%
Alamy Distribution: 40% to the Distributor, 30% to Alamy, 30% to the Contributor
На их форуме сегодня такой кипиш поднялся! Алами потёр кучу неугодных постов, но всё равно осталось очень много негативных отзывов, народ бунтует. Даже кое-кто призывает удалить все фото.
Плохо то, что обещаниями кормить легко, а вот выполнить их трудно. Больше продаж ещё по воде вилами писано, никто не знает, как будет. Кроме того, Алами 89% своих прибылей отчисляет на благотворительность (какое-то мед. исследование). Угу, хорошо быть щедрым за счёт других.
В общем, урезанные 10% (с 60 до 50%) на самом деле для нас 16.6%, тогда как Алами наживается теперь на 25% больше за счёт этого урезывания выплат. Ладно, действительно бы пошли продажи в разы больше, ещё можно жить. Но это лотерея. С 33 миллионами фото быть замеченным или выделиться очень и очень трудно, а вот затеряться очень даже легко. :-( Посмотрим, как будет с продажами в следующем году. А ещё выплаты задерживают до скончания века, месяцами мурыжат, а часто просто находишь свои фото через гугл и приходится о продаже сообщать Алами, представьте. Тогда они делают удивлённые глаза, мол, как продалось фото? А оно у меня только у них. И таких случаев много, там полфорума об этом жалуется, что они находят свои фото опубликованными, а Алами даже и "не в курсе" об этих продажах.