Launched in March 2013,
Stocksy continues to grow dramatically. The company is paying out almost $200,000 a month in royalties and is on tract to generate something in the neighborhood of $5 million in gross revenue in 2014.
The company’s basic licenses are in the Midstock price range between $10 and $100 depending on files size. I estimate the average base price per download at between $35 and $45. The photos are Royalty Free and “can be uses multiple times without paying further royalties to the artist.” Web use is unlimited.
However, users that want to print more than 250,000 copies of any image must purchase an extended license. An extended license is also required for products for resale such as the customer’s “design on t-shirts, greeting cards, posters, calendars, etc.” or for electronic use in “screensavers, templates, wallpapers designs” that the customer sells.
The additional fee, on top of the basis license price, for Unlimited Print use is $300; for a Product for Resale $500 and for an Electronic product for resale $700.
Co-founder and board chair Bruce Livingston recently told the
Victoria News, “We hit profitability after eight months, started spending again and now we’re in profitability again. After a year, for any business, it’s kind of unheard of, especially for an online start-up.”
Stocky pays photographers a 50% royalty on the basic license fee, but they also pay 100% of the fee paid for any extended license. In addition at the end of each year, the company divides 90% of its profits equally among contributors and other shareholders.
Each year Stocksy accepts a maximum of 500 photographers to join the Stocksy co-operative. Stocksy is very selective in who they accept and moderate the number of members to ensure sustainable incomes. Due to the limited number of spots available they are looking for photographers who stand out in a crowd.
For more about how they operate see:
http://www.stocksy.com/calltoartists/ and
http://www.stocksy.com/legal/. Also check out our story on the
Stocky launch.