Hello everyone,
I’m not an active user in the forum, but I follow some discussions with interest and pleasure, especially those regarding Envato’s recent business decisions, which inevitably impact us, the authors.
Let me start by saying that I’m not an elite author, nor do I have a large portfolio or many sales. I’m saying this for clarity because someone might argue that I don’t have much of a right to speak. However, I’ve been an AudioJungle author since 2017, and this platform has given me some small satisfactions over the years.
Following various discussions, as many of my colleagues often repeat, unfortunately, AudioJungle (and the marketplace as a whole) is slowly dying. Everything now revolves around Envato Elements, but this has probably been evident for some years now.
I’m not entirely against the decision to launch Elements (speaking as an audio author, so specifically regarding music) because all other libraries are using this model, and Envato wanted to somehow keep up with its competitors. Even though this move has fractured the marketplace and led many authors to not only earn significantly less but even leave the platform, this is not the issue I want to discuss here.
What bothers me the most is that Elements has always been a closed circle, particularly for music. You can only join by direct invitation. Let me clarify that it’s not my priority to be part of Elements, as I’d probably only earn a pittance, and it wouldn’t change my life. Of course, I wouldn’t mind being part of it, just to be clear.
But honestly, this decision by Envato is very questionable, and I’ve never fully understood it. Why restrict access to Elements when you can still upload tracks to AudioJungle? I’m speaking as someone like myself who is part of the marketplace but hasn’t yet been invited to Elements. Why invite only certain types of authors? What are the criteria? Sales? Music genre? Being an elite author? Consistently uploading high-quality tracks?
What parameters do they use? It all seems so unclear and non-transparent. I think about authors who, for instance, have been part of the platform longer than I have (I know because I’ve read about many such authors on the forum who aren’t on Elements): why not invite these authors? Especially those who are still uploading tracks today?
I’ve read that a lot depends on “client needs.” What exactly are the musical needs of clients? All vague answers. I know this topic has been addressed many times, but I also wanted to share my opinions, doubts, and concerns about it.
Out of curiosity, I even contacted Envato’s support to see what they would say, and their response was as follows:
As I understand how important it is to know the parameters, this is an internal process done by a specialized team, and as Author Support, we do not have access to the information about the invites sent to some authors.
We recommend our authors keep contributing with fantastic content and make sure to participate in the community for visibility. However, multiple factors could affect this situation, and it is not guaranteed that more invites will be sent (or that won’t be sent).
A very unclear response, to say the least.
In my humble opinion, wouldn’t it have been more transparent and fair to allow submissions to be approved for entry into this program, like other libraries (which I won’t name)? If the idea is to have a certain level of audio tracks for Elements with specific requirements, why not give authors the chance to apply? Even with very strict criteria.
I’ve even heard of new authors who joined Elements immediately (from what I’ve read on the forum), always thanks to this invite-only system. Why exclude long-standing AudioJungle authors? After all, Envato has grown thanks to our work.
Let me repeat, I’m not particularly interested in joining Elements, but I just wanted to express my doubts and concerns, as well as what bothers me about this lack of clarity from Envato. I say this with sadness because AudioJungle was the very first music library where I sold my work. Here, I learned to produce tracks in different genres and entered the world of music production.
Today, my tracks are on other platforms, and I’ve also started working for exclusive libraries. So, it pains me to admit that Envato has made some weird decisions in recent years, in my opinion. Since it’s now owned by Shutterstock, the future for us authors is becoming less and less promising.
I’m pretty sure the marketplace will be abandoned, and more authors will leave. If they were to apply the same move they made on P5—cutting royalty earnings—which is very likely, I think the only path forward will be to focus on other projects…
, maybe I am wrong but so far this is how the story goes.
