Alamy Trims Commission from 50% to 40% for Stock Photographer Photos

Times are tough for creatives everywhere as more and more services drive the prices of goods down.

And, of course, lockstep with that is a downward pressure on earnings for said creatives. We’ve talked a lot about how people do not seem to value photos, videos, writing, or anything else that takes a specialized skill. Now we have another major platform lowering the rates they pay creatives.

Alamy announced reductions in stock photographer commission rates from 50% to 40%. Though only 10% off the original commission, that’s a ton of money once you add it up.

The service sent out the following email to stock photo sellers: “In February 2019 the Alamy contract will be changing to reflect a new commission structure. The commission contributors receive for direct sales will change from 50% to 40%. This email is to give you advanced warning of this upcoming contract change. You will receive another email in January 2019 signalling the beginning of the standard 45 day notice period before the new contract comes into effect in February 2019.”

For its part, Alamy is a stalwart in the stock photography game, starting out all the way back in 1999.

Typically known for its generous commission rates, that reputation has waned since the cut six years ago from 60% to 50%. The reasons cited then were much the same as the reasons being cited now. If you watch trends, there’s little reason to expect that there won’t be another cut in the future. That's just the way things go in a competitive market.

CEO James West explained the rationale behind the rate trim in a video. During the video, he makes reference to several of Alamy's competitors such as Adobe, Getty Images, and Shutterstock, calling them “tier 1” agencies.

You can watch the video explaining the changes here.

What do you think? Do you sell photos on Alamy? Let us know in the comments.