Pond 5 Review (Where I License Music Online)

music licensing

I sell music online on several websites, but in this Pond 5 review, I want to share why it is the best site for licensing your music — and the only stock music site I’d wholly recommend for musicians.

I joined Pond 5 around April 2015 and licensed my first royalty free song, an energetic classic blues rock intro, for $15. Since then, I've earned over $20,000 through sales on Pond 5 over the past decade, including nearly $6,000 in 2024.

You can check out one of my detailed earnings reports here.

Start earning money licensing your music with this FREE five-day music licensing crash course!

Why I Think Pond 5 Is the Best Site for Licensing Music Online

A major factor for choosing to sell music on Pond 5 is that there is a large market of serious buyers. A good song gets a sale for every 20 to 25 views on Pond 5. I’ve uploaded the same songs to other sites where they’ve got lots of views but no purchases. For example, on Audiomicro, the same song has had 200+ views without a single sale.

Pond 5 Synch Fee Royalties

Pond 5 offers artists a 50% split of the revenue on non-exclusive sales. In 2019, they lowered this from a true 50-50 split. This is a negative development, but Pond 5 remains competitive when you factor in the buyer volume and ease of use.

Other Royalties from Pond 5

Buyers are supposed to file cue sheets, which means artists earn broadcast royalties when applicable. I've earned about $3,000 from broadcast royalties. Learn about the different royalty types here.

AI Royalties from Pond 5

Pond 5 started a program where they allow AI developers to train models on our music. I made nearly $5,000 from it in 2024 and expect it to continue to be profitable for the next few years.

Pond 5 Seller Tools

Pond 5 includes artist-friendly resources: extensive data on sales trends, batch upload tools, automatic watermarking (unlike AudioJungle), and the ability to set your own prices. They don't require an exclusive license, so you can sell the same music on other websites simultaneously.

Pond 5 has friendly and responsive customer service. Review times are usually less than two weeks, often just a few days. I've had songs placed on multiple TV shows, an indie short, and a Netflix documentary through Pond 5.

Selling Music on Pond 5 Isn’t All Wine and Donuts

My major gripe is that it allows artists very little control over our portfolios and songs — contrast with AudioJungle's brand-building features. I also wish there was more granular pricing control across license types, though Pond 5 has added tiered license types in recent years.

There are a host of websites like Pond 5, such as AudioSparx and AudioJungle. For writers of corporate music, AudioJungle may be a better place to focus your efforts. See the full AudioJungle vs. Pond5 comparison here.

Pond 5 Review Summary

In sum, I’m incredibly comfortable using Pond 5. It’s an easy, friendly service to rely on. Even despite falling royalty rates, I still think that Pond 5 is the best site for beginners to start licensing their music. Some competitor sites, like AudioJungle, are a pain to use and offer paltry payouts. Others, like Production Trax or Audiomicro, are easy to use but don’t lead to meaningful sales.

So instead of wasting time on other sites, I spend the time writing and recording new music — then upload it to Pond 5.

So what are you waiting for? Start licensing your music today!

For a step-by-step guide to actually making money on Pond5 — pricing strategy, metadata tips, what sells, and realistic income timelines — read our dedicated guide: How to Make Money on Pond5. And for the complete platform strategy across all major libraries, see our complete guide to making money licensing stock music.

From a Frustrated Producer in a Ragtag Bedroom Studio to Major Placements on TV Earning $1,000s!

My name is Evan, and I've been making music since around 3rd grade. I'm from San Diego, California, but I've lived in Washington, DC for the last 20 years.

After 3 grueling years of grad school, though I had put aside serious attempts at making music. I found myself spending my days doing work that was dreadfully uncreative, with a ton of student student loan debt.

Which made me feel like my favorite parts of myself were withering.

But I didn't know what to do about it.

Being in my early 30s with tons of student loan debt, in a world where there is "no money in music," I felt like my youthful dreams of trying to "make it big" were dead. Like my music would remain unheard in my head and hard drive.

Frustrated by my inability to get my music heard, I started researching solutions.

Instead, I wanted to find a way where I could focus on making the music and let someone else deal with promoting it.

I realized the music licensing was the perfect opportunity for a solo artist like me to get my music heard, without having to do any promotion. I just need to focus on improving what I could control - my songwriting and my production skills.

While I still have a full-time day job, I have created systems that have allowed me to produce dozens of songs a year in my spare time.

My songs have been on Netflix, TV shows like the 90 Day Fiance, an award-winning indie film, and NPR’s “All Thing Considered.” They've also been streamed millions of times.

In addition to being a music producer, I am passionate about teaching people how they can make professional-sounding music and earn money licensing it, all in their spare time.

Thousands of musicians, like yourself, have trusted me to guide their musical journey. My YouTube videos have been watched nearly a million times. And my story has been in Forbes, Side Hustle Nation, and the Side Hustle School.

You Can Achieve Your Musical Dreams Too - Attend the Free Music Licensing Workshop!