Shutterstock
Licensing marketplace for stock media, design tools and creative services.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- Shutterstock, Inc.
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 2003
- Company size
- 1,001–5,000
- Market role
- Publisher & Media Owner
- Ticker
- SSTK
- Official website
- shutterstock.com
What Shutterstock does
Shutterstock operates a multi-product creative content business built around owned marketplaces and workflow software. It aggregates content from contributors and rights holders, packages that inventory into searchable licensing platforms, and sells access to customers through recurring and transactional plans. Around this core, it layers adjacent tools such as design software, AI-assisted creation and custom production services, which increase wallet share and keep customers inside its ecosystem.
Category differentiation
Shutterstock is not a DSP, ad network or media buying platform. It is primarily a licensed content marketplace and creative workflow provider serving marketers, media teams and creators.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
Shutterstock is a public US-based creative content marketplace and software company that licenses stock images, video, music, editorial media, GIFs and 3D assets to businesses, media organisations, agencies and individual creators. Its core business is a two-sided marketplace: contributors upload licensable assets, while customers pay for access through subscriptions, credit packs, enterprise agreements and specialist licensing. The company has expanded beyond stock media into adjacent creative workflow tools such as design editing and AI-assisted content creation, plus managed production services. Commercially, Shutterstock makes money from recurring subscriptions, on-demand asset licensing, enterprise contracts, API and platform access, and service revenue from custom creative production. Its customer base spans marketers, designers, publishers, newsrooms, agencies, filmmakers and other teams that need rights-cleared content at scale. The company has also grown through acquisitions, adding DAM, music, video, editorial, GIF, template and subscriber assets to broaden both supply and monetisation.
Business model & monetisation
Shutterstock monetises through subscription plans and credit-based licensing for digital assets, including images, video, music and editorial content. It also generates revenue from enterprise licensing agreements, developer and platform access, premium collections, and managed creative services via Shutterstock Studios. The commercial model blends recurring SaaS-style subscription income with transactional licensing and service revenue, while contributors are paid royalties on asset sales.
- Stock media subscriptions
- Software Subscription
- On-demand asset licensing and credit packs
- Pay-per-Use
- Enterprise licensing agreements
- Software Subscription
- Creative tools and design subscriptions
- Software Subscription
- Custom creative production services
- Service Fee
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Products & market categories
Media Channel
Service
Ad Format
Competitors & alternatives
- DepositPhotos
Stock media marketplace with enterprise licensing and AI datasets.
- Prime Focus
Media production group spanning VFX, studios and enterprise media software.
Side-by-side comparisons
Subsidiaries & acquisitions
- Web Analysis Solutions
Football statistics publisher monetising audience reach through direct advertising sales.
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
8-K Financial Filing Analysis for Shutterstock (2026-09-08)
financials · Recorded impact score: 3.2/5
On September 4, 2026, Shutterstock, Inc. announced the appointment of three new independent members to its Board of Directors: Timothy Adams, Matthew Salzberg, and Michael Thompson, effective September 8, 2026. Timothy Adams (CFO of Validity and former CFO of Rapid7) and Matthew Salzberg (founder/former CEO of Blue Apron) were named Class II directors with terms expiring at the 2026 annual meeting, while Michael Thompson (Managing Partner of Reinvent Capital) was appointed as a Class III director with a term expiring in 2027. The additions strengthen Shutterstock's governance, financial oversight, tech scaling, and AI/investment expertise.
- Appointment of three independent directors—Timothy Adams, Matthew Salzberg, and Michael Thompson—effective September 8, 2026.
- Adams and Salzberg appointed as Class II directors (terms expiring at the 2026 annual meeting); Thompson appointed as Class III director (term expiring at the 2027 annual meeting).
Early DLSS 5 Leak Shows Nvidia Tool in Action
Gaming Technology · Recorded impact score: 2/5
A modder has enabled an early, unofficial version of Nvidia's DLSS 5 inside multiple games after extracting files from an early-access build of NBA 2K27. The demonstration — run inside Remedy's game Control — shows a new 'Neural Uplift' option with presets and sliders that heavily alters character faces and, to a lesser extent, environment color, shadows and reflections. Nvidia announced DLSS 5 in March 2026 and has said developers can control how strongly it affects their games. The leaked build is an early preview; the final behaviour will likely be seen when Nvidia ships the feature this autumn.
- Nvidia announced a new DLSS version (DLSS 5) in March 2026.
- A modder extracted files from an early-access build of NBA 2K27 and applied an early, unofficial DLSS 5 build to other games.
Meta patches smartglasses loophole preventing secret recordings
Privacy · Recorded impact score: 4/5
Meta has released a mandatory update for its smart glasses to prevent covert recording by stopping video recording whenever the recording LED is covered. This closes a loophole that previously allowed users to start recording with the LED visible and then cover it. The new update immediately halts recording when the LED is obscured and only resumes once the LED is visible again, ensuring bystanders are reliably alerted. Meta also reports that services offering LED manipulation have shut down, and it has removed related accounts and posts from its platforms. This move is part of broader efforts to counter privacy concerns, especially amid discussions of a potential ban in Germany. The update was published on 2026-08-28.
- Meta issued a mandatory update that stops recording when the recording LED is covered.
- The update closes the loophole where users could start recording with the LED visible and then cover it to secretly record.
Google sets new Android app memory requirements
Platform · Recorded impact score: 4/5
Google announced new "Quality Requirements" for Android apps via its developer blog, introducing three areas of standards—Dynamic Memory Usage, Bitmap Memory Usage and Optimized Dex-Code—to improve stability and performance amid an ongoing RAM shortage. Google is rolling out tooling to measure these metrics and requires developers to meet the standards by February 2027. Apps that fail to comply may see reduced discoverability in Play Store search results or removal. The policy aims to ensure smoother operation of apps on devices with less RAM.
- Google announced three new "Quality Requirements" for Android apps in a developer blog.
- The requirements cover Dynamic Memory Usage, Bitmap Memory Usage and Optimized Dex-Code.
Uber adds livestream monitoring for parents of teen rides
Privacy & Safety / Platform Feature · Recorded impact score: 2/5
Uber announced a new safety feature that allows parents to livestream their teenager's entire Uber trip if the driver has enabled the option. The livestream is transmitted from the driver's smartphone, positioned to view passengers; parents receive a push notification at trip start and both driver and teen are notified when a parent joins. Uber says streams are encrypted and recordings are not accessible to parents, teens, or drivers afterwards; Uber will only access recordings to investigate safety incidents. The feature was tested in nine US locations (including Atlanta and Phoenix, and statewide in Rhode Island) and will roll out to more US regions in the coming weeks. Uber already offers teen accounts for 13–17 year olds with additional safety controls.
- Uber announced a livestream feature enabling parents to watch their teenager's entire trip if drivers enable the option.
- Parents receive a push notification at the start of a trip and are notified when they join the livestream; the teen and driver are also notified.
Careers & open positions
Open positions indexed from verified career portals and applicant tracking systems.
| Position | Department | Location | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client Partner, APAC(Mid-Level) | Customer Success & Client Operations | Seoul | |
| Senior Site Reliability Engineer - GIPHY(Senior) | Engineering & Development | 2 Locations | |
| Senior Director, Head of Marketing - Data Licensing and AI Services(Director) | Marketing & Growth | New York City | |
| Director, Product Management, AI Data Platform(Director) | Product & Design | 2 Locations | |
| Senior Director, Global Head of Expansion(Director) | Sales & Business Development | New York City |
Explore company relationships
Questions about Shutterstock
What is Shutterstock?
Shutterstock is a public company that licenses stock images, video, music, editorial media and other creative assets, and also offers design tools and creative services.
Who uses Shutterstock?
Its users include marketers, designers, agencies, publishers, newsrooms, filmmakers, enterprises, SMBs and some individual creators who need rights-cleared content and design tools.
How does Shutterstock make money?
It earns revenue from subscriptions, credit-based and on-demand asset licensing, enterprise agreements, creative software subscriptions, API access and managed production services.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
22 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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