
Checks typically take 2 to 4 weeks to arrive.Ī few other things to keep in mind before you get paid: If you prefer to be paid by check, those are processed around the 15th of the month. Shutterstock then pays through Paypal, Payoneer, or Skrill sometime between the 7th and 15th of the month. If you reach your minimum amount, you will receive an email letting you know about the payment you will receive. Some prefer to keep it at the $35 minimum allowed, but others prefer to set higher to avoid more Paypal fees. To receive payment, Shutterstock Contributors earnings must reach the minimum payout amount set up for their account. Shutterstock’s payment cycles are monthly and restart on the 1st of the month. Keep in mind that Shutterstock reserves the right to hold onto your referral payments for up to 90 days from the date that the contributor or subscriber you referred creates his or her Shutterstock account. You can also earn by referring customers to Shutterstock – 20% of their first payment, up to $200. For videos, for the first year after a contributor you referred is approved, you will earn 10% of the sale price each time someone downloads one of their clips. In addition to making money by selling your own photos, Shutterstock Contributors can also earn money by referring other photographers/contributors. For the first two years after one of your referred contributors is approved, you earn 4 cents every time one of their images is downloaded. Shutterstock Contributor's Referral Earnings Your images may only be allowed as sensitive use if you opt in on your Shutterstock contributor account page. Shutterstock states that it does not necessarily mean that the image will be used that way. “Sensitive use” means that an image of a recognizable model may be used in a manner that implies that the model suffers from a physical or mental health issue.
#Shutterstock money license
Custom licenses with a “sensitive use” option pay $75 to $90+, again based on the license and your earnings tier. Custom licenses without the “sensitive use” option pay a royalty of $2 to $15 or more, depending on the cost of the license and your earnings tier. These are available for high-volume purchasers, such as ad agencies and publishers. There is a third option for customers: custom license packages. The enhanced license allows buyers to use downloaded images for merchandising and other high viewership commercial uses. Standard licenses restrict how many times an image can be used in print and does not allow for images to be used on products. Shutterstock also offers customers two primary types of licenses: the standard license and the extended license. Those packs pay between $.81 and $1.24 per download, whereas the ones without size restrictions pay $1.88 to $2.85 per download. Some packages restrict the size of image that can be downloaded.

These images must be downloaded within a year of the purchase date. The on demand plan lets customers purchase an image pack under the standard or enhanced license. Shutterstock pays you 25 to 38 cents every time one of your images is downloaded, based on your earnings tier. Subscription packages let customers pay a monthly fee, then license as many as 750 images per month under a standard license. Shutterstock has four tiers for lifetime earnings: Your earnings tier is based on your lifetime earnings, and Shutterstock’s subscription and on demand downloads. The amount of payment is based on a couple of things: the license and subscription used for each download, and your earnings tier.Ĭustomers purchase photos using one of two options: subscriptions and on demand. Shutterstock contributors earn royalties every time one of their approved images is downloaded by a customer. How much can you make as a Shutterstock Contributor? Has an active customer base of 1.4 million people in 150 countries.In 2016, Shutterstock reported it had over 100,000 contributors.Has been publicly traded on the New York stock exchange since 2012.Features over 200 million stock photographs, vector images, and illustrations.Shutterstock Contributor’s worldwide community has received half a billion dollars from Shutterstock over the last 15 years.Headquartered in New York City, but has a worldwide presence.Founded in 2003 by photographer Jon OrringerIs.Over 100,000 photography professionals contribute to the Shutterstock library.

Marketing agencies, media outlets, and businesses alike from around the globe turn to Shutterstock for both their commercial and editorial needs. Since that time, Shutterstock has become one of the most established and recognized microstock sites around.

Orringer realized there was a need to have licensable images at an affordable price, and in fact, began by using about 30,000 of his own digital photos. Shutterstock was founded back in 2003 by Jon Orringer, a photographer and entrepreneur, and soon became the first global image subscription service. Photo by wonry via iStock Shutterstock Contributor
