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Shutterstock Contributor

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Shutterstock has paid over US$1 billion to its contributors

Earn up to 40% commission each time our customers download your images or videos.

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When you sell more, you earn more. Your earnings rate increases as more of your content is licensed.

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Level up when customers license your content

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Levels reset each calendar year, beginning on January 1st

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Different earnings levels for images and videos

Earnings breakdown for photos, illustrations, and vectors

Image levelsNumber of image licenses this calendar yearYou earn
Level 1Up to 10015%
Level 2101 to 25020%
Level 3251 to 50025%
Level 4501 to 2,50030%
Level 52,501 to 25,00035%
Level 6Over 25,00040%

Earnings breakdown for videos

Video levelsNumber of video licenses this calendar yearYou earn
Level 1Up to 1015%
Level 211 to 5020%
Level 351 to 25025%
Level 4251 to 5,00030%
Level 55,001 to 25,00035%
Level 6Over 25,00040%

Earnings for Contributor Fund Payments

Contributors will earn a 20% average corporate royalty rate of revenue received by Shutterstock for data licenses.

Earnings for Shutterstock Unlimited Downloads

Contributors who are invited and participate in the Shutterstock Unlimited program will receive royalties based on the Subscriber Share of Net Revenue from Unlimited subscribers. 50% of the Net Revenue from each customer’s Unlimited downloads subscription will be distributed among the individual Contributors whose Content was downloaded by that subscriber, based on the number and type of assets downloaded by each Contributor. For the Unlimited Subscriber Share, "Net Revenue" is defined as the total income that Shutterstock earns from each Unlimited subscriber’s monthly subscription fee after subtracting certain costs, taxes, and expenses. For more information, refer to the Unlimited Subscriber Share documentation.

Image and Video Earnings Levels are based on the number of licenses from the Shutterstock marketplace in the current calendar year, excluding Data licenses and Unlimited licenses. Data licenses and Unlimited licenses do not count towards the number of licenses used to calculate earnings levels for Image and Video licenses from the Shutterstock marketplace.

Contributors can opt-out from Data Licensing in Account Settings. Contributors invited to participate in the Shutterstock Unlimited can opt-out from the Unlimited program in Account Settings.