Corbis Contributors - Please Chime In

I am looking for advice regarding joining Corbis as a contributing photographer. Specifically, I am seeking first hand knowledge from other Photographers who have work on the Corbis site. I have been approached, and approved... but I have some reservations.

Input is very much appreciated from others with experience.

Thanks in advance!

Can't believe this didn't get a single reply. Anyway... I went ahead and joined up with them. I learned a couple of things along the way that could be helpful to someone in the future... thought I would share.

1) One of my concerns was that Corbis does not tell you up front how they are going to license an image. There are basically 2 types of licensing models for Corbis. The first is Rights Managed, and the second is Royalty Free. Personally, I was not interested in licensing my images as RF. Unfortunately, you don't find out which model they have chosen until after an image is accepted. I was fortunate in that my images ended up being licensed as RM, and to be honest, I'm not sure what I would have done if they went the other way with them. Basically RF licensed images can be used in any way the purchaser sees fit without future licensing consideration. Not my cup of tea.

2) The other issue I had was with the Licensing Models. I wanted to make sure that I was not limited in selling/licensing my work myself after licensing with Corbis. This turned out to be a simple matter of choice. I was informed that selecting the 'Co-Exclusive' licensing model would maximize my commission with Corbis, while still allowing me to license my images myself. It does prevent me from licensing the same images with another third party (stock agency). In effect it gives myself & Corbis sole licensing rights.

Hope this helps someone in the future. If anyone has questions, you can contact me through here, or my website (http://www.liquids-in-motion.com).

Thanks!

Thanks Jim for sharing your experience with Corbis. I just saw your thread. I was planning to give my images a try in Corbis. Have not tried before. It seems your contract with them is as co-exclusive. I would rather join as non exclusive. Not sure about the commission though. And it seems strange that the Corbis itself decides the license type for our images. I hope its not the case for non exclusives.
Regards
Saurabh

Be sure to stop back, and add your experiences to the thread.

Thanks!

Couple of things I would look into:

1. Corbis allows comp downloads of images. Be sure to ask how those comps are used. I've found many of my images on other sites and am still trying to find out how they got there and if they were licensed.

2. Find out if your images will be available on any other licensing websites that may or may not be affiliated with Corbis.

I contribute to Retna, who is partnered with Corbis. I didn't realize that my images would also be listed on Corbis, but as long as I get paid for any licensing, then I have no problem. However, I have also found my photos on some Japanese site available for licensing, which I believe were obtained from a comp download through Corbis, although I'm not sure if this site has any affiliation with Corbis or Retna, so I can't say for sure but it was one of my questions I'm waiting to get answered. I spoke to someone at Retna two weeks ago inquiring about these concerns I have, and after waiting over a week still have not yet received an answer to my questions.

Also, they don't send me monthly statements, which they are supposed to do.

If you have any questions, I would call them and see how they treat you on the phone and if they take the time to answer your questions.

Good luck.

noxcuses1 wrote in post #15138298
Couple of things I would look into:
Also, they don't send me monthly statements, which they are supposed to do.

I get my statements automatically online, through the contributor gateway.

BTW - have you actually made any money?

noxcuses1 wrote in post #15138298
Couple of things I would look into:

1. Corbis allows comp downloads of images. Be sure to ask how those comps are used. I've found many of my images on other sites and am still trying to find out how they got there and if they were licensed.

2. Find out if your images will be available on any other licensing websites that may or may not be affiliated with Corbis.

I contribute to Retna, who is partnered with Corbis. I didn't realize that my images would also be listed on Corbis, but as long as I get paid for any licensing, then I have no problem. However, I have also found my photos on some Japanese site available for licensing, which I believe were obtained from a comp download through Corbis, although I'm not sure if this site has any affiliation with Corbis or Retna, so I can't say for sure but it was one of my questions I'm waiting to get answered. I spoke to someone at Retna two weeks ago inquiring about these concerns I have, and after waiting over a week still have not yet received an answer to my questions.

Also, they don't send me monthly statements, which they are supposed to do.

If you have any questions, I would call them and see how they treat you on the phone and if they take the time to answer your questions.

Good luck.

I'm still waiting to get a statement. I was told that I would hear from them by last Friday.

noxcuses1 wrote in post #15144169
I'm still waiting to get a statement. I was told that I would hear from them by last Friday.

Do you have a username & password for the contributor gateway? It's how you submit images...

http://contributor.cor​bis.com/

There is an option in the menu called "Royalties", your statement will be in there.

jwkramer wrote in post #15144196
Do you have a username & password for the contributor gateway? It's how you submit images...

http://contributor.cor​bis.com/

There is an option in the menu called "Royalties", your statement will be in there.

That's not how they do it for Retna.

Oh, and as far as I'm concerned, Retna breached their contract with me by not sending me monthly statements.

Anything new from those of you who shoot with Corbis? I'm interested in joining. What is your advice on how to apply? The application was a single PDF sheet that didn't really provide good instructions.

I'm a contributor, and have been for a couple years. My work is in the 'Fine Art' segment. I used to do pretty well over there. Early in the year, Sue Hartke was let go and her position was incorporated into the 'Historical' segment. Since that time I have not had a single sale. You can take away from that what you like... but I came to the conclusion that Corbis no longer gives a shizt about the fine art segment. Maybe others are having different results. I can only base my opinion on what I have experienced.

Jim,

Thank you for starting this thread and for sharing your thoughts on Corbis. I was recently approached by them to be a contributor and am wondering if 35% is the standard share they offer photographers or if I should ask for more.

They told me I get to choose if the images will be sold RF or RM. It seems in an earlier post of yours that this wasn't always the case. I'll probably go with them because they are such a big player in the stock photo market, but if there is any other advice you'd offer to a contributor just starting out, please share. Better to know everything BEFORE I sign the contract than after...

Thanks so much!

My Demotix news images end up on Corbis and I don't really like it. Just feels like you're throwing images up into an empty void. Signed up with StockPix now.