Stocksy United, also referred to as Stocksy or Stocksy United Photography, is a Victoria, British Columbia based platform cooperative that accepts and provides Royalty-free stock photography. Stocksy uses a curated editing approach to select useful and authentic photos. The co-op differs from other stock photography firms by its stated focus on fair pay and creating sustainable careers for its members.
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History
Stocksy United publicly launched on March 25, 2013. It was started by iStockphoto co-founders Bruce Livingstone and Brianna Wettlaufer. At the time of launch, Stocksy had about 220 contributing photographers, with plans to grow to approximately 500 photographers in its first year. Stocksy now has over 900 contributing members, selected from over 10,000 applications. Its revenue doubled from 2014 to 2015, to $7.9 million. For 2015, Stocksy paid out over half of its revenue as royalties to its contributors, totaling $4.3 million.
Contributors
Achieving membership into the cooperative is a two step process. Interested artists request a portfolio review using Stocksy's Call to Artists webpage. Successful artists are contacted with an invitation to apply which involves submitting full resolution sample images for review. Alternatively, photographers can participate in periodic social media assignments to win an invitation. Accepted members license images and receive 50% commission on sales and year end profit sharing.