Contributor Economics
You create the value.
You should keep most of it.
StockDock pays 50–75% royalties on every license — permanently, not as a promotion. As you grow, your rate grows. And every year, eligible contributors share in the platform's surplus profits.
Major stock platforms pay
15–45%
industry standard royalty rate
StockDock pays
50–75%
from day one, permanently
Annual surplus pool
50%
of net profits shared with contributors
On this page
How royalties work
Every time a buyer licenses one of your assets — a photo, video clip, or audio track — StockDock collects the license fee. Your royalty is your percentage of that fee, paid directly to you. No hidden deductions. No "platform fees" taken off the top before your percentage is calculated.
If a license sells for $100 and your royalty rate is 60%, you receive $60. StockDock keeps $40 to cover operations, platform development, and legal costs. That's it.
Royalty comparison — StockDock vs. industry standard
The major platforms pay 15–45% because their business model depends on capturing the majority of the value creators produce. StockDock is built on a different premise: the people who create the content should keep most of what it earns.
The tier system
Your royalty rate is not fixed. It grows as your contribution to the platform grows. There are four tiers. Each tier has a higher royalty rate and — for the top three — eligibility to share in the platform's annual surplus profits.
Tiers are evaluated quarterly based on three criteria: how many approved assets you have in the library, how much revenue your assets have generated over your lifetime on the platform, and whether you've uploaded at least one asset recently (within the last 12 months, or 6 months for Elite). All three criteria must be met.
Your starting point. Every approved asset earns 50% of every license sold — permanently.
You've built a real catalog and proven commercial value. You earn more per license and qualify for annual surplus payouts.
A serious contributor with a substantial catalog and proven sales. Your surplus share is weighted 1.5× your score.
The highest tier. You've built the platform. 75% royalties and a 2.5× surplus weight reward your foundational contribution.
Important: tiers can go down
Tiers are evaluated quarterly. If your upload activity drops below the recency threshold — for example, you haven't submitted anything in over a year — your tier steps down at the next evaluation. This is intentional. The platform rewards contributors who are actively building the library, not just those who uploaded years ago and moved on.
Your contribution score
Your contribution score is a single number that measures your overall value to the platform. It's used to determine your proportional share of the annual surplus pool. It is not used to calculate your royalty rate — that's determined by your tier.
The score is calculated from four factors, each weighted differently based on how much it reflects genuine contribution to the platform's commercial success.
Revenue generated
40%The most important signal. How much have your assets actually earned? This rewards commercial performance — the content buyers actually want to license.
Approved assets in library
30%How many approved assets do you have in the active library? This rewards contributors who have built a substantial, searchable catalog.
Recent upload activity
20%How many assets have you submitted in the last 12 months? This rewards contributors who are actively growing the library right now, not just legacy volume.
Approval rate
10%What percentage of your submissions get approved? This rewards quality over quantity — contributors who submit carefully curated work rather than bulk uploads.
"The score is always relative. It's not about hitting a number — it's about your contribution compared to the full pool of eligible contributors."
Annual surplus distribution
Beyond your royalties, StockDock shares 50% of its annual net surplus with eligible contributors. This is the cooperative principle in action: when the platform wins, the people who built it win too.
What is "net surplus"?
Net surplus = total license revenue minus all platform costs. Platform costs include hosting and infrastructure, staff and contractors, payment processing fees, legal and accounting, and a retained reserve for platform reinvestment and cooperative conversion costs.
50% of what remains after those costs is distributed to eligible contributors. 50% is retained by the platform for reinvestment and reserves.
Who qualifies for surplus distribution?
To enter the surplus pool, you must meet all three of the following at the time of the annual calculation (end of December):
- At least 25 approved assets in the active library
- At least $250 in cumulative lifetime revenue
- At least one approved upload in the last 12 months
These thresholds exist to keep the pool meaningful. A contributor who submitted two files and earned $15 shouldn't dilute the payout for someone who built a real catalog and drove real revenue.
How is each contributor's share calculated?
Each eligible contributor's share is proportional to their weighted contribution score — their raw score multiplied by their tier's surplus multiplier.
Your weighted score = raw score × tier multiplier
Your share = your weighted score ÷ total weighted scores of all eligible contributors
The tier multipliers are: Rising = 1.0×, Partner = 1.5×, Elite = 2.5×. This means an Elite contributor with the same raw score as a Rising contributor receives 2.5× their share of the surplus pool — rewarding the contributors who have done the most to build the platform.
A real-world example
Let's walk through exactly how the numbers work — from a license sale to an annual surplus payout — so there's no ambiguity about what you earn.
Example A — A single license sale
Example B — Annual surplus distribution
Imagine the platform's annual net surplus is $40,000. The creator pool is $20,000 (50%). There are 3 eligible contributors:
| Contributor | Tier | Raw score | Multiplier | Weighted score | Share | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya | Elite | 80 | 2.5× | 200 | 57% | $11,400 |
| Carlos | Partner | 60 | 1.5× | 90 | 26% | $5,143 |
| Nia | Rising | 60 | 1× | 60 | 17% | $3,429 |
| Total weighted scores: 350 | Total distributed: $19,972* | |||||
* Rounding difference of $28 is retained in the platform reserve.
Maya earns more than Carlos despite having the same raw score because her Elite tier multiplier (2.5×) amplifies her weighted score. This is the founding contributor incentive — the people who built the library when it was nothing receive a structurally larger share of the platform's success.
The cooperative model
StockDock is being built toward a platform cooperative — a business structure where the contributors who create the value are also the owners who govern the platform. This is not a marketing claim. It is the structural destination the platform is being built toward from day one.
Right now, StockDock is operated by Soundstage VI LLC. The cooperative principles — high royalties, transparent economics, surplus sharing — are already embedded in how the platform works. Formal cooperative conversion requires reaching a certain scale, building the legal and financial foundation, and ensuring the structure is sustainable for contributors long-term.
When that conversion happens, contributors with a qualifying contribution history will receive ownership stakes proportional to their contribution. The tier system and contribution score you're building today are the record that will determine your ownership stake when the cooperative is formalized.
Built by creators. Owned by creators. Governed by creators.
Today
- 50–75% royalties
- Annual surplus sharing
- Transparent economics
At scale
- Formal co-op conversion
- Democratic governance
- Ownership stakes
Long term
- Creator-owned platform
- Caribbean-wide library
- Global model
Frequently asked questions
When do I get paid?
Royalties are paid monthly, 30 days after the close of each calendar month. If a license sold in January, you receive payment by the end of February. Annual surplus distributions are paid in Q1 of the following year, after the platform's annual accounts are finalized.
What counts as an "active" upload for tier maintenance?
You need at least one approved asset submitted within the trailing 12 months (6 months for Elite tier). This keeps the surplus pool rewarding contributors who are actively building the library, not just those who uploaded years ago and moved on.
Can my tier go down?
Yes. Tiers are evaluated quarterly. If your activity drops below the recency threshold — for example, you haven't uploaded anything in over a year — your tier will step down at the next evaluation. Your royalty rate on existing sales adjusts accordingly. This is intentional: the platform rewards active contributors.
What is a "contribution score" and how is it calculated?
Your contribution score is a number that reflects your overall value to the platform. It combines four factors: how many approved assets you have in the library (30%), how much revenue your assets have generated (40%), how recently you've been uploading (20%), and your approval rate — the percentage of your submissions that get approved (10%). The score is normalized across all contributors, so it's always relative to the pool.
What is the annual surplus and how is it calculated?
The annual surplus is the platform's net profit after all operating costs — hosting, staff, payment processing, legal, and other expenses — are paid. 50% of that net surplus is set aside for creator distribution. The other 50% is retained by the platform for reinvestment, legal reserves, and cooperative conversion costs.
How does the surplus multiplier work?
Your contribution score is multiplied by your tier's surplus multiplier before being compared to the pool. A Rising contributor with a score of 100 competes with a weighted score of 100. A Partner contributor with the same raw score of 100 competes with 150. An Elite contributor competes with 250. This means Elite contributors receive a structurally larger share of the surplus — rewarding the people who built the platform when it was nothing.
What types of content does StockDock accept?
Photography, video, and audio content tied to specific Caribbean locations. All content must be original, location-accurate, and meet our technical quality standards. We accept both professional and high-quality mobile content. Content must be submitted with accurate GPS coordinates and location metadata.
Do I give up ownership of my content?
No. You retain full copyright ownership of everything you submit. You grant StockDock a non-exclusive license to display, market, and sublicense your content to buyers. You can continue to sell your content through other channels. You can request removal of your content from the platform at any time.
What is the platform cooperative model?
StockDock is being built toward a platform cooperative — a business structure where the contributors who create the value are also the owners who govern the platform. We are currently operating under cooperative principles (high royalties, transparent economics, surplus sharing) while building toward formal cooperative conversion. When that conversion happens, eligible contributors will receive ownership stakes proportional to their contribution history.
Is there a cost to join?
No. Joining as a contributor is free. StockDock earns revenue only when your content sells — we take our percentage from the license fee, and you keep yours. There are no subscription fees, upload fees, or listing fees.
Ready to contribute?
Your local knowledge has global commercial value.
Join StockDock as a contributor. Start at 50% royalties on day one. Build your catalog. Grow your tier. Share in the platform's success.
Apply to contribute
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