Last Updated: August 2026
Welcome to The Socialens Talks. These Guest Participation Terms govern the general process applicable to individuals who apply, are invited, nominated, sponsored, engaged or otherwise participate as guests on The Socialens Talks.
These Terms apply to the guest application, selection, discussion, recording and participation process. Depending on the nature of the appearance, additional consent, media release, declaration, commercial agreement, sponsorship agreement or other documentation may be required.
By submitting a guest application, accepting an invitation, participating in preliminary discussions or appearing as a guest, the individual acknowledges that the applicable participation process and documentation may apply to their appearance.
1. Guest Application and Invitation
By submitting a guest application or accepting an invitation to participate, you confirm that the information provided by you is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
Submitting an application, expressing interest or receiving an invitation:
- does not guarantee selection, recording or publication;
- does not create any employment, partnership, agency, joint venture or other legal relationship unless separately agreed in writing;
- does not guarantee publicity, promotion, views, audience reach, followers, business opportunities or any other outcome; and
- does not create any automatic right to payment, reimbursement, royalty, revenue share or other commercial benefit.
The Socialens Talks reserves the right to accept, decline, defer, reschedule, cancel or discontinue consideration of any proposed guest appearance, subject to any separately agreed written arrangement.
2. Types of Guest Participation
Guest appearances may take place under different arrangements depending on the nature of the appearance, discussion and commercial understanding.
These may include, without limitation:
(a) Complimentary or Unpaid Guest Appearance
A guest may participate voluntarily without any payment or fee being payable by either party.
(b) Paid Guest Appearance
The Socialens Talks may agree to pay a guest a fixed fee, honorarium, reimbursement or other agreed amount.
Unless expressly agreed otherwise in a separate written agreement, any such payment shall be limited to the amount specifically agreed for that appearance or arrangement.
Payment of a guest fee or honorarium does not automatically create any continuing right to future payment, royalty, revenue share, residual, profit share or other compensation.
(c) Guest-Funded or Paid Recording / Appearance
In certain circumstances, a guest, organisation, representative, sponsor or other party may pay The Socialens Talks for recording, production, studio services, promotional services, commercial participation or another agreed service.
The exact scope, deliverables, fees and commercial terms for such arrangements may be governed by a separate written agreement.
(d) Sponsored, Brand, Promotional or Collaborative Appearance
A guest appearance may also be connected with a brand, organisation, sponsor, campaign, event, promotional activity, collaboration or other commercial arrangement.
Where applicable, the relevant commercial, sponsorship, disclosure and promotional terms may be separately documented.
No guest appearance should be considered automatically free, paid, sponsored or commercially arranged unless the applicable arrangement has been clearly confirmed.
3. No Automatic Right to Payment, Royalty or Future Revenue
Unless expressly agreed in a separate written agreement formally authorised by The Socialens Talks, participation as a guest does not create any right to:
- royalty;
- revenue sharing;
- profit sharing;
- residual payment;
- future compensation;
- additional appearance fees;
- payment based on views, subscribers, followers or audience growth;
- payment arising from monetisation;
- advertising revenue;
- sponsorship revenue;
- platform revenue; or
- any other financial benefit generated directly or indirectly from the recording or related content.
This applies even if an episode, video, clip, short, reel, audio recording or other content becomes popular, viral, highly viewed, monetised, commercially successful or generates revenue in the future.
Where a specific guest fee, honorarium or other payment has been agreed in writing, such payment shall not by itself create any right to future royalty, revenue share or additional compensation unless specifically stated in that written agreement.
4. Editorial Review and Guest Selection
Guest applications and proposed appearances may be reviewed on the basis of factors including:
- relevance of the proposed topic;
- potential value and interest for the audience;
- guest background, experience or expertise;
- availability of supporting information or public profiles;
- suitability for the podcast format and editorial direction; and
- reasonable editorial, production, safety, legal or operational considerations.
The Socialens Talks may contact an applicant or proposed guest for additional information, clarification or verification before making a decision.
Selection of a guest does not guarantee that recording or publication will ultimately take place.
5. Verification and Additional Information
Where reasonably required for editorial, production, safety, administrative or legal purposes, The Socialens Talks may request identity, profile, professional or other relevant verification from a proposed guest.
Guests should not send passwords, OTPs, PINs, banking credentials or other unnecessary sensitive information.
Information collected for verification or participation purposes will be handled in accordance with the applicable Privacy Policy and relevant legal requirements.
6. Recording and Participation Documentation
Depending on the nature of the appearance, a guest may be required to complete or sign additional documentation before or in connection with recording.
This may include:
- Guest Consent and Media Release;
- identity or KYC verification;
- declaration regarding statements or allegations;
- additional consent for sensitive or high-risk discussions;
- paid guest agreement;
- guest-funded recording or service agreement;
- sponsorship or commercial collaboration agreement; or
- other documentation reasonably required for the particular arrangement.
Where applicable, the specific terms relating to recording, consent, usage rights, commercial arrangements and publication will be governed by the relevant signed or accepted documentation.
7. Guest Statements and Responsibility
Guests remain responsible for statements, opinions, claims, representations and information voluntarily provided by them during an interview, discussion, recording or related communication.
Guests should not knowingly:
- provide materially false or misleading information;
- make unlawful or defamatory statements;
- knowingly make false allegations against identifiable individuals or organisations;
- disclose confidential, private or legally protected information without appropriate authority;
- infringe another person’s intellectual property, privacy or other legal rights; or
- knowingly present unverified allegations, rumours or assumptions as established facts.
Where a discussion involves legal disputes, allegations, personal experiences, public controversies or identifiable third parties, guests may be requested to clearly distinguish between personal experiences, opinions, allegations and verified facts.
The views and statements expressed by a guest are their own unless expressly stated otherwise.
8. Sensitive or High-Risk Discussions
Certain topics may require additional review or documentation due to their nature.
Examples may include discussions involving:
- allegations against identifiable persons or organisations;
- ongoing or potential legal disputes;
- criminal allegations;
- sensitive personal experiences;
- confidential information;
- reputationally sensitive matters;
- controversial public issues; or
- other circumstances involving elevated editorial, legal or reputational risk.
The Socialens Talks may request additional clarification, documentation, declaration or consent before proceeding with such discussions.
The Socialens Talks may also decline, postpone, edit, restrict or decide not to publish such content where reasonably necessary.
9. Editorial Independence
The Socialens Talks maintains editorial and production independence.
Subject to any applicable written agreement and applicable law, The Socialens Talks reserves the right to determine:
- whether to record a conversation;
- the format and structure of the discussion;
- questions and discussion flow;
- episode title, description and presentation;
- editing and production decisions;
- captions and subtitles;
- whether excerpts, clips, shorts or promotional content are created;
- whether and when content is published;
- whether content is promoted, restricted, archived, updated or removed.
Reasonable editorial changes may include shortening, rearranging, captioning, subtitling, excerpting and creating promotional clips, provided such editing is not knowingly intended to materially misrepresent the overall meaning of the guest’s statements.
Participation in preliminary discussions, planning or recording does not automatically create a right to approve or control editorial decisions unless expressly agreed in writing.
10. Recording, Publication and Promotional Use
Where the guest has provided the applicable consent or entered into the applicable agreement, The Socialens Talks may use the recording and related content in accordance with the terms of that consent or agreement.
This may include publication or distribution through relevant platforms, including podcast platforms, video platforms, websites and social media channels.
The content may also be used for reasonable promotional and archival purposes, subject to the applicable consent, agreement and applicable law.
Publication is not guaranteed, and The Socialens Talks may decide not to publish a recording for editorial, technical, legal, safety, operational or other reasonable reasons.
11. Cancellation, Withdrawal and Removal Requests
A prospective guest may request cancellation or withdrawal before recording, subject to any separately agreed commercial or production commitments.
After recording or publication, requests relating to withdrawal, removal, correction or modification of content will be considered based on:
- the applicable written agreement or consent;
- the circumstances of the request;
- editorial considerations;
- legal obligations; and
- technical or platform limitations.
Where content has already been published, shared or distributed through third-party platforms, complete removal from every location, cache, archive, repost or third-party service may not always be within the reasonable control of The Socialens Talks.
12. Intellectual Property and Third-Party Material
Guests should only provide photographs, documents, music, videos, images, logos or other materials that they are authorised to share.
A guest must not knowingly submit or request publication of third-party material without appropriate permission or another valid legal basis.
Any specific ownership, licence or usage rights relating to a particular recording, commercial collaboration or production arrangement may be addressed in the applicable consent or written agreement.
13. No Endorsement
A guest’s appearance on The Socialens Talks does not mean that The Socialens Talks independently verifies, endorses, guarantees or agrees with every opinion, statement, qualification, product, service or claim made by that guest.
Similarly, a guest’s appearance does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, partnership or verification of the guest by The Socialens Talks or its representatives unless expressly stated otherwise.
14. Privacy
Information submitted or collected in connection with a guest application, invitation or appearance may be used for purposes including:
- evaluating and reviewing the proposed appearance;
- communicating with the guest;
- scheduling and production;
- reasonable verification;
- payment or commercial administration, where applicable;
- maintaining internal records; and
- other legitimate podcast, media and operational purposes.
For more information about how personal information is handled, please review our Privacy Policy.
15. Additional Agreements
Depending on the nature of the guest appearance, The Socialens Talks may require one or more additional agreements or documents.
Where there is a conflict between these general Guest Participation Terms and a specific written agreement applicable to a particular appearance, the specific written agreement will govern to the extent of that conflict.
16. Platform Information
The Socialens Talks is a media and digital content platform operated by Ashish Baniwal under a proprietorship business concern.
17. Limitation Regarding Third-Party Platforms
Publication or distribution of content may involve third-party platforms and services.
The Socialens Talks does not control the independent policies, technical operations, availability, algorithmic distribution, removal processes or actions of third-party platforms.
Views, reach, engagement, monetisation or continued availability of content cannot be guaranteed.
18. Changes to These Terms
The Socialens Talks may update these Guest Participation Terms from time to time.
The updated version will be published on this page with a revised Last Updated date.
Any separately signed agreement will continue to be governed by its own terms unless amended in writing.
19. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Guest Participation Terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the applicable laws of India.
Subject to applicable law, the courts and competent authorities located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India shall have jurisdiction in relation to disputes arising from or connected with these Terms or the guest participation process.
20. Acceptance of These Terms
By submitting a guest application, accepting an invitation, or proceeding with participation where these Terms are made available or referenced, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Guest Participation Terms.
Where additional consent, media release, declaration or agreement is required for a particular appearance, the applicable additional documentation shall also apply.
21. Contact
For any questions regarding guest applications, participation or these Guest Participation Terms, please contact:
The Socialens Talks
Email: info@thesocialenstalks.com