You can submit AI images you’ve generated to earn royalties!
Published in · 8 min read · Dec 6, 2022
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I’m excited to tell you — it’s official — that AI-generated images can now be submitted and sold on Adobe Stock! In this article, I’ll tell you how to get your images approved, how to navigate the new Adobe guidelines, and the type of AI content customers are looking for that is going to surface well.
If you’d like to make passive income from your portfolio of AI-generated artwork (and don’t all AI artists have a backlog of images floating in the Cloud — I know I have several thousand) now’s the time to get on board!
First, you’re going to need a quality generator, if you don’t use one already. MidJourney, Dall-E 2, and Jasper Art are all top-rate AI tools (I use all three). MidJourney gives dreamy artistic results, Dall-E 2 has cool features like Inpainting, and Jasper Art can give amazingly realistic results. Another thing I really love about Jasper is that it has an easily searchable output history.
Why is Adobe Stock accepting AI images?
It’s no secret that Adobe has been unofficially approving AI images from some of the best AI artists for some time, while they tested out the water. According to their reports, the consumer reception has been great! I have been selling commercial AI images since September, including on Adobe:
But AI images remain controversial and taboo in some artistic fields, and I can understand why. There’s a lot of resentment that it’s being misused to replace human imagination and undermines the creative process of graphic designers. Personally, I treat it as a tool to enhance creativity.
Regardless, Adobe is the first major stock photo site to fully embrace and welcome AI-generated artwork. It’s still banned at Shutterstock and Getty.
As senior director of content for Adobe Stock Sarah Casillas blogged today:
“Early generative AI technologies have raised questions about how it should be properly used. Adobe has deeply considered these questions and implemented a new submission policy that we believe will ensure our content uses AI technology responsibly by creators and customers alike.”
What is the Adobe Stock policy for AI-generated content?
The main takeaway is that generative AI content must be clearly titled and labeled as “Generative A.I.” and as an “Illustration”. This applies even if your image is photorealistic (we’ll get to photorealistic humans shortly). Adobe is defining photography as works that are made primarily with a camera, and it’s important to be clear with customers about the provenance of an image.
Note: when adding the keywords “Generative A.I.” to your image label, they currently will count as two separate tags “Generative” and “A.I.”
Can I submit multiple variations of the same image or prompt?
Adobe has been very clear that they want unique, quality images, not spam. They encourage you to select your best image from a set. While MidJourney has the option to produce variations of the same image, Adobe doesn’t want similar AI-generated content images (and it will hurt your visibility in the long run, as your duplicates would compete and cannibalize each other).
You can however reuse the same prompt if you are getting sufficiently different images on each generation. But be ruthless! Ask yourself if a customer might confuse two of your images. If so — only keep the best.
Remember, you want to sell stunning images, not play a game of Snap.
Are there any subjects I shouldn’t include?
Beyond the obvious (porn, violence), don’t generate famous people or copyrighted properties. And this is going to be a tough one: don’t make homages of famous names, brands, or artists. We’ve all done it — I do it regularly, with Tim Burton and Disney, under the banner of fan art. We plug in a well-known name as a prompt term to see what it might make (or if we’re lazy, as a shortcut to cueing up certain styles in the Art Generator).
But third-party content won’t wash at Adobe. It’s already in new copyright waters, and it’s not about to muddy them up with training data disputes or outright infringement. General rule: if you used someone else’s name to describe your art in the prompt, don’t submit it to Adobe or try to sell it.
This also includes common text prompts like “Unreal Engine” — it’s a product, remember? In fact, I think we’re soon going to see the need for an entirely new way of prompting. Here’s my idea for the next step: narrative prompts.
What’s the copyright?
I’ll be honest, that part is unclear because most AI-generated art still falls under the public domain. But leave that to Adobe to defend your interests.
In fact, uploading to Adobe Stock may be a great way to ensure your images are not stolen, as they could issue DMCAs. The Adobe watermark is powerful.
I’d also suggest making your work transformative. That means editing it, modifying it, and adding to it. Put your personal flair on your image. Not only will this improve it, but it may also give it some measure of protection (from the artists whose original work was ingested by the AI, and copycats).
What if my AI images contain realistic humans?
If they aren’t real (non-existent humans) you’ll just need to submit a property release confirming that you own the content. However, if you used a photo — for instance, to create a consistent character — or named a person in the prompt, or in any way tried to trigger the AI to generate a real person, you will need a model release, just as with a photo (although it still counts as an AI illustration). Confused? Don’t be. The two simple rules are:
- It’s not shot on camera, so it’s not a photograph.
- But if the person is real, you’ll need a model release.
- If the person just looks real, you’ll need a property release.
If you upload a series of images with the same model (or photorealistic non-existent human), you only need to submit the model/property releases once.
I think commercial model releases are going to get really interesting when modeling agencies start working with AI artists and designers, and models and actors begin selling their AI-likeliness.
FAQs
I’ll add to these as questions come in. Feel free to ask or add knowledge.
Q. “If I sell on Adobe Stock can I sell the same AI-generated images somewhere else or does that limit me to only Adobe Stock?”
A. When you contribute to Adobe Stock, you’re considered to be in a non-exclusive partnership. This means they promote and license your content to a worldwide audience, but your work remains your own. Ownership isn’t transferred. This is the same for traditional art and photography as well as AI images. However, considering the main competitors like Shutterstock and Getty don’t accept AI at the moment, that point may be moot. It’s worth noting that Shutterstock does claim exclusive license rights (so if they did accept AI art in the future, you could not submit to Shutterstock and Adobe)
Q. “What’s the best platform to sell AI-generated art?”
A. Hands down, Adobe Stock. No other major paid stock image providers accept AI-generated images.
Q. “What are the best AI tools to make AI-generated content for Adobe Stock?”
A. There are a lot of options: Jasper Art, MidJourney, Dall-E 3, and Stable Diffusion. I wouldn’t bother with AI tools like Night Cafe. I mainly use Jasper Art. I like MidJourney, but the images are very dreamlike and airbrushed, which makes them appear very obviously AI content.
Jasper Art is what I predominately use, for everything from photoreal character shots to mascot designs and coloring-in-book illustrations. Additionally, Jasper gives you unlimited AI-generated images for $20.
That’s a fantastic deal when you’re trying to build a stockpile of AI content to add to your Adobe Stock collection, so take advantage of it! Jasper Art also offers free upscaling of AI images to 2048 x 2048 (4.19 megapixels).
Q. “Do you have a link to the Adobe Stock submission page?”
A. First, you’ll need an Adobe ID. Make sure you use the correct country of residence, as you’ll need it to set up tax. And you can’t change it once it’s done! After you have your ID you can access the Contributor Portal here:
Best Place to Sell Photos Online, Footage Clips, Illustrations, & Vectors - Adobe Stock
If you have high-quality photos, videos, or vector content, and you own all the rights, you can sign up to become an…
contributor.stock.adobe.com
Q: “How much can you earn selling AI art to Adobe Stock images?
It’s a generous commission: contributors earn a 33% royalty each time their content sells. Depending on the plan or license that the Adobe customer is on, that can be $0.33 (usual) to $26.40 (rate) per download. Remember that it’s a numbers game; many of your images won’t sell, but you need a large enough portfolio to be seen and to have your top-selling pictures surface.
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Who is The Jasper Whisperer?
The Jasper Whisperer offers advanced training in how to use AI generators to create stunning visuals, as well as how to write original and compelling content. If you’re interested in discovering more, feel free to contact me.
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You might enjoy these related articles from The Jasper Whisperer:
FAQs
How to sell AI-generated images on Adobe Stock? ›
Adobe Stock accepts content made using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as long it meets our submission standards.
Can you sell AI photos on Adobe Stock? ›Adobe Stock accepts content made using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools as long it meets our submission standards.
Where can I sell AI stock photos? ›Yes, in most cases, it is okay to sell artwork created by AI image generators like Midjourney. Many artists and freelancers make money selling their AI art on platforms like Etsy, Redbubble, and Fiverr. But keep in mind there are guidelines, legal, and ethical issues that you should take into consideration.
Are you allowed to sell AI-generated images? ›AI-generated works are not eligible for copyright protection on their own. A human author must contribute significant creative input to the work. The Office will continue to monitor legal and factual developments involving AI and copyright. AI can be considered a tool used by human authors in the creative process.
Can you make money from Adobe Stock photos? ›Making money with Adobe Stock is a great way to supplement your income and build a portfolio of creative work. With Adobe Stock, you can upload your photos, illustrations, videos, and other creative content to the platform and make money when customers purchase your work.
Can I sell art that AI made? ›Yes, you can sell your AI-generated art. You will need to ensure that the artwork is unique and of high quality to attract buyers. Additionally, it is important to understand copyright laws and other legal considerations when selling digital products online.
Who owns the copyright to AI images? ›Some platforms like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney state that the user is the person who owns the copyright. However, as computer-generated works have “no human author”, it appears that the concept of “joint authorship” does not apply to works co-created by humans and AI systems.
How do I sell AI-generated content? ›- Create Your Free AI Artist Account.
- Verify Your Account and Add PayPal Email to Receive Payouts.
- Upload Your AI Artworks to Your Personal AI Art Shop.
- Customise Your Storefront and Start Selling Your AI Art.
Shutterstock will not allow AI-generated content to be submitted for sale on our platform. We want to ensure contributors can prove IP ownership of all submitted content and also want to be confident that artists are properly compensated if and when their work is used in AI training models.
Can I sell AI-generated art on Etsy? ›Does Etsy Allow Me to Sell AI Art? Currently, you can sell any art or designs created with the assistance of artificial intelligence on the Etsy platform as long as you have the right to use that image.
Can you be sued for selling AI art? ›
Courts have ruled that AI cannot hold copyright, which by corollary also means that AI-generated art sits in the public domain. This legal loophole has angered many professional artists whose art is used to train the AI.
Are AI generated images royalty free? ›Despite the originality of the artwork, the U.S. Copyright Office has taken the position that AI generated images themselves are not entitled to copyright protection, as they are not the product of human authorship and therefore do not meet the definition of original.
Are AI creations copyrighted? ›At the moment, works created solely by artificial intelligence — even if produced from a text prompt written by a human — are not protected by copyright. When it comes to training AI models, however, the use of copyrighted materials is fair game.
Is it better to sell on Adobe Stock or Shutterstock? ›Both offer the images in a royalty-free license. For on-demand buying, Adobe Stock wins in flexibility and per-image rates. Shutterstock offers a simpler buying method, though. For subscriptions, Shutterstock is a clear winner in terms of the lowest prices and high-volume plans.
What sell best on Adobe Stock? ›Adobe says the photos that use models tend to be more popular than people-free photos, but images that incorporate cultural diversity, technology, fashion, food, portraiture, lifestyle, architecture, beauty and business are also popular sellers.
Is selling images on Adobe Stock worth it? ›You don't have to be a designer to benefit from Adobe Stock. With a comprehensive royalty-free license (one of the few with unlimited legal protection) and a variety of pricing plans, Adobe Stock is the best choice for anyone who needs stock photos.
Is AI art a copyright violation? ›If someone produces an image of a trademarked character using AI, this would violate copyright, but as they themselves did not produce the image it seems incredibly unlikely that they would be taken to court over the matter.
Do I own the AI art that I create? ›AI art cannot be copyrighted. The question of who owns art created by AI is a complex and controversial issue. While AI is responsible for generating the artwork, it is ultimately the human creators who programmed and trained the AI algorithms.
Am I allowed to use AI art? ›Scott Hervey, an intellectual property lawyer and partner in the California-based Weintraub Law Group, says that “a human may select or arrange AI-generated material in a sufficiently creative way that the resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship.
Who owns the copyright on AI generated content? ›Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 they are “generated by computer in circumstances such that there is no human author of the work”. The law suggests content generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) can be protected by copyright.
Can you monetize AI-generated art? ›
Turn AI-Generated Artwork Into Profit
Additionally, AI-generated images can be sold on a wide range of products, from traditional prints to clothing and home decor, giving you a flexible and profitable way to monetize their work.
The shortest answer is, yes, you can monetize AI written content. People often misunderstand the concept of artificial intelligence writing tools. It is not like an automated system that most people think. Even with the most advanced AI writer like GetGenie, the content will require some human touch.
Can I use AI-generated art commercially? ›Yes. AI-generated images are free for commercial use. AI art does not have automatic copyright protection, and ownership can not be claimed. This means that anyone can use AI art that is found online for any purpose.
Can you sell AI-generated art on freepik? ›1. Can You Sell AI-Generated Art? Yes, you can!
Does Getty accept AI generated images? ›Last September, Getty Images issued a ban on the upload and sale of AI-generated images on its platform.
Does Alamy accept AI generated images? ›While the sources for AI image generation by many platforms are at worst scraped without permission and at best unclear, we cannot accept AI generated material on Alamy.
Who has copyright to AI-generated art? ›The US Copyright Office will consider an AI-generated work copyrightable if a human can prove they themselves put a meaningful amount of creative effort into the final content, according to a policy published on Thursday.
Can I sell AI-generated art on redbubble? ›Redbubble has a policy against the sale of AI-generated art, which means that artists are not allowed to sell works that were created using artificial intelligence on the platform.
Can I sell AI-generated art on Fiverr? ›For side hustlers looking to bring in some extra cashflow, Fiverr is a great marketplace to sell AI-written content that doesn't take much time to generate.
Can you sell AI-generated artwork that's not your code? ›Generally, you can sell AI-generated art as long as the generator license agreement permits commercial use. Read the terms and conditions carefully. Be aware of copyright restrictions of any input images. Some EULAs indicate that produced artwork may belong to the tool, the user, or the public domain.
How much is AI-generated art worth? ›
The most expensive piece of AI art is the portrait called “Edmond de Belamy” sold for staggering USD 432,000 at Christie's auction house in New York City. Last fall, an AI-generated portrait rocked the art world selling for a staggering US$432,500 at Christie's auction house in New York.
What's the best AI image generator? ›| AI art generator | Price | Output speed |
|---|---|---|
| Bing Image Creator | Free | Fast |
| DALL-E 2 by OpenAI | Free + Credits (depends on sign up date) | Fast |
| Dream by WOMBO | Free + Subscription | Fast |
| Craiyon | Free | Slower |
The right thing to do, especially if you intend to monetize your AI images, is to give credit to the artists. Better yet, ask for their permission or offer a commission. If lawmakers won't act, you could take initiative and reduce the harm of AI generators.
Can I post AI generated images on Instagram? ›The AI trend on Instagram features people posting their AI selfies generated by the Lensa AI app or other tools. The artificial Intelligent application or AI online platforms can turn your photos into arty and stylish AI images and portraits.
Can I use AI generated art for print on demand? ›With the power of AI, anyone can create stunning and unique designs that will grab people's attention and add personality to any product. From canvas prints to framed posters, there are so many ways to showcase AI art designs and start your own print on demand business.
How do I protect my art from AI? ›Glaze is a tool that can help artists protect their work from AI art generators. The app works by applying subtle changes to the artwork—changes so minor that they're barely noticeable to humans—that can easily confuse AI software.
Can I use AI-generated art for an album cover? ›Using AI to create album artwork
With AI production tools and AI songwriting generators providing musicians with that helping hand, AI can also help generate image inspiration for your latest tracks and provide a futuristic feel to your brand.
When you submit your content to Shutterstock, you allow us to license it on your behalf, but you always retain the copyright to your work. This means that regardless of the number of downloads you attain with your Shutterstock portfolio, you are free to display and sell that work on any other site.
What is the fair value of Adobe Stock? ›As of 2023-05-20, the Fair Value of Adobe Inc (ADBE) is 258.18 USD. This value is based on the Peter Lynch's Fair Value formula.
What sells most on Shutterstock? ›What kind of stock photos sell best? The best-selling style of images varies from one year to the next, but overall, images of people (or lifestyle photography) are an all-time best-selling genre in stock photography. Other concepts like landscapes, flowers, and beaches are also consistently popular.
Does it cost to sell on Adobe Stock? ›
If you have high-quality photos, videos, or vector content, and you own all the rights, you can sign up to become an Adobe Stock artist with your Adobe ID and start uploading. It's free!
What kind of photos sells the most online? ›- Vector artwork.
- People doing everyday things.
- Nature.
- Animals.
- Seasons.
- Transport.
On average, stock photographers make $0.02 per image per month with stock photos, while professionals make $0.05–$0.25 per image per month. Royalty-free sales earn between $0.10 and $99.50, while extended licenses bring up to $500.
Which stock photo site pays the most? ›1. Alamy. With over 60 million images, Alamy is the largest stock photo website, but they also pay well too. Photographers earn 50% of every sale, and aren't restricted to selling exclusively with Alamy.
Do Adobe Stock images expire? ›Adobe Stock License Restrictions | Adobe at PSU. An Adobe Stock license allows you to use your asset anywhere in the world, and the license never expires. You may use the asset in print, presentations, broadcasts, websites, and on social media sites.
Does Adobe Stock allow AI? ›Yes, Adobe Stock accepts content made using generative AI tools that meets Adobe Stock's current submission requirements for illustration and is clearly labeled as generative AI content.
Can I sell AI-generated art on Shutterstock? ›Shutterstock will not allow AI-generated content to be submitted for sale on our platform. We want to ensure contributors can prove IP ownership of all submitted content and also want to be confident that artists are properly compensated if and when their work is used in AI training models.
Can you sell AI-generated images on Etsy? ›Does Etsy Allow Me to Sell AI Art? Currently, you can sell any art or designs created with the assistance of artificial intelligence on the Etsy platform as long as you have the right to use that image.
Can I sell Midjourney images on Adobe Stock? ›With Midjourney V4 and Adobe Stock Images, you can create remarkable artwork and make money by selling it in the Adobe Stock marketplace.
Is using AI to buy and sell stocks legal? ›Yes, algorithmic trading is legal, but some people do have their objections to how automated trading can impact the markets.
Do you need a license to use Adobe Stock? ›
The Adobe Stock audio extended license is required for film, broadcast, SVOD, apps, games, and point of sale. Audio tracks with extended licenses are only available to Enterprise customers at this time.
Can Adobe Stock be used commercially? ›You can use Adobe Stock assets, except for the ones marked “editorial use only,” in any creative project, such as print ads, brochures, presentations, posters, book covers, commercials, websites, and annual reports.
Does AI art break copyright? ›US law states that intellectual property can be copyrighted only if it was the product of human creativity, and the USCO only acknowledges work authored by humans at present. Machines and generative AI algorithms, therefore, cannot be authors, and their outputs are not copyrightable.
Can I sell AI art on shirts? ›AI art doesn't need to be solely digital. It can be used to make beautiful physical art prints to sell t-shirts, mugs and to decorate spaces and enhance the ambiance. In fact, it can even be a fun, lucrative business if you're into selling art prints online.
Can I sell my Dall-E Creations? ›Can I Sell Art Made with DALL-E? Yes! All users get full usage rights to commercialize the images they create with DALL-E, including the right to reprint, sell, and merchandise. This includes images they generated during the research preview (from a few months ago).
Are Midjourney images copyrighted? ›Yes, Midjourney images can be used commercially by paying members, allowing for use in marketing and cover art. However, the license does not grant copyright ownership of the images.