Publishing agreement

This is an overview of VoiceMap's publishing agreement. The complete terms and conditions for publishers are available on the VoiceMap website, as a PDF.

Royalties

When somebody buys a tour, the publisher earns royalties equal to 50% of the purchase price, minus payment processing costs. Payment processing costs vary by platform, this includes 15% for in-app purchases on both Apple and Google, and 3.4% plus $0.50 SGD per transaction for purchases made through a web browser at voicemap.me. When a tour is sold through a third-party reseller, such as Viator or Musement, the reseller charges a commission of between 20% and 25% before your royalty is calculated. For a detailed breakdown, see Tour Payment Calculations.

Royalties are paid by the 21st of the following month, once your balance reaches USD $50. You can set a higher threshold if you prefer, and you can check your earnings in real time on your publisher dashboard.

How Listeners Can Access Your Tour

Listeners can get access to your tour in a few different ways:

• At your set price through the VoiceMap app, website, or reseller network (such as Viator or Musement). Your royalty is 50% of the purchase price after payment processing fees are deducted.
• For free, if you've chosen to make your tour free or distributed free voucher codes. Free downloads use publisher credits, and no royalty applies.
• Publisher vouchers are codes you create and sell or give away yourself, through your own website, directly to listeners, or via third-party channels. Any revenue from your own sales is entirely yours. You'll need publisher credits to create vouchers, you receive some for free when you create and publish your first tour, and you can purchase additional credits through your account. For more detail, see Using voucher codes.
• Tour passes are bundles of credits that listeners buy at a discounted rate, with each credit redeemable for one tour. Your royalty for a pass redemption is based on the pass price divided by the number of credits it contains, after fees. This will usually be lower than a direct purchase of the same tour but give more listeners access to your tours.
• Gift vouchers work similarly to passes. A listener buys a voucher for a set number of credits and redeems them against eligible tours. Your royalty is calculated the same way, based on the voucher price divided by the number of credits.
• Promotional credits are occasionally issued by VoiceMap through referral programmes and similar initiatives, and can be used on any eligible tour. These have a fixed royalty value of USD $0.35 per download, regardless of your tour's price.

The terms outline how royalties are calculated for each access type. For more detail, see How listeners can access your tour.

Ownership

Everything you upload to the platform, including geodata, images, text, and audio, stays yours. By publishing, you give VoiceMap a licence to distribute your content and use excerpts for promotional purposes, including printed and online campaigns. Your content is exclusive to VoiceMap while it's published, and for 180 days after it's removed. 

This exclusivity is what makes it possible for us to invest in the partnership. Developing the publishing tools, and providing the script editors and sound engineers who work with you throughout the process. 

Tours need to stay published for a minimum of 36 months from the date of first publication. After that, you can request removal by giving 30 days' written notice to [email protected]. During the exclusivity period, you can't publish the same content as an audio tour on another platform, but you can still offer your tour as a live, in-person experience or use your content in a podcast or blog post.

User Disclaimer

Before starting a tour, users are shown the following disclaimer:

"Self-guided tours require you to walk, cycle, or drive on public roads, sidewalks, and paths. VoiceMap is not responsible for your safety. Please be careful and aware of your surroundings."

Liability

Publishers are responsible for the content they upload and the accuracy of the directions they provide. VoiceMap is not liable for any accidents or injuries that occur while a listener is using a tour. VoiceMap's maximum liability to a publisher is capped at the total royalties paid to that publisher in the 12 months before a claim is made.

Termination

Tours need to stay published for a minimum of 36 months from the date of first publication. After that, publishers can request removal by giving 30 days' written notice to [email protected]. VoiceMap may also remove tours at any time if they violate our content guidelines or terms of service. Users who purchased a tour before it was removed retain access to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is my royalty calculated? Your royalty is a percentage of what VoiceMap actually receives from each sale, after deducting taxes and payment processing fees. For direct purchases and voucher redemptions, this is based on the purchase price. When someone buys a bundle of tour credits or gift voucher, your royalty is based on the total amount received divided by the number of credits in that bundle. For a full breakdown of how royalties are calculated across all purchase types, see Tour Payment Calculations.

When will I get paid? Royalties are paid by the 21st of the following month, once your balance reaches USD $50. You can set a higher threshold if you prefer, and you can check your earnings in real time on your publisher dashboard.

What happens to my royalties if someone gets a refund? Royalties aren't paid on refunded purchases. If a refund is issued after a royalty has already been paid out, VoiceMap may deduct it from a future payment.

How often can I change my tour's price? Once per 30-day period. Changes take effect on VoiceMap immediately, though it may take a little longer to update on reseller platforms.

Can I price my tour in local currency? Yes, tours are sold in multiple currencies. Publishers choose their tour's price from options available on the platform, denominated in USD, excluding taxes. For tours sold in currencies other than USD, an exchange rate and rounding convention (prices display ending in .49 or .99) is applied.

What are publisher vouchers and how do I use them? Publisher vouchers are codes you create and distribute however you like. You could give them away, sell them through your own website, or pass them on to a third-party seller. Each voucher is funded by a publisher credit, and you get 10 free credits when you create your first tour and another 10 when you publish it. Our Pro and Premium Plans include 1000 and 5000 credits, respectively, and you can buy additional credits through your account.

Do I still own my content after publishing on VoiceMap? Yes. Everything you upload stays yours. By publishing, you give VoiceMap an exclusive licence to distribute your content and use excerpts for promotional purposes, but ownership stays with you.

Can I offer my tour as a live, in-person experience or in a podcast or blog post while it's on VoiceMap? Yes. The exclusivity only applies to publishing the same content as an audio tour on another platform. Running live, in-person tours and using your tour content for a podcast or blogpost is fine.