Maximize your royalties. Minimize the hassle.

Introducing a free, optional service that collects performance royalties on your behalf.

Enter your information below to sign-up:

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Email Address*
Which Performing Rights Organization are you affiliated with as a writer?*
What is your Writer IPI number, assigned by your PRO?*
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- I have read and agree to Pond5 Music Publishing Administration terms.
Terms
Pond5 Music Publishing Administration. If you enroll in this Music Publishing and Administration Service (the “Music Publishing Service”) of Pond5 Publishing Limited (“Pond5 Publishing”), you are agreeing to the following terms and provisions with regard to Audio Content submitted by or for you:
1. Except as otherwise expressly provided in these terms and provisions, the terms and provisions of the Pond5 Contributor Agreement available at https//www.pond5.com/legal/contributor, as the same may be updated by us in the future on the Pond5 Website from time to time (the “Contributor Agreement”), shall govern and apply to all Audio Content that have been or will be provided to Pond5 by or for you and shall be deemed fully incorporated herein.

2. Terms used in these Music Publishing Terms that are defined in the Contributor Agreement, and not otherwise defined in these Music Publishing Terms, have the meanings ascribed to them therein.

3. The Music Publishing Service is only available to the creators of the music tracks submitted by them who exclusively own all copyrights in and to the music tracks. Without limiting the representations and warranties set forth in the Contributor Agreement, you represent and warrant that (i) you are the creator of the Audio Content submitted by or for you, (ii) you are the sole and exclusive owner of the Audio Content and all copyrights therein, and (iii) you have full legal right and authority to enter into and grant the rights set forth in the Music Publishing Terms.

4. In addition to Your License to Pond5, Pond5 Publishing shall have the exclusive right, but not the obligation, to (a) publish, administer and license the exploitation of the composition (including both the music and the lyrics) of the Audio Content throughout the world, including the license of public performance and mechanical rights, (b) execute in your name or stead any license and global international agreements affecting the Audio Content, and to collect in perpetuity all gross receipts payable to Pond5 earned by and derived from the of the composition and lyrics of the Audio Content (excluding the so-called “writer’s share” of publishing monies from public performance fees), in connection with uses pursuant to Pond5 License Agreements issued by Pond5 or licenses granted by Distributors (each, a “Licensed Use”), (c) authorize others to do the foregoing on behalf of Pond5 Publishing, and/or (d) assign in the normal course of business or license such rights to third parties, subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein.

5. You grant to Pond5 the right, but not the obligation, to re-title the Audio Content by adding P5 to the end of the name (e.g., if the name of the song is “I Love You”, we will change the name to “I Love You – P5”) in order to identify Licensed Uses, and to facilitate Pond5’s exercise of the rights granted herein.

6. We will share with you 80% of the net publisher share of royalties for Licensed Use of Audio Content collected by Pond5 Publishing from PROs and foreign sub-publishers and administrator partners related to the composition of the Audio Content. (For amounts collected from foreign PROs, the foreign sub-publishers and administrator partners will retain 10-25% of the amount they collect from the PRO; we will share with you 80% of the remainder.) As the writer, you will receive 100% of the writer share directly from your PRO.

7. Nothing contained herein shall grant to Pond5 the right to administer, or collect royalties for, any use of Audio Content other than in connection with Licensed Use. For the avoidance of doubt, you retain all publishing and administration rights for any use of your Audio Content not related to a Licensed Use or use of Audio Content by us or Distributors pursuant to the Contributor Agreement.

8. If you enroll in the Pond5 Music Publishing Service, the term of your enrollment will be 18 months, and the term will automatically renew for successive additional periods of 18 months, unless you give us written notice of termination at least 90 days prior to the end of the term – but the rights of Pond5 Publishing – e.g., the right of Pond5 to collect royalties related to tracks downloaded from the Pond5 marketplace (the retitled tracks) during the term will continue and survive the termination or expiration. If your enrollment terminates or expires, you will need to revert to a non-retitled version of the name of the track on the Pond5 marketplace and with PROs going forward.

9. References in Contributor Agreement to “this Agreement” mean the Contributor Agreement as modified or supplemented by in these Music Publishing Terms.

10. We will have the right, in our sole discretion, but on at least 14 days’ notice to you, to modify or terminate these Music Publishing Terms, the share of gross receipts for Licensed Use of Audio Content collected by Pond5 Publishing from PROs and/or foreign sub-publishers and administrator partners at any time. Any modification will only be binding on you as related to royalties collected by us after the modification.

FAQ

WHAT IS MUSIC PUBLISHING?
Music publishing is the management of performance royalties for the composition of copyrighted music that is used commercially. Among other tasks, a publisher administers the collection of performance royalties. In order to collect these royalties, the songwriter needs to be registered with a Performing Rights Organization (PRO) and affiliated with a publisher.

WHAT’S A PRO?
A Performing Rights Organization (PRO) collects performance royalties between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works in public broadcasts such as in film, television and radio. Most countries have their own PROs; BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC are the main players in the United States.

WHY IS REGISTERING WITH A PRO AS A WRITER GOOD FOR ME?
The royalties collected by your PRO (and distributed to you four times a year) can be a substantial recurring revenue stream that can outweigh one-time sync license fees.

WHAT’S THE BENEFIT OF POND5 ACTING AS PUBLISHER?
Since Pond5 doesn’t share buyer/seller information, you’re on your own when it comes to finding out where your Pond5 tracks wind up. The advantage of enrolling in Pond5 Publishing as a PRO-affiliated writer is because we’re the point of sale and have the ability to follow up with our customers to encourage them to fill out cue or jingle sheets for the use of Pond5 Publishing music in their broadcast productions.

HOW ARE PERFORMANCE ROYALTIES SPLIT UP?
Performance Royalties are split with 50% going to the songwriter and the other 50% going to the publisher.

WHAT’S A CUE SHEET?
Cue sheets are filled out by the production company (usually a producer or editor) on behalf of the broadcaster (usually a TV network or film studio). The cue sheet lists all the music “cues” used in a production. When completed, the cue sheet is submitted electronically to each relevant PRO associated with a piece of music used in the production. There is no charge for submitting a cue sheet.

WHAT RIGHTS AM I GIVING POND5 BY ENROLLING IN POND5 PUBLISHING?
When you enroll in Pond5 Publishing, you’re giving us the right to collect and administer performance royalties for the tracks that are licensed from Pond5. We’ll re-title the tracks in the Pond5 marketplace by adding a short code to the end of the title (e.g., “I Love You – P5”), so we can tie the end use to Pond5 track license sales and monitor such use through the PROs. You are NOT giving us the publishing share for tracks sold or licensed elsewhere (you retain this).

CAN MY TRACKS STAY NON-EXCLUSIVE?
Yes. The purpose of allowing Pond5 to re-title your tracks is specifically so you can stay non-exclusive and allow us to collect backend performance royalties only on track licenses sold through Pond5.

CAN I DIVVY UP MY PORTFOLIO BETWEEN POND5 PUBLISHING AND MY OWN PUBLISHING COMPANY?
We’re planning on introducing Pond5 Publishing at the artist level, not the asset level. At least initially, yes, you can have two accounts, but it’s up to you to create that second account and remove and re-upload tracks (which means you’ll lose all search rankings).

IS THERE AN OPT-OUT?
Pond5 Publishing is optional. If you choose to enroll, the term of your enrollment will be 18 months, with auto-renewal. However, the Pond5 publishing rights⁠—the right of Pond5 to collect royalties related to those re-titled tracks downloaded from the Pond5 marketplace or licensed by one of our Distributors⁠—will continue and survive.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PUBLISHER SHARE?
Pond5 will distribute our publisher share to every Pond5 writer receiving performance royalties (minus a 20% publishing admin fee) within a reasonable amount of time of our receipt.

ON WHAT WILL POND5 BE COLLECTING ROYALTIES?
We’ll be collecting for broadcast film, TV and advertising usage only.

WILL POND5 PASS ALONG CUE SHEETS TO ME?
Your placements should be viewable via the writer’s statement you receive from your PRO.

I’M ALREADY A MEMBER OF A PRO – DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING AFTER I ENROLL IN POND5 PUBLISHING?
No, Pond5 or our publishing admin partner will handle revising your metadata, registering the re-titled works with the relevant PRO and filing cue sheets.

WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY WRITER ROYALTIES?
You’ll receive your writer royalties directly from your PRO at the same time you would if you were doing this on your own. Industry standards average approximately 9-12 months after cue sheets have been submitted for US-based usage, and 18-24 months for international usage.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO WHEN I UPLOAD NEW TRACKS?
Nothing. We will handle the re-titling of your tracks. Then Pond5 or our publishing admin partner will register the work with the relevant PRO.

I’M NOT CURRENTLY AFFILIATED WITH A PRO. HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
You can sign up as a songwriter with BMI for free, no matter where in the world you live. Once you’ve created your writer account, please send your BMI Writer IPI number to publishing@pond5.com

Please review the Pond5 Music Publishing Terms for more details. Pond5 reserves the right to modify or terminate this service, this FAQ and these terms at any time.