A while ago, I received an email from POND5.
When I opened my smartphone in bed in the morning, "POND5..." appeared .
so I opened it and saw the words "Your media has been purchased!"
In an instant, my sleepiness disappeared and I jumped up.
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 the receiving amount was $2.70 .
It's not a big amount, but it makes a big difference.
It was the moment I realized, "This really will 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 this on my way to photograph the mist at Mt. Shiude.
to create a series on the theme of "The Sound of Rain at an Unmanned Station ," a theme that I had discussed with GPT in the past .
On my way to Mt. Shiude late at night, the rain got heavier, so I had a hunch (maybe I could record it now)
and parked my bike 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 was barely able to move,
as any movement would result in the rustling of clothes and cable noise, so I stood quietly under the bus stop for around 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 footage from that day is also featured in the article "Heading to Mt. Shiude 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
When I was struggling with the growth of my YouTube channel, I asked him if there was any other way to generate revenue, and he suggested selling sound materials 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, I'm busy with filming and work, so I haven't uploaded many sound materials yet.
However, I'll continue recording the sounds of rain.
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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