Stock Media

Stock media is a great way for photographers, designers, music artists, actors, and other creatives to generate income from their passions and skills. This business model involves producing media that can then be licensed for use by others. There are services which allow you to upload your media, and make it easy for others to find your media and pay for using it in ads, videos, and other creations.

This is a great option for those who wish to work solo or add an additional stream of income to a business you already operate. It’s naturally a great choice for those who travel and enjoy photography, though travel is not necessarily needed for musicians, actors, etc. The media creation does take effort, though the rest is automated once it is uploaded to a service, making it a great side project to add to over time. This and any creativity-focused business model encourages your unique style to shine through.

We are in the process of researching courses that teach this model, but we have included some of the top stock media services / websites here for you to explore and experiment with. This business will require some design, recording, or editing tools and resources, and if you do not already have those, see our Technology section on the Resources page.

What We Can Say

Have you ever asked a friend for their opinion on a legal, financial, or medical topic?

This is… somewhat like that.

We are not lawyers, doctors, or certified accountants, so we cannot give you legal, financial, or medical advice.

What we CAN give you is a carefully selected list of resources for finding those types of professional services along with many others. We can also provide our thoughts and insights on a wide range of topics related to businesses, nonprofits, personal growth, web design, and more – based on our experience.

If you’d like to learn more, please read our full disclaimer here.

Why We Can’t Guarantee

We cannot make any guarantees as to the results you may achieve through the products and services we recommend for the simple reason that we don’t know you!

Your results will vary and depend on many factors, including but not limited to your background, experience, and work ethic.

THE most important note – nothing that we promote or encourage on this site is a get-rich-quick scheme – can we all agree that success does not happen overnight? It doesn’t!

We believe it takes hard work, consistent effort, personal and professional growth, and compliance with legal and ethical practices in order to start and grow any source of income.

Please remember that all business entails risk as well as consistent effort and action.

If you’d like to learn more, please read our full disclaimer here.

How We Make Money

We cannot do this for free – but it won’t cost you extra either!

Some of the products and services we list on this site pay us a commission when someone signs up. Don’t worry – this does not cost you any extra, and we only include products and services we truly believe in.

Our mission is to help you get your business or nonprofit started and successful as quickly as possible, which is going to require various products and services along the way. We have curated this resource section to provide you with what we’ve found to be the best out there, though we may not be able to include every possible option here. In order to keep our site running and continue to offer guidance and resources to anyone seeking assistance, we partner with various businesses that we love and trust.

If you’d like to learn more, please read our full disclaimer here.


Stock Media Services

What They OfferShutterstock focuses primarily on images and video, though they do also offer music, sound effects, 3D modeling, vector designs, and more.
Our ThoughtsBeing one of the most recognizable and established names in the industry, they are a trusted place for both media creators and customers.
What They OfferiStock is owned by Getty Images – your content may appear on either or both. Start with non-exclusive photo and video content and grow from there.
Our ThoughtsThis is a great choice if you’re looking for not only royalties but perhaps more importantly- exposure. Get your name out there and build your brand.
What They OfferPond5 offers both exclusive and non-exclusive footage sales. They also accept music, sound effects, images, 3D modeling, illustrations, and more.
Our ThoughtsThe option to choose between exclusive and non-exclusive footage gives artists flexibility over distribution and royalties. The media variety is also nice.
What They OfferThis is a great platform for selling your stock music, sound effects, and videos. They do require exclusive content, which limits your ability to expand.
Our ThoughtsWe use Soundstripe for our music needs and love the selection of artists and tracks. The exclusivity is nice for users but limiting for artists.