500px Distribution - FAQ

**Updated February 4, 2020**

We partner with two exclusive distribution partners, or resellers, who work directly with brands and advertisers in specific territories. Distributors operate their own e-commerce platforms where they host licensable 500px content.

What does a distribution partner do?

Distribution partners are strategic partners that represent licensable 500px content and package licensable 500px content to fit their buyers’ needs.

Who are 500px's distribution partners?

500px works directly with two exclusive distribution partners - Getty Images and Visual China Group (VCG). 

Distribution partner payouts - How do I get paid for distribution sales?

Distribution partners license 500px content on their own websites and then monthly or quarterly, report their sales to 500px. 500px then processes distribution partner royalties through our payment system and the sales appear in individual photographer’s Licensing Sales History as License name - Distributor sale.

Distribution partner payouts - How does the royalty split work with distribution partner sales?

With any distribution partner sale, there are three (3) parties involved in the royalty split - the distribution partner, 500px, and the photographer. 500px has negotiated competitive royalty splits with each of our partners. After the distribution partner takes their share, the photographer and 500px split the remaining royalties. Photographers always earn 60% royalty for a photo that was submitted exclusively via 500px and 30% royalty for a non-exclusive sale.  

Distribution partner payouts - Can you describe what you mean by three (3) parties involved in the royalty split?

For example, if 500px were to have an even-share royalty agreement with our distribution partner, then the partner would first take 50% of the sale amount. Then 500px and the photographer split the remaining 50% according to their agreement. 

If for instance they were to license an image for $50.00 to their client, the royalty breakout would be:

Initial sale price - $50.00

Distribution partner’s share - $25.00

500px & photographer share - $25.00

Then, based on the individual photo’s Representation Rights (Exclusive or Non-Exclusive) the photographer share is either:

Exclusive - $15.00 (60% of $25.00)

Non-exclusive - $7.50  (30% of $25.00)

Distribution partner pricing:

Distribution partners have sole discretion over their pricing. They will often sell content as part of a package, which means that the royalty you receive may not reflect the price listed on their website. 

I received a notification that my photo was sold, but the amount I received is much less than the price listed on your distribution partner’s website. Why?

Distribution partners provide a list price or the suggested price on their platforms. In other industries it's known as the MSRP or Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. The suggested price is based on file size. However, from time to time our distribution partners will provide bulk pricing or discounted pricing based on their client’s needs or a specific pricing agreement that may have been negotiated between the distribution partner and the client. This helps to increase exposure of licensable content to buyers who wouldn’t be receptive to MSRP pricing.

Each distribution partner has sole discretion over pricing. All major licensing platforms in the stock photography industry work in the same way. This has been the case since we began working with distribution partners in 2015. This means that the royalty you receive may not reflect the price listed on their website. 

What if I’m not interested in licensing my photos through the distribution partners?

If you’re not interested in licensing your work through 500px and our distribution partners, you can remove any submitted photos from Licensing in your Licensing Manager at any time. We only send photos to Getty Images and VCG that have specifically been submitted and accepted to Licensing via the Licensing Manager. If your image has already been accepted to Licensing and you wish to remove it, we will comply with your photo removal request within 180 days. If it hasn’t been accepted yet, you can remove it from Licensing right away.

Have more questions? Ask us!