Terms and conditions

By using the services offered by Record Union, through the website and your Record Union account, you agree to and accept the terms and conditions. If you do not accept the terms and conditions, you may not access or use the services offered by Record Union.

Introduction

These Terms and Conditions apply to and give access to use the www.recordunion.com website (the “Website”), including the use of any content, information, products and/or services. The Terms and Conditions also apply to any and all Recordings, compositions and any other relevant copyright, individually under this Agreement.

Please read these Terms and Conditions, and also the Privacy Policy, carefully as they affect your rights and liabilities under the law. This is a legal agreement (the “Agreement”) between you and DFP Group AB, a company based in Sweden with the registered address Pryssgränd 12, 118 20 Stockholm Sweden, with Swedish organisation number 556752-9598 (“Record Union”, “we” or “us”). If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, do not register. If you have any questions regarding the policy, send us an email to info@recordunion.com.

Definitions

“Artist” shall mean any person whose performances are embodied in the Recordings.

“Clip/Clips” shall mean an E-Music File which is an edited version of another E-Music File and which is not longer than 30 seconds and which is used as sales promotion for the Recordings. Said 30 second clips may be created by using any consecutive 30 seconds of the applicable E-Music File.

“Composition/Compositions” shall mean the musical works, including, but not limited to, the musical composition and lyrics, which has been subject to recording when recording the Recordings.

“Cover Artwork” shall mean artwork as illustration or photograph.

“E-Music File/E-Music Files” shall mean a digital copy of a Recording and/or an audio recording of a performance of a musical work, with or without lyrics, which has been converted, coded and compressed to a digital format supported by Record Union.

“End User/End Users” shall mean a person who/which purchases an E-Music File from any of the Record Union Retail Partners or visits the Record Union Website or Retailers Websites for this purpose.

“Metadata” shall mean the information embedded in, or associated with, an E-Music File and/or the Compositions, that is used to identify the content. Examples of the types of information includes, but is not limited to, song title, band or artist’s name, type of music, label, writers, publisher and year the song was released.

“Recording/Recordings” shall mean any and all audio recordings, including the Compositions, that you submit to Record Union upon your acceptance of this Agreement by uploading on the Record Union Website as well as any other audio recordings that you choose to submit thereafter by uploading on the Record Union Website.

“Record Union Retail Partner/Record Union Retail Service” shall mean, without limitation, any and all, now known or future, digital internet consumer stores (such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, TikTok etc) and/or any other digital retailers of music which Record Union has, from time to time, entered into a licensing agreement with regarding the sale, streaming, synchronization or any other type of commercial exploitation of E-Music Files embodying the Recordings and the Compositions pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement. This applies on a “per Recording” basis.

“Renewal fee” shall mean a fee that you need to pay if your current plan expires and you do not want Record Union to take down your music from the Record Union Retail Partners services.

“Retailers Websites” shall mean any website on which E-Music Files embodying the Recordings are sold by Record Union Retail Partners pursuant to a sublicensing agreement with Record Union.

“Sleep mode” shall mean the status of your account if you do not pay the Renewal fee. Whenever you pay the Renewal fee the Sleep mode will be turned off.

“Territory” shall mean the world, or per Recording specified territory if applicable.

“Website” shall mean the website (www.recordunion.com) or any other sub-domains.

Grant of rights

The rights granted from you to Record Union in this Agreement include, but are not limited to, the sale of Recordings, permanent digital downloads, temporary digital downloads, interactive streaming, non-interactive streaming, cloud services, streaming-on-demand services, synchronization of the Recordings, creating remixes of the Recordings and any other formats that are applicable from time to time via the Record Union Retail Partners. The grant of rights does not constitute a transfer of ownership of the Recordings or the Compositions.

By using our services, you grant the following rights to Record Union, during the Term and throughout the Territory.

• Sell, make Clips, copy and otherwise, to the extent necessary for this Agreement, exploit and alter the Recordings, the Metadata and the Compositions by all means and media (whether now known or existing in the future) through any and all Retail Partners now available and operational and also the right to sublicense or otherwise transfer, all such rights to Record Union Retail Partners.
• Exclusive right to make E-music Files and the non exclusive right to make Clips, embodying the Recordings available on the Internet, in telecommunication networks and, without limitation, in any other similar digital media for sale by downloading, interactive streaming, non-interactive streaming, cloud services, streaming-on-demand, synchronization of the Recordings, creating remixes of the Recordings or similar means of exploitation as well as the right to sublicense or otherwise transfer, all such rights to Record Union Retail Partners.

Each of the Parties will remain independent of each other. Nothing in this Agreement constitutes an agency, employment, company or joint venture relationship of any kind between the Parties. Any rights not expressly granted above are specifically reserved by you. Record Union and Record Union Retail Partners are not entitled to make the Recordings available to the public by any other means than stated in this Agreement, unless permitted under relevant Copyright Laws. Record Union and the Record Union Retail Partners are not entitled to release, sell or distribute the Recordings on CD, DVD, Vinyl or any other physical format.

You also grant to Record Union and the Record Union Retail Partners the following rights.

• The non-exclusive right, throughout the Territory and during the Term, to use name(s), photographs, likenesses, Cover Artwork, biographical and other information attributable to the Artists and any other entity in the Metadata which you have submitted to Record Union.
• The right for Record Union to sublicense or otherwise transfer the above rights to any and all Record Union Retail Partners.
• The possibility to sell/transmit any Cover Artwork submitted by you when uploading the Recordings on the Website. However, neither Record Union nor the Record Union Retail Partners may sell the Cover Artwork separated from the Recordings.
• Any and all rights granted to us above, are granted on a royalty-free license basis. This also includes the use of any lyrics of the Recordings on the Website, if you have submitted any.

Recordings, materials and information

In connection with the uploading of the Recordings on the Website, you are asked to submit various Metadata as well as Cover Artwork for use on Retailers websites. If you do not submit a Cover Artwork, Record Union may create one for you for use in the Retail Service and the Website. This will be generated automatically and there is no possibility or right for you to approve of such Cover Artwork and you are not entitled to any ownership relating to such Cover Artwork.

You agree to submit the Recordings, Cover Artwork and any other information and materials supplied by you at your own expense, in the formats required for use on the Retailers websites and on the Record Union Website. You can find descriptions of the formats on the Website.

When submitting the Recordings, you must submit Universal Product Codes (UPC) an International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) for the Recordings. If you can’t submit such codes, Record Union can do this for you at applicable terms from time to time.

You are fully responsible for all the Recordings, materials and information uploaded on the Website. If we find it unsuitable, we reserve the right to prevent you from using the Website and/or the Retail Service.

Sale of recordings and end users

The Recordings will be sold to End Users at a price determined by Record Union and Record Union Retail Partners. The terms and conditions at which an End User purchases and licenses the Recordings will also be determined by Record Union and the Record Union Retail Partners. However, the conditions will always be in accordance to industry standards. The Recordings may also be made available to End Users for the purpose of creating user generated content, including, but not limited to, synchronization of the Recordings, creating remixes of the Recordings and other relevant formats offered by the Record Union Retail partners from time to time.

The Recordings will be made available in WAV-format and without Digital Rights Management-systems (DRM). However, the Recordings might be made available in other formats and with DRM-systems.

You agree that Record Union is a distributor of E-music Files and not a retailer. Any sale/sublicensing of the Recordings to End Users will be made by our Record Union Retail Partners.

Website

We will at all times ensure that the Website is available to End Users. If the service would be interrupted, Record Union will without delay correct the interruptions. We reserve the right to, at any time and without prior notice to you, suspend access to the Website to the extent needed to correct errors, for security reasons, upgrades, updates and required maintenance of the software or hardware.

We assume no liability for any errors, delays or interruptions that might occur in the Website, if these are not attributable to Record Union.

Retail service

Record Union has entered into licensing agreements with digital internet consumer stores (“Retail Service”). The purpose of this is to distribute your Recordings and provide all services associated with the distribution, including but not limited to, delivery and sales for downloading and streaming. The agreements Record Union enter with Retail Services shall determine the terms on which your Recordings are sold or made available. Which Retail Services Record Union has entered into agreements with might vary from time to time. Therefore, Record Union cannot guarantee the sale and/or exploitation of the Recordings in any particular Retail Store and assumes no liability if your Recordings are not made available in a particular Retail Service.

You hereby acknowledge and agree that Record Union may, without notice and in its sole discretion, terminate your Record Union Account and remove any content and Recordings, withhold and discard any Royalties or payments earned or arising thereof, should we or our Retail Service Partners believe that you are infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties, engaging in fraudulent activity including, but not limited to, any fraudulent streaming or download activity or in otherwise illegal account activity on our Services or Retail Services. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Record Union and the Record Union Retail Service Partners against any liability or costs arising from such improper and illegal use of your Account and with any of our Retail Service Partners.

Record Union assumes no liability for any interruptions or any suspensions of access in the Retail Service, in whole or in part.

Pricing

For pricing, you will find this listed at www.recordunion.com/pricing. The price of your plan may vary depending on the number of tracks, Royalty rate and the number of Record Union Retail Partners you choose for your Recordings. When your plan expires you will be asked to pay a Renewal fee if you do not want Record Union to take down your music.

If you do not pay the Renewal fee, Record Union may put your Recordings in Sleep Mode. Sleep Mode means that your release will still be available on Music Stores but you will not earn any royalties until you pay the Renewal fee. If Sleep mode is activated, it will be removed the first day in the calendar month following your payment.

If you would owe Record Union any amount, we have the right to deduct all or portion of such amounts from any Royalty payable to you.

Record Union is entitled to increase our prices during the Contract Term. However, if this is the case, we shall send you a written notice at least 30 days prior to the increase. During this period, you have the right to cancel the Agreement within 14 days. The cancellation must be with a written notice.

We will provide you the service that you have paid for, and in all assist to remedy any possible failure to fulfil this service. However, we are not liable or responsible for third party failures in any way.

Royalty

For any and all Recordings under this Agreement, you may choose what royalty rate you want to pay. The following applies to each Recording.

• Record Union shall pay you a royalty rate of 85 % up to 92,5 % of the Gross Receipts, as calculated below.
• With Gross Receipts, we mean the total sum, excluding VAT, received by Record Union per Recording sold. We are entitled to benefit from any deductions which have been made toward Record Union by the Retail Services. The percentage co-relates to the percentage of Record Union, whether that is expressed or calculated in its sublicensing agreements with the Record Union Retail Partners.
• You agree that our Royalty payments will be subject to the conditions, reductions and pro rating provisions as agreed in each sublicense agreement with the Record Union Retail Partners.
• Record Union is entitled to deduct foreign currency exchange cost, banking costs and other financial costs relating to collecting, processing, transferring and paying out the Gross Receipts.
• Your right to Royalties follows on the date when Record Union receives payment for your sold Recording, and is calculated out of the amount we actually receive. You hereby agree that, in some cases and according to each sublicensing agreement, the Record Union Retail Partners will only pay Royalties to Record Union in the case the total amount exceeds a certain amount and that your payment might be subject to these limitations.

Payments

Payments will be credited to your Record Union royalty account around 45 days after we have received payment from Record Union Retail Partners. Once payment has been credited, you will be able to request a withdrawal of royalties from the account. Record Union will then pay the requested amount to your PayPal account within five days.

Payment of royalties can only be made to a PayPal account. Unfortunately, we cannot make any payments by any other payment method. It is solely your responsibility to notify Record Union if your PayPal account has changed, by making the appropriate changes to your Record Union royalty account settings. If you do not provide valid payment information, your service may be disconnected or interrupted and any royalty payments due will be withheld until you can provide valid payment information.

You are responsible for any internal costs, bank fees, currency exchange fees or other charges related to withdrawals or payments of royalties to you. Record Union may deduct such costs, fees and charges from any royalties owed to you.

When accounting royalties to you, Record Union is entitled to issue an invoice on your behalf and in your name on the basis of a so called “self-billing system”. Such invoice will be subject to your approval. However, such approval should be seen as given if you do not object the invoice, in written, within five days from the date of issue.

Any royalty payable will include any taxes and other public fees, which Record Union is required to deduct or pay by law when paying royalties to you.

Your warrants and liability

You agree and warrant that the Recordings, Cover Artwork, Metadata, Compositions or any other Material or information you submit and upload on the Website, is not an infringement on the copyrights or other rights of any person or entity and also does not violate any law in any country in the Territory. You also warrant the following.

• You have reached the age of 18 and you are not under any disability, restriction or prohibition to enter into this Agreement and grant rights to Record Union subject to this Agreement.
• You have not entered into any agreement which may conflict with this Agreement.
• You agree and warrant that you will not submit, transmit or store any Recordings, Metadata, Compositions or material that might infringe copyrighted works. You also agree that you will not promote violation of third party’s intellectual property rights.
• You are the sole owner or you legally represent the sole owner(s) of the Recordings, Metadata, Compositions and the Materials and that you possess full power and authority to enter into and perform this Agreement. You have valid written agreement(s) with any and all third parties relevant and/or needed in order to enter this Agreement with Record Union.
• You have obtained all relevant consents from the Artist, musicians, producers, mixers, labels, writers, publishers and any other persons and companies involved in the creation, recording and production of the Recordings, Metadata, Compositions and materials.
• You are to every extent responsible for all the Recordings, Metadata, Compositions and other materials uploaded on the Record Union Website.
• The sums paid to you by Record Union is the total compensation in relation to this Agreement for any and all rights granted, including, but not limited to, royalties to Artists, musicians, producers, writers, publishers and all others involved in the creation and production of the Recording, Metadata, Compositions and other material.
• The Recordings are original and do not contain any samples, Compositions or other content and/or creations which have not been cleared and/or authorised to use by you, or in any other way infringe upon the right of any person or third party.
• You have, in the case of a cover version (i.e a recording of a song/lyric for which you are not the author), obtained all relevant consents for such use.
• You shall not commit any act which might prejudice or damage the reputation of Record Union or Record Union Retail Partners or might inhibit, restrict or interfere with the exploitations of the Recordings.
• You shall not attempt to introduce any viruses, trojan horses, spyware, cancelbots or other malicious code into the Website and the Recordings.

When you register at the Website, you will be asked to create a password. You must keep this password confidential. You are responsible for all activities and orders that occur or are submitted under your password. Notify us immediately if you suspect or know that someone is using your password.

If Record Union has reason to believe that that there’s a misuse of your password and likely to be a breach of security on the Website, the Retail Service and the Website, we might ask you to change your password. If you do not, we might suspend your account and terminate your access immediately and without notice to you.

You shall indemnify and hold harmless Record Union, Record Union Retail Partners or any of their affiliates (including any directors, members, employees and other representatives) from and against any and all claims, losses, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including, without limitation, settlement costs, compensations, legal expenses and counsel fees, arising out of any breach or alleged breach by you of the above warranties and representations and/or use of the Recordings, Metadata, Compositions or Materials as permitted in this Agreement through the grant of rights from you to Record Union.

If a claim is made, Record Union shall have the right, in addition to its other rights and remedies, to withhold payment of any monies due hereunder in an amount reasonably related to the claim and potential expenses.

Prohibited uses and termination

You may not use our site for any unlawful purpose or for the following reasons.

• In any way that is or have the purpose to be unlawful or fraudulent.
• For the purpose to harm or attempt to harm minors in any way.

You may not in any way to our Website upload Recordings or Material which may:

• Contain obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory material.
• Promote sexually explicit or violent material.
• Promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability or sexual orientation.
• Promote, advocate or assist in any illegal activity.
• Threaten, harass, upset, embarrass, alarm any other person or invade in their privacy.
• Impersonate any person.

Record Union reserves the right to determine the nature of the Recordings or Materials and if this has breached the above in any way. If we find that a breach has been made, we take such and any action we deem as appropriate.

We may take actions like, but not limited to, immediately, temporary or permanently remove your account and any Recordings or Materials uploaded by you to our site. We fully exclude any liability from breaches of this Agreement which you may have made.

Term and termination

The Term of this Agreement shall be one year from the date we send you the order confirmation. We will automatically renew the Term unless either Party cancels your services with us. The cancellation should be made in written form at least 14 days before the Term expires.

However, if you do not cancel the Term and you fail to provide updated payment method and pay the renewal fee, your Royalty rate will automatically go down to 0%, until payment for the Term is fully made.

This Agreement may be immediately terminated by written notice by any Party if the other Party breaches the Agreements and fails to remedy such breach in full within thirty (30) days from written notice requiring remedy.

Upon termination, we will cease all Services of use and distribution according to this Agreement. We will also inform our Retail Services to remove any and all Recordings, Clips, Artwork and other materials uploaded via our Website. However, we are not responsible for third party exploitation after we have notified them of your termination.

We reserve the right to reject or remove any Recordings or Materials from the Retail Service or Website, that you have uploaded via the Website. This applies for Recordings or Material which damages or may potentially damage Record Union. We are in cases of damage or potential damage entitled to terminate your access to the Retail Service and/or Website immediately and without notice.

Cancellation and refund

Unless otherwise specified, purchases from the Record Union Website are not returnable after purchase. The fees paid for the initial submission and any resubmission are not refundable under any circumstance.

Our rights

We reserve the right to amend, discontinue or terminate the Website and services and this Agreement, at any time without notice. If we do, we will refund you what you have paid in proportion to what services has been performed.

We will not be held responsible for any delay or failure in providing you the services or any kind of loss that were not caused by a breach on our part in accordance with this Agreement, if this is because of actions beyond our reasonable control.

We assume no liability for indirect or consequential damages, loss of data or other inconveniences caused in any way by the use of the Retail Service, the Website or the sale and exploitation of the Recordings, by any temporary or permanent errors in the Services, unless caused by intent or gross negligence of Record Union. The obligation of Record Union to pay damages, in the absence of intent or gross negligence by Record Union, shall be limited to 1 000 USD.

Record Union may assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any third party without your prior written consent. You are not entitled to assign any of your rights and obligations under this Agreement, in whole or in part, without the approval of Record Union.

Record Union A&R

Record Union wants to clarify that the Record Union A&Rs are acting as ambassadors but are in no way acting on our behalf. We are not responsible for how they interact or provide services to you.

Force majeure

We are not responsible or liable for failures in providing any of our services, if they are caused by an event outside our control (“Force majeure”). Force Majeure means an event beyond our control which prevents us from complying with any of our obligations under this Agreement, including but not limited to:

• Fires, earthquakes, tidal waves, floods, war, hostilities, invasion, embargo, revolution, civil war, riot, strikes, lock outs, acts or threats of terrorism, commotion, failures of public or private telecommunication networks, third party force majeure and an epidemic.

In an event of Force Majeure, each Party should contact each other as soon as reasonable, to notify of this and if possible, estimate when due fulfilment can be expected. You may cancel your services with us if your service is affected by Force Majeure, if it has continued for more than 30 days.

Legal

The Terms and Conditions and this Agreement shall be in accordance with the laws and jurisdiction of Sweden. Disputes arising out of, or in connection with this Agreement, shall be settled by the court of Stockholm as first instance.

You agree to indemnify Record Union against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses or expenses that may have occurred as a result of you breaching anything under this Agreement or against any third party rights.

If any part of this Agreement or application of it shall be declared or deemed void, invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part for any reason, it shall be deleted and the remaining provisions, if any, shall continue in full force and effect. If you decide to terminate this Agreement with Record Union, your warrants and liabilities under this Agreement continue in full effect in relation to rights granted by you to Record Union and the Record Union Retail Partners during when this Agreement was in effect.

The Terms and Conditions are effective from the time you start to use the Website and/or the Record Union services. By visiting and using our Website and services you agree to be bound by this Agreement and the terms and conditions set out herein. Any changes to the terms and conditions and this Agreement are effective from the time it is revised and posted, and by continuing to use the Website and the Record Union services you agree to be bound by these changes.