Fotolia launches a strong operation to attract “big” contributors. With the slogan “Gain instantaneous recognition with Fotolia!”, Operation Level Ground gives artists the freedom to upload their existing portfolios to Fotolia and receive equivalent download ranking. Artists have the chance for their achievements to be recognized by increasing earnings while enhancing their global profile.

For those who have sold microstock in the past, Fotolia will recognize their download sales from other services. For those who have sold “macrostock” and traditional stock photography, Fotolia will recognize their lifetime sales as equivalent to download sales.

Non-microstock Sales to Rank Conversion

1. $15,000+ in image sales obtains Fotolia Gold Rank
2. $65,000+ in image sales obtains Fotolia Emerald Rank
3. $100,000+ in image sales obtains Fotolia Sapphire Rank

For example: $15,000 in lifetime sales would place you at Fotolia’s Gold Contributor Rank.

Here the full Fotolia’s blog post:

Operation Level Ground attracts Artists to Fotolia

NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2009 – In an unprecedented industry first, Fotolia is offering all photographers, illustrators and videographers the recognition they deserve. For a limited time, visual artists have complete reputation and expertise portability with Fotolia. Traditionally, artists have had to work for years to earn their reputation and rankings, only to find that they these rankings are lost when joining new sites. Higher rankings on leading stock photography sites such as Fotolia often bring artists increased revenues and exposure. Artists can now use their existing online sales or lifetime earnings to gain instant recognition on Fotolia.

“Fotolia is the first image company to offer contributors this kind of freedom. We’re recognizing people’s passions and their life’s work,” says Oleg Tscheltzoff CEO and co-founder of Fotolia. “By having these talented artists join the Fotolia family, we are able to offer consumers from around the world high-quality and diverse images.”

The way it works is simple: if a photographer shows he or she has 12,000 online downloads, Fotolia credits him/her with 12,000 downloads on Fotolia’s site and provides a Gold Level status.
If the artist demonstrates 30,000 downloads from another site, Fotolia provides him/her with equivalent downloads and an Emerald status.

For those new to microstock: show a lifetime earnings statement of $15,000, for example, and receive Fotolia Gold status. Another with $65,000 receives Fotolia Emerald, and anyone over $100,000 in lifetime earnings automatically becomes Fotolia Sapphire. Downloads reflect the ranking assigned.
See www.fotolia.com/Info/Contributors for more information on Fotolia’s ranking system.

To participate in Operation Level Ground:
1. Artists choose at least 1,000 actively selling images to upload to Fotolia.
2. Prospective contributors provide proof of downloads or earnings to date.
3. Fotolia reviews the application and upon approval assigns an equivalent ranking on www.fotolia.com.

Some conditions apply: images are subject to approval. The minimum 1,000 images uploaded to Fotolia must currently be for sale either online or in-studio.

Deadline to apply for Operation Level Ground is December 31, 2009.
For more information or to apply, visit www.fotolia.com/levelground.