Shutterstock is committed to continuously improving the contributor experience. Last year we continued rolling out improvements to the contributor platform as well as simplifying our content review standards and the requirements.
This year, we are kicking things off with the introduction of a new video format. With growing content demand for mobile and social marketing, vertical video has grown into a critical content component that captures viewer attention and provides an immersive experience to your audience.
Video Added to Data Catalog
Launching July/August 2024
We are releasing an update to our content review workflow that enables us to now accept video content that is intended only for data licensing. Now, video submissions that would have been otherwise rejected for technical quality can be used for data deals – learn more about data licensing and our quality requirements.
Adding New Formats
Launching February 2024
With the growing demand for mobile and social marketing content, vertical video has grown into a critical component that captures viewer attention and provides an immersive experience to the audience. This February, we are updating our platform to support vertical video in its original format and orientation.
Submissions
Contributors no longer need to rotate vertical video clips to a horizontal orientation when uploading content for review. Check out our technical requirements for vertical clips here.
Previously approved vertical videos that were submitted in a horizontal orientation will need to be removed from your portfolio and resubmitted in a vertical orientation. We will not be able to automatically rotate previously submitted clips.
Customer Marketplace
The customer website will display vertical clips in their original orientation, enabling customers to preview and download vertical clips in their original format.
The Create app will not support editing vertical video at this time.
Expanding Our Content Library
Launched June 2023
In 2021 Shutterstock began exploring the potential of content beyond the traditional creative applications and licensing uses offered on Shutterstock.com. We discovered that creative content holds incredible value beyond its visual and design face value and this is when the concept of data licensing began to emerge on our platform. To better support the growth of our evolving marketplace, starting on June 26, 2023 we are expanding our approach to submissions to widen the reach of our content library:
Content submissions will continue to be reviewed for Legal, Intellectual Property and technical requirements; however, submitted content will only be rejected if it does not meet our Legal and IP standards. Content that passes review will be accepted into either our traditional creative marketplace, data licensing or both based on its compliance with our technical standards. You can learn more about data licensing here.
Although we are expanding what is considered acceptable content, we are committed to maintaining the high standard of technical quality that our creative marketplace is known for. The technical requirements for acceptance of images and videos into our creative marketplace remain unchanged.
As a result of this change in our approach to submissions, content that was previously rejected now has a new home in the Data Catalog and a new opportunity to produce earnings for the creator with data licensing!
Simplifying Release Requirements
Launched April 2023
No longer required:
Witness information for Model or Property releases will no longer be required.*
Reference images for the following content will no longer be required:**
Silhouettes, including photographs with composited silhouettes
Auto-traced vectors
Gradient meshes (non-abstract)
Photos filtered to look like illustrations or used as the basis of an illustration
Low-poly (non-abstract)
Pixel/mosaic art (non-abstract)
Software and license information for 3D renderings of interior spaces will no longer be required (i.e., 3D Interior Property Releases).*
Vintage content (content shot between 1930-1990) will no longer have special release requirements:
Content featuring recognizable models will no longer require an explanation of the contributor's relationship to the model on the Model Release form.
Creative (non-editorial) vintage content will require a standard property release proving you are the owner of the content, but additional information with an explanation of how the contributor became the owner of the content will no longer be required.
Thumbnail previews of the vintage content will no longer be required to be attached to the property release, but are still recommended.
Editorial vintage content will no longer be subject to a property release at all.
*Older releases with witness information completed will not be rejected.
**Content submitted with releases that are no longer required after April 1, 2023 will be rejected.
New requirements:
All Model Release forms must include the model’s date of birth.
The age requirement for models depicted in mature content will be changed from 21 to 18 years of age, to align with industry standards.
All Minor Model Release forms are required to include a parent or legal guardian's name. This means older Shutterstock minor model release forms will no longer be accepted because they do not have a field for this information.
Please note:
Any releases submitted after April 1, 2023 and missing the above information will be rejected.
Shutterstock’s most up-to-date release forms can be downloaded here.
We have published new support articles on Legal Documentation, Intellectual Property, Contextual Metadata, and Personally Identifiable Information (PPI) standards to familiarize our contributor community with Shutterstock’s streamlined approach to content review. Existing articles on content review will also be updated to reflect the new standards and requirements.
Change is never easy, but we hope that these improvements designed to simplify and streamline your content submission workflows will be a welcome one. We will continue to update this article as new resources become available. In the meantime, if you have any questions or feedback, be sure to contact us!