Sponsorship Disclosure Policy

Kavi Media, Inc.
Version 1.0 — Effective 20 October 2026
Published at kavi.audio/legal/sponsorship-disclosure-policy

1. About this Policy

1.1 This Policy is one of the Kavi Creator Policies. It explains: (a) how to disclose paid, gifted, affiliate and other commercial relationships in your content; (b) which sponsor categories are prohibited or restricted; (c) how advertising works on Kavi, and that no ad is ever played to listeners on an Ad-Free Plan (Kavi offers none today); (d) the approval process for sponsor spots you sell inside shows, which are allowed now with Kavi's approval; (e) the rules for sponsorships you sell for your short-form Bites; (f) the rules for brand mentions inside music; and (g) Brand Introductions: how Kavi may, as a courtesy, put you in touch with brands for your own deals.

1.2 This Policy is issued by Kavi Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA (mailing address: 169 Madison Ave STE 30314, New York, NY 10016, USA) ("Kavi").

1.3 In this Policy:

• "your signed agreement" means everything you have signed or accepted with Kavi (your Creator Master Agreement, Music Master Agreement or Audiobook Master Agreement (each a "Master"), its Schedules, Rate Card, exhibits, joinders, riders and addenda, any other signed document with Kavi and, if you post short-form audio, the Creator Terms — Short-form);
• "material connection" means any relationship with a brand, product, service or person that listeners might not expect and that could affect how they view what you say, including payment, free or discounted products or services, affiliate commissions or referral codes, employment, an ownership stake, or a family or close personal relationship;
• "Ad-Free Plan" means a Kavi plan that Kavi designates, in a written notice to you, as one whose listeners hear no advertising or sponsorship messages, from the date stated in that notice. Kavi offers no Ad-Free Plan today; and
• "Ad-Supported Plan" means any way of listening to the Service other than an Ad-Free Plan or its free trial, including listening without a subscription. Until Kavi offers an Ad-Free Plan, every way of listening is an Ad-Supported Plan.

2. Who this Policy applies to

This Policy applies to every creator, co-host, co-owner, author and approved short-form creator with a Kavi Creator Portal ("Portal") account, for all content they deliver or post to Kavi, and to their promotion of that content where section 9 says so.

3. The basic rule: disclose every material connection

3.1 Disclose every paid, gifted, affiliate or other material connection relevant to anything you say about a brand, product or service in your content. This applies to sponsor spots, host-read messages, product mentions, reviews, recommendations and discount or referral codes.

3.2 Follow the rules that apply where your content is heard and where you live, including: (a) the US Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 C.F.R. Part 255); (b) in India, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Central Consumer Protection Authority's Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, the Department of Consumer Affairs' endorsement guidance, and the ASCI Code and Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media (including its rules for financial and health influencers); and (c) if you are resident in Canada, the Competition Act and the Ad Standards influencer marketing disclosure guidelines. Kavi's content is heard by listeners in the United States and India, so disclosures in every piece of content must meet both the US and the Indian rules.

4. How to disclose

4.1 In the audio. Every disclosure must be: (a) spoken, in plain words listeners will understand, such as "This segment is sponsored by [brand]", "This is a paid partnership with [brand]", "[Brand] sent me this product for free" or "I earn a commission if you buy through my link"; (b) in the same language as the content (for Telugu content, in Telugu; for content that mixes languages, in the main language of the segment); (c) at or near the start of the sponsored segment, before the sponsored message, and again at its end; (d) delivered at a volume, speed and cadence listeners can easily hear and understand; and (e) for content heard in India, also announced at the beginning and the end of the episode or Bite, and before and after every break in it, as ASCI's guidelines require for audio.

4.2 Not enough on its own. A disclosure only in show notes, a description, a link, a hashtag or the end credits is not enough. Abbreviations or vague words such as "spon", "collab", "thanks to my friends at" or "sp" are not disclosures.

4.3 In the Portal. Also record the relationship in the Portal when you deliver or post the content: for shows, in the sponsorship disclosure note delivered with the episode; for short-form, by switching on the paid-partnership setting; for music, in the Release Schedule. Kavi uses this to show a visible label (such as "Paid partnership") on the listing.

4.4 India labels. For listeners in India, use one of the labels ASCI accepts: "Advertisement", "Ad", "Sponsored", "Collaboration", "Partnership", "Employee" or "Free gift". Kavi also accepts these Telugu equivalents:

Where Kavi shows a written label, it may show the English label and the Telugu equivalent together.

4.5 Honest endorsements. Say only what you honestly believe. Do not say you use or have used a product unless that is true. Do not repeat a sponsor's claim (for example about health, results or returns) unless the sponsor has told you it can be backed up. Kavi may ask to see that support for a restricted category (section 6.2).

4.6 Kavi may add or fix disclosures. Kavi may insert or correct sponsorship disclosures and labels, and may ask you to fix a missing or unclear disclosure. Content without a required disclosure may be rejected under your Master's acceptance process, or limited or removed if it is short-form.

5. Where advertising is heard: never on an Ad-Free Plan

5.1 Except for sponsored short-form Bites, which section 8.3 governs, every advertisement, mid-roll and sponsorship message in or around content on Kavi, whether sold by Kavi or by you, is played only to listeners on an Ad-Supported Plan. Every listener on an Ad-Free Plan, once Kavi offers one, hears your content without any of them. Kavi's own branding and the disclosures and labels Kavi adds are not advertising for this purpose.

5.2 For sponsored short-form Bites, see section 8.3. For brand mentions inside music, see section 8.4.

6. Prohibited and restricted sponsor categories

6.1 Prohibited categories. Content you deliver or post to Kavi may not include a sponsorship, paid promotion, affiliate promotion or paid brand mention for any of the following: (a) anything illegal in the United States or India, or that promotes content the Community Guidelines prohibit; (b) gambling, betting, lotteries and real-money online games, including surrogate advertising for them; (c) tobacco, nicotine, e-cigarettes and vaping products, and cannabis products; (d) alcoholic beverages, including surrogate advertising for them; (e) weapons, ammunition and explosives; (f) sexual products or services and adult entertainment; (g) prescription medicines, and any product or treatment promoted as curing, treating or preventing a disease or condition; (h) cryptocurrencies and other crypto or virtual digital assets, NFTs, multi-level marketing schemes, "get rich quick" offers and payday or similar high-cost loans; (i) political parties, candidates, elections, referendums and political or issue advocacy; (j) fake reviews, fake followers, streams or engagement, academic cheating services, and hacking or surveillance tools; and (k) for sponsor spots inside shows, other audio streaming, podcast or audiobook services that compete with Kavi.

6.2 Restricted categories. The following are allowed only with Kavi's prior written approval for each sponsor: (a) financial products and services, including banking, lending, credit cards, insurance, investments and trading apps; (b) health, wellness, nutrition, supplements, ayurvedic, herbal and traditional remedies, fitness and weight-loss products, and cosmetics that make performance claims; (c) education, coaching and courses that promise outcomes (such as jobs, exam results or income); (d) real estate; (e) legal services; (f) dating services; and (g) products or services aimed at children.

6.3 Kavi may update these lists under section 12. A category added to the prohibited list does not affect a sponsor spot Kavi has already approved, or content already delivered or posted, except to the extent applicable law requires immediate application or a court or regulator order that legally binds Kavi requires it. An app store or payment provider requirement, or an urgent safety, security, fraud or child-safety risk, may justify only action that your signed agreement or applicable law already authorizes (for example, a mandatory takedown), as section 12.1(f) describes. Royalties already earned on removed or restricted content remain payable.

6.4 Minors. Where a Minor / Guardian Rider applies, no sponsorship may involve any category in section 6.2, weight-loss products or dating services, and each arrangement needs the Guardian's and Kavi's prior written approval.

6.5 Made for kids. Content that Kavi designates as made for kids (which Kavi's listener documents call "family content") may not contain any sponsorship, paid promotion, affiliate promotion or paid brand mention, including in a sponsored short-form Bite. Kavi will not approve a sponsor spot in it. Kavi decides case by case, after review, whether content is made for kids, and tells you in the Creator Portal before the content is released. Content you mark as "Made for kids" in the Creator Portal is treated as made for kids unless Kavi tells you otherwise. If content is designated as made for kids after you sold a spot for it, you do not run the spot in that content, and you may use it in other content that is not made for kids.

7. Kavi-sold advertising and sponsorship

7.1 Shows. Under the Creator Master Agreement, Kavi may sell advertising and sponsorship in and around your episodes, inserted only in the version played to Ad-Supported Plan listeners: before or after the episode, and in the middle only at ad markers you include or, where you include none, at natural pauses no more often than your Master's delivery criteria allow (one per 15 minutes of content). Kavi keeps the revenue from advertising it sells (you are paid the royalty on all Qualifying Minutes, whether or not an ad plays), and gives you at least 7 days' written notice before it first inserts its own ads in or around your episodes.

7.2 No Kavi host-reads. Kavi does not ask you to voice sponsor messages it has sold. A sponsor message you voice is your own creator-sold sponsor spot (one per episode, approved in advance, you keep 100%).

7.3 Audiobooks. Kavi may insert advertising or sponsorship in an audiobook, but only at chapter breaks and before or after the narration, and only in the version played to Ad-Supported Plan listeners. Kavi keeps that advertising revenue; you are paid the streaming royalty. You do not sell sponsorship inside Kavi audiobooks.

7.4 Music. Kavi never inserts advertising, sponsorship messages or announcements inside a music master. Kavi may present its own branding and announcements before or after a track.

7.5 Short-form. Kavi may show third-party advertising alongside or between short-form items only to Ad-Supported Plan listeners, and never edits advertising into the audio of your short-form item.

8. Sponsorships you sell

8.1 Creator-sold sponsor spots inside shows

(a) Allowed now. An episode or other work may contain a sponsor spot you sold on these terms: (i) no more than 1 creator-sold sponsor spot per episode or one-off title; (ii) each spot needs Kavi's prior written approval, given in advance for that spot (section 8.2); (iii) you keep 100% of the fees the sponsor pays you directly for an approved spot; Kavi takes no share and charges no fee; (iv) the spot is one continuous segment, and when you upload the episode you mark the exact time the spot starts and ends; and (v) the spot is disclosed as section 4 requires.

(b) Ad-Free Plan listeners. If Kavi launches an Ad-Free Plan, Kavi removes your marked spot from the version played to its listeners (the Ad-Free Version); you do not need to re-deliver anything, though you may upload your own Ad-Free Version. If a spot is not marked, or its markers are wrong, Kavi may ask you to fix them and, until you do, may hold that episode back from Ad-Free Plan listeners.

(c) Your own deal. Kavi is not a party to your sponsor deal. You are responsible for the sponsor agreement, its performance, any claims by the sponsor and all taxes on what you receive.

(d) Outside your works. Your personal sponsorships outside the works you license to Kavi (for example on your own social channels) are your own business, subject only to section 9 and any content-level exclusivity in your Master.

(e) What counts as a sponsor spot. Any paid promotion, affiliate link or code, or mention given in return for a free product, inside an episode or other work under the Creator Master Agreement is a creator-sold sponsor spot under this section 8.1. A disclosed personal connection that is not paid for is not. Nor is your own link or code under Kavi's affiliate program promoting the Service itself; it must still be disclosed under section 9.2.

8.2 How to get approval for a creator-sold sponsor spot

(a) Request. Submit an approval request in the Portal before you deliver the episode, giving: (i) the sponsor's name and what it sells, and the sponsor category; (ii) the episode or episodes and where the spot will be placed; (iii) the script or talking points, including any claims about the product or service; (iv) your disclosure wording; and (v) for a restricted category, any support for the claims Kavi reasonably asks for.

(b) Kavi's response. Kavi aims to respond in writing within 5 Business Days; no response is not approval. Kavi will not unreasonably withhold, delay or condition approval, and may refuse only for: (i) a conflict with an existing Kavi sponsor in the same category; (ii) a prohibited category under section 6.1; or (iii) a legal or reputational concern that Kavi states in writing. No response is not approval: a spot may be included only once Kavi has approved it in writing.

(c) Delivery. Upload Kavi's approval with the episode and mark the spot's start and end times. A spot that differs materially from the approved request needs a new approval.

8.3 Sponsored short-form Bites

(a) You may sell sponsorships for your own short-form Bites and keep 100% of what the sponsor pays you. Kavi takes no share and charges no fee.

(b) Kavi never plays a Bite that contains your sponsorship to listeners on an Ad-Free Plan, once Kavi offers one, including during a free trial of that plan. Every other listener may be served it. This can reduce the Bite's reach, and Kavi does not guarantee any audience for it.

(c) Disclose the sponsorship as section 4 requires: spoken at the start of the Bite before the sponsored message and again at the end, in the same language as the Bite, and by switching on the paid-partnership setting in the upload flow.

(d) Sponsorships in shows, episodes and other works under a Master are governed by your Master and section 8.1, not this section 8.3.

8.4 Brand mentions inside music

(a) A paid, gifted or affiliate brand mention inside a music master must be disclosed in the Release Schedule. Kavi uses that disclosure to show a visible label on the release's listing.

(b) Kavi's prior approval is needed only for a brand in a restricted category (section 6.2). A brand in a prohibited category (section 6.1) is not allowed.

(c) Kavi takes no share of any payment you receive for a brand mention.

(d) If you promote the release with the brand elsewhere, disclose the relationship there as well (section 9).

8.5 Brand Introductions

(a) What it is. As a courtesy, Kavi may pass on to you an inquiry a brand has sent to Kavi, or put you and a brand in touch so that you can discuss a deal of your own (a "Brand Introduction"). Any deal that follows is your own sponsorship, under section 8.1, 8.3 or 8.4 if it is inside your content, or a personal sponsorship outside it.

(b) What Kavi does and does not do. In a Brand Introduction, Kavi only passes contact details and information between you and the brand. Kavi does not: (i) act as your agent, manager or representative, or the brand's; (ii) pitch you to the brand, negotiate, discuss or agree any fee or term for you or the brand, or take part in your discussions with the brand; (iii) promise or guarantee that any deal, fee or audience will follow; (iv) ask for or accept any fee, commission, share or other benefit from you or the brand for a Brand Introduction or any deal that follows; or (v) ask you for exclusivity, or make a Brand Introduction conditional on anything you do or sign. You decide whether to deal with the brand and on what terms, and you contract with the brand directly. You may use any agent or manager you choose.

(c) Your consent. Kavi shares your contact details, or any information about you or your content, with a brand only after you ask it to, and only what you approve in writing (an email is enough).

(d) Kavi's choice. Kavi decides whether to make a Brand Introduction, for whom and for which brands. Kavi may stop making them at any time, and may limit them in any place where it considers the law may require a license to make them. If you live in California, or Kavi does not know where you live, Kavi only passes on to you inquiries that a brand has sent to Kavi without being asked, and never contacts a brand about you. Kavi makes no Brand Introduction: (i) for content Kavi designates as made for kids, including content you mark as "Made for kids" (section 6.5); (ii) for a brand in a prohibited or restricted category (sections 6.1 and 6.2); or (iii) where a Minor / Guardian Rider applies, except to the Guardian, at the Guardian's written request, and only on the terms of that Rider and section 6.4. Kavi not making a Brand Introduction, or stopping them, has no effect on your signed agreement, your content or your royalties.

(e) The usual rules still apply. A Brand Introduction is not Kavi's approval of a sponsor spot, and does not mean that Kavi endorses the brand. A sponsor spot inside a show still needs Kavi's approval under section 8.2. You disclose the relationship as sections 3 and 4 require, section 10 applies, and you are responsible for your deal as section 8.1(c) describes.

(f) Not part of your agreement. A Brand Introduction is a courtesy. It has no cash value, is not payment for anything you license to Kavi, and is not a service Kavi provides under your signed agreement. If the law of any place treats a Brand Introduction as an activity that needs a license, that affects only the Brand Introduction, not your signed agreement or any other part of it.

(g) How to ask. Email contact@kavi.audio from the email address in your Portal account.

9. Promoting your Kavi content elsewhere

9.1 When you promote your content on Kavi on other platforms and that promotion includes sponsored content or a material connection, disclose it as the law of the place where you are and where your audience is requires (section 3.2).

9.2 If you share a Kavi affiliate or referral link or code, disclose that you may earn a commission from Kavi (for example, "I earn a commission from Kavi if you subscribe with my link"). The affiliate program has its own published terms (kavi.audio/legal/affiliate-program-terms); see also the Community and Brand Rules.

9.3 If you recommend Kavi or the Service itself (not only your own content), say in the post, video or audio that Kavi pays you, for example "I'm a Kavi creator and Kavi pays me when you listen". Kavi may review public promotions of Kavi by creators and affiliates and ask you to fix a missing disclosure within 2 Business Days.

10. Kavi's name and endorsement

10.1 A sponsorship you sell must not state or imply that Kavi endorses the sponsor, and the sponsor may not use Kavi's name, logo or branding in its materials without Kavi's written consent.

10.2 Kavi will never use your name, voice or likeness to suggest that you endorse a product, service, brand, person or political cause without your prior written consent.

11. Contact

• Sponsor-spot approval requests: through the Portal
• Brand Introduction requests (section 8.5): contact@kavi.audio
• Questions about this Policy: legal@kavi.audio
• Post: Kavi Media, Inc., 169 Madison Ave STE 30314, New York, NY 10016, USA

12. Changes to this Policy

12.1 Kavi changes this Policy only as the Policy Acknowledgements describe: (a) at least 14 days' notice by email to the address in your Portal account and by a notice in the Portal, with a summary of what changed; (b) shorter notice, or immediate effect, only where required by law, a court or regulator order, an app store or payment provider, or needed to deal with an urgent safety, security, fraud or child-safety risk, and only to the extent that requirement or risk demands, with an explanation as soon as practicable. Shorter notice affects only when the change takes effect, and paragraph (f) applies to it in full; (c) a change in your favor, or a purely administrative change, may take effect when posted, with notice; (d) for a material change (for example, a new prohibited category or a stricter disclosure rule), Kavi will ask you to acknowledge this Policy again in the Portal. Until you acknowledge, the earlier version keeps applying to content under any Schedule, Release Schedule or Book Schedule signed before the change, as your Master provides, and Kavi will not hold back uploads of that content, royalties already earned, or exploitation of or payment for content already delivered. Kavi may ask you to acknowledge the new version before you sign a new Schedule; (e) a change applies as an acceptance criterion to content under an existing Schedule only as your Master allows, and if you do not accept a material change, your Master says what you may do; and (f) a change does not apply to content delivered, royalties earned or disputes that arose before it took effect, and does not apply as a new acceptance criterion or an increased production or delivery burden to content under a Schedule, Release Schedule or Book Schedule signed before the change, except to the extent applicable law requires immediate application. A court or regulator order is implemented to the extent it legally binds Kavi. An app store or payment provider requirement, or an urgent safety, security, fraud or child-safety risk, may justify only action that your signed agreement or applicable law already authorizes (for example, a mandatory takedown); it does not itself amend your signed agreement or make a new obligation in this Policy apply to earlier content. Royalties already earned on removed or restricted content remain payable.

12.2 No change to this Policy can reduce your royalty rates or revenue shares, change your payment terms, change the number of creator-sold spots your Master allows or the share of sponsor fees you keep, or change the rights you have granted or kept under your signed agreement.

12.3 Every past version stays available in the Portal.

13. Language

This Policy is in English, and the English text is binding. Kavi may provide a Telugu translation or summary as a courtesy; it is for information only.

14. Your signed agreement prevails

If this Policy conflicts with your signed agreement, your signed agreement prevails.

Versions