A little while ago, I received an email from POND5. One morning, while still in bed, I opened my smartphone and saw the words "POND5…" in the notification bar
"What kind of email is this?" I wondered, and when I opened it, it said , "Your media has been purchased!"
My sleepiness vanished in an instant, and I jumped out of bed.
The dancing polar bear in the HTML email is now a fond memory.
- The best-selling sound material was "The sound of rain at an unmanned station late at night."
- The recording was made on a detour on the way to Mt. Shiude
- Equipment used and attention to detail during recording
- Why did you start POND5 in the first place?
- Even small sales bring a solid response
- What's next
The best-selling sound material was "The sound of rain at an unmanned station late at night."
This is the audio that sold this time
Late-Night Rain at a Rural Japanese Bus Stop (Takuma Station Ambience, 8min)
The selling price was $23, and I received $2.70.
It's not a huge amount, but it makes a huge difference in how I feel.
That was the moment I truly realized, "It really does sell..."
I don't know the country of the buyer, but somewhere in the world, someone needed "The Sound of Rain at Takuma Station."
The recording was made on a detour on the way to Mt. Shiude
I recorded it in front of Takuma Station on the JR Yosan Line. I suddenly remembered it while on my way to photograph the fog on Mt. Shiunide.
The idea was to create a series called "The Sound of Rain at an Unmanned Train Station ," a theme that I had discussed with GPT in the past .
On my way to Mt. Shiunide in the middle of the night, the rain intensified, and I had a hunch that I might be able to record something now,
so I stopped my motorcycle and made a detour to Takuma Station.
There is a covered bus stop in front of the station, and we decided to record both the video and audio material for YouTube there
Equipment used and attention to detail during recording
The equipment used was Portacapture X8 and Adphox BME-200 (binaural microphone).
The gain setting is manual recording level 7.
During the recording, I could barely move.
Moving my body would introduce rustling of clothes and cable noise, so I stood quietly under the bus stop for about 20 minutes.
Takuma Station was very quiet late at night, with the only sound echoing through the air as the rain spread across the ground. You can get a feel for this atmosphere in the fixed-point video posted on YouTube
The filming record from that day is also featured in the article "To Mt. Shionide in Heavy Rain and Fog—A 'Fantastic Morning' Born from Viewer Feedback."
Why did you start POND5 in the first place?
The initial trigger was a conversation with GPT
During a period when I was struggling to grow my YouTube channel, I consulted with someone about whether there were any other ways to generate revenue, and they suggested selling sound assets on POND5 .
To be honest, that's what I thought at first
"Will it really sell?! "
But as GPT says, it really sold
Even small sales bring a solid response
This time, the sales amounted to $2.70, which is a small amount if you just look at the numbers
But it was a big step for me
There is meaning in continuing to record the sounds of rain, and this activity may still be valuable 10 years from now
Because I've come to think that way
Somewhere in the world, someone is searching and by chance comes across a sound that is then quietly used in that person's work
When you imagine such a future, there's no reason to quit
What's next
Currently, filming and other work overlap, so I haven't uploaded many sound samples yet.
Nevertheless, I intend to continue recording rain sounds.
The tranquility of the Seto Inland Sea, the atmosphere in front of the station at night, the breathing of the city wet with rain
If we continue to record these sounds accurately and carefully, they may one day become something like an "archive of the sounds of rain."
The first sales that POND5 brought me taught me that there is more to it than just numbers
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