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Your archive stopped earning: how to work out what it is worth

Updated 2026-09-13

The condition that decides everything: for every person appearing you need an identity document, proof of age and consent signed by them. Without that there is no sale, however good the material is. Check that before you start inventorying.

First, know what you have

Almost nobody knows how much material they actually hold. Before thinking about prices, make a list with four columns: what it is, how long it runs, who appears, and whether you have their documentation. With that you can ask for a valuation; without it, any figure you are quoted is made up.

Group by session, not by loose file. Forty clips from the same shoot are worth more together than apart, because a buyer can use the set.

What raises the price

• Real resolution and sharpness. Measured from the file, not the label. Upscaling 1080p to 4K does not make it 4K, and it gets detected.
• Completeness. A full session with several angles is worth more than the one clip that came out well.
• No music, no brands. If there is music that is not yours, deliver it without audio or with the track separated. Clean is always worth more.
• Documentation in order. It is not just a requirement: documented material can be resold, and that gets paid for.
• What you assign. The factor that moves the figure most. A perpetual perpetual exclusive is the one that pays most.

What lowers it

• Shaky camera, bad exposure, wrong white balance: it shows and it cannot be fixed.
• Watermarks, burnt-in usernames or another platform's logo.
• Clips under five seconds, unless they loop.
• Over-modulated audio, or background conversation that adds nothing.
• Material already assigned exclusively to someone else. And yes, it is checked: everything uploaded carries a digital fingerprint and is compared against what exists.

Age matters less than you think

If the quality holds up, two years is nothing. What ages badly is anything tied to a specific trend — a format of its moment, a background that shouts the year. A well-shot frame does not expire.

How long until you get paid

This is what changes most compared with living off a subscription. Here the valuation takes around 48 business hours; once you sign the agreement, payment goes out within 48 to 72 business hours. No three-week holding periods, no month-long wait after closing anything.

Send your list and we will give you concrete figures, with the breakdown of why that number comes out.