⚠️ TEMPLATE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Reviewed-by-attorney required before launch. Bracketed items in ALL CAPS are placeholders to complete. "FLINT," "we," "us," and "our" refer to [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] d/b/a FLINT (the "Company"). "You" refers to the user.
These Terms of Service (the "Terms") govern your access to and use of the FLINT website, applications, and services (collectively, the "Platform"). By creating an account, uploading content, or otherwise using the Platform, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Copyright & DMCA Policy, our Community Guidelines, and — if you upload music or other content — the Artist Upload Agreement. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
1. WHO MAY USE FLINT
1.1. Minimum age. You must be at least 13 years old to use the Platform. If you are between 13 and 17, you may use the Platform only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf and is responsible for your activity. No one under 13 may use the Platform (see our Privacy Policy and Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") practices).
1.2. Unsigned artists. FLINT is built for independent, unsigned artists. By representing yourself as an unsigned artist, you confirm you are not currently bound by an exclusive recording, distribution, or publishing agreement that would prohibit you from uploading and distributing your content here.
1.3. Eligibility. You must be able to form a binding contract and not be barred from using the Platform under applicable law. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account.
2. YOUR ACCOUNT
2.1. You agree to provide accurate information and keep it updated. You are responsible for all activity on your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use at [legal@COMPANY.com].
2.2. We may offer artist profiles, listener accounts, and creator tools. You may delete your account at any time; certain records may be retained as described in the Privacy Policy or as required by law.
3. YOUR CONTENT
3.1. You own your content. You retain ownership of the music, audio, artwork, text, merchandise listings, and other materials you upload ("Your Content"). FLINT does not claim ownership of Your Content.
3.2. License to FLINT. To operate the Platform, you grant FLINT a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, encode, stream, publicly perform and display, distribute, and create thumbnails/previews of Your Content, solely (a) to operate, provide, and promote the Platform and your presence on it, and (b) as you direct through Platform features. This license ends when you delete Your Content or your account, except for (i) content others have shared or that is in backups for a reasonable period, and (ii) where retention is legally required. No transfer of ownership occurs.
3.3. Your responsibilities. You are solely responsible for Your Content and the consequences of uploading it. By uploading, you make the representations and warranties in the Artist Upload Agreement, which is incorporated by reference, including that you own or fully control all rights in Your Content and that it does not infringe or violate anyone's rights.
3.4. No obligation to host. We may, but are not obligated to, review, screen, or moderate content. We may remove or restrict any content, or limit or terminate any account, at our discretion, including content we believe violates these Terms, the law, or the rights of others.
4. PROHIBITED CONDUCT
You agree not to, and not to enable others to:
- (a) upload content you do not own or have the full legal right to distribute, including others' recordings, beats, samples, vocals, lyrics, or AI-generated voice or likeness clones of real people without authorization;
- (b) infringe any copyright, trademark, publicity, privacy, or other right;
- (c) upload unlawful, defamatory, harassing, hateful, threatening, or violent content; content sexualizing minors (which we report to authorities); or content promoting illegal activity;
- (d) impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation or that you are unsigned;
- (e) upload malware, or attempt to hack, overload, scrape (except as expressly permitted), reverse-engineer, or circumvent security or access controls;
- (f) use bots, fake accounts, or artificial means to inflate streams, followers, sales, or rankings ("stream fraud");
- (g) sell counterfeit or infringing merchandise, or items you cannot lawfully sell;
- (h) collect other users' data without consent, or spam;
- (i) use the Platform for money laundering, fraud, or any unlawful purpose; or
- (j) violate the Community Guidelines or any applicable law or regulation.
Violation may result in immediate content removal, account suspension or termination, forfeiture of any pending payouts associated with the violation, and referral to law enforcement where appropriate. See Section 9.
5. COPYRIGHT — DMCA
We respect intellectual-property rights and comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), 17 U.S.C. § 512. Our full Copyright & DMCA Policy explains how to submit takedown notices and counter-notices and describes our repeat-infringer policy: accounts determined to be repeat infringers will be terminated. By using the Platform you acknowledge and agree to that policy.
6. MERCHANDISE & PAYMENTS
6.1. Artist stores. Artists may list and sell merchandise. The selling artist — not FLINT — is the merchant of record for their items and is solely responsible for fulfillment, descriptions, inventory, taxes, and compliance with consumer-protection law, unless the Company's separate Creator/Merch Terms state otherwise.
6.2. Fees. FLINT may charge fees or commissions, disclosed before you incur them. Payment processing is handled by third-party processors (e.g., [PAYMENT PROCESSOR]); your use of payments is subject to their terms. We do not store full card numbers.
6.3. Payouts. Artist payouts, taxes (including any required tax forms such as IRS Form 1099), refunds, and chargebacks are governed by the Creator/Payout Terms you accept when enabling sales or monetization.
6.4. No financial or investment advice. Nothing on the Platform is financial advice.
7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF FLINT
The Platform itself — software, design, brand, the "FLINT" name and logo, and all related IP (excluding Your Content) — is owned by the Company and protected by law. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Platform for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, or create derivative works of the Platform.
8. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES
The Platform may link to or integrate third-party services (hosting, analytics, payment, social). We are not responsible for third-party services, and your use of them is at your own risk and subject to their terms.
9. SUSPENSION & TERMINATION
9.1. By you. You may stop using the Platform and delete your account at any time.
9.2. By us. We may suspend or terminate your access or remove content at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms, the Artist Upload Agreement, the Community Guidelines, or the law; if required to protect the Platform, other users, or third parties; or if you are determined to be a repeat infringer. Serious violations — including uploading infringing content, stream fraud, illegal content, or conduct exposing the Company or others to legal liability — may result in immediate, permanent removal from the Platform and forfeiture of related pending payouts.
9.3. Effect. On termination, your license to use the Platform ends. Sections that by their nature should survive (including 3.2 license for residual/backup content, 10–14) survive.
10. DISCLAIMERS
THE PLATFORM AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT CONTENT IS ACCURATE OR LAWFUL. YOU USE THE PLATFORM AT YOUR OWN RISK. FLINT IS A HOSTING AND DISTRIBUTION SERVICE; USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT THEY UPLOAD.
11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE COMPANY AND ITS FOUNDERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR CONTENT, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM. OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; some may not apply to you.
12. INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company and its founders, officers, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) Your Content; (b) your use of the Platform; (c) your violation of these Terms, the Artist Upload Agreement, the Community Guidelines, or any law; or (d) your infringement or violation of any third party's rights. We may assume the exclusive defense of any matter subject to indemnification by you, at your expense, and you agree to cooperate.
13. DISPUTE RESOLUTION; GOVERNING LAW
13.1. Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.
13.2. Informal resolution. Before filing a claim, you agree to contact us at [legal@COMPANY.com] and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.
13.3. [Arbitration / venue. [SELECT: Binding individual arbitration in [COUNTY], Florida under AAA rules, with a class-action waiver; OR exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in [COUNTY], Florida.] Attorney to finalize; arbitration + class-waiver clauses have specific drafting and enforceability requirements.]**
13.4. Time limit. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year after it arises, to the extent permitted by law.
14. CHANGES; MISCELLANEOUS
14.1. Changes. We may update these Terms; material changes will be posted with a new "Last updated" date and, where appropriate, notice to you. Continued use after changes means you accept them.
14.2. Entire agreement / severability / no waiver / assignment. These Terms (with the incorporated policies) are the entire agreement between you and us on this subject. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains effective. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them to an affiliate or successor.
14.3. Contact. [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] d/b/a FLINT, [MAILING ADDRESS], [legal@COMPANY.com].