EyeEm Not Paying Photographers, Blames Accounting and ‘Global Events’

Photographers are facing a growing problem over unpaid royalties with stock agency EyeEm allegedly in some difficulty.

As reported by Photo Archive News, there has been concern over contributing stock photographers not being paid monies owed to them.

EyeEm’s owners Talenthouse has blamed the problems on changes to new accounting procedures and “global events.”

“First we would like to acknowledge that the Talenthouse AG group of companies has, in particular recently, been experiencing delays in issuing payments to some of our creatives and we are aware of social media reports indicating that Talenthouse is late in paying its creatives,” a spokesperson tells Photo Archive News.

“Even just missing one Creative’s payment is unacceptable,” it adds.

Talenthouse says thought the quieter summer months it had started the process of centralizing accounting and cash management systems, as well as restructuring newly merged finance teams.

“This is an arduous process and challenge, yet it will better facilitate timely payments to our global creatives,” it says.

“Capital markets are also severely impacted by global events, further impacting operations here at Talenthouse. In the meantime, we are making manual payments to all our creatives with outstanding balances. With the burgeoning economic climate that is impacting people across the globe, we wholeheartedly recognize that creatives need to be paid in a timely manner.”

Trouble for EyeEm

A blog post by Alexandre Rotenberg speculated that the stock site is heading for closure, citing red flags.

“All contributors are complaining over at Microstockgroup Forum that it’s been almost two months and they haven’t received their payment or any news when they should expect to receive the monies,” Rotenberg writes.

“In addition, related or not, I have spotted two images sold via EyeEm’s Partner Program with Getty that I have received no notification of sale which is also a red flag.”

It is a far cry from when photographers were making $1,254.93 in four months from the stock site.

When it launched in 2011, only a year after Instagram, it was often talked of in the same breath, but the EyeEm founders studiously repeated that it was a place for for high-end content creators and photographers to sell their wares.