Pond5 changes License distribution

Pond5 has changed the amount they pay to composers now. Used to be a 50/50 split but now it is 65/35 in favor of Pond5. I will raise my fees at a minimum, but of course pulling the catalog is an option too. What say you? What are you going to do?

Arrrg! is what I say to that. :stuck_out_tongue:
But seriously, that is so low coming from a company that over the years have proudly stated how they are very “composer friendly”.

I also read that they have this price guarantee now: “If you find a better price elsewhere on an identical clip, Pond5 will match it. In short, we won’t be beat!”.

Seriously…the race to the bottom here we come?! :confused:

They are reducing and on the other hand they are not. They are reducing the upfront price for your track but they also now pay royalties for the continued use of that piece of music. So it is no longer a once and done purchase but rather an accumulator.

Yes I saw that they will be collecting royalties (for a small admin fee to be taken from the publishers share). I feel a little better about the change…still grumping but I see a way to move forward

Devil’s advocate time: Well then you have to consider how many clients on Pond 5 are actually using the music for broadcast use that provide PRO royalties? I would assume most buyers on these platforms are YouTubers, small businesses doing corporate videos, online ads etc?

That is my assumption as well. I just finished my first year, I made enough to pay for my Netflix for the year. I see this will cause a few things to happen:. 1) less composers on P5. 2) higher per track license fees…remains to be seen whether the market will bear those increases…if so, then i have been undervaluing my work. 3) potential for royalties, which I do not have to hunt down. I have read in other forums where people are collecting royalties from P5 sales. It all depends if the sale is used for broadcast or not obviously.

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Speaking of Pond5.
when I submitted tracks last week, they asked for a screenshot of my DAW?!//?

WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

Never been asked that before. There again I have not uploaded anything to Pond 5 for the last couple of weeks. Maybe it is something new that they have introduced as part of this royalties revenue (just a guess, I have no hard proof).

When libraries ask for this, usually there’s a high chance that they suspect the track isn’t original work and they just want it as a proof that you created it.