Terms of service

1. What these terms cover

These terms govern your use of the Hovnect website and platform. Distribution itself, revenue share, commission, advances and term length are set in the distribution agreement you sign inside the platform. Where the two differ, the agreement prevails. These terms are a contract between you and Hovnect ("Hovnect", "we", "us"); by opening an account you accept them.

2. Accounts

An account is opened after Hovnect reviews and accepts your application. You must be at least 18 and able to enter into contracts, and where you act for a company or a label you confirm you have authority to bind it. You are responsible for the people you add to your organisation, for keeping your credentials private and for everything done through your account. Tell us at once if you suspect misuse.

3. Your content and your rights

You keep every right in the music, artwork and other material you upload. You grant Hovnect the non-exclusive rights needed to deliver it to the stores and services you choose, to display it inside the platform and to collect and pay royalties, for the term of your agreement and any wind-down period the stores require.

You warrant that you own or control the rights you are distributing, that every contributor is cleared and credited, that samples are licensed and that nothing you upload infringes anyone's rights or the law, and you will indemnify us against claims arising from a breach of this warranty.

4. Review and delivery

Every submission is checked by a person before delivery. We may ask for changes, and we may decline or remove content that infringes rights, breaks store rules or breaks the law. Stores decide their own timelines and may reject or remove content independently of us.

5. Copyright claims and strikes

If a store, rights holder or Hovnect raises a copyright claim, we tell you and record it against your organisation. Repeated valid claims can lead to suspension under the strike limit in your agreement. You can respond to every claim inside the platform.

6. Money

Royalty statements are imported as immutable ledger entries per currency and shown in your wallet. Payouts are made on request to a verified payout method after any commission, advance recoupment and fees set in your agreement. We may hold a payout while a claim or an audit is open. Plan fees are invoiced as set out in your plan and are exclusive of VAT unless stated; unpaid invoices can pause deliveries.

7. Acceptable use

Do not upload content you have no right to distribute, manipulate streams or store metrics, attempt to access other accounts or data, interfere with the service or use it for anything unlawful.

8. Suspension and termination

Either side can end the relationship as set out in the agreement. We may suspend an account immediately for serious breaches, fraud or legal risk. After termination we complete takedowns, pay outstanding royalties after clearing periods, and keep the records the law requires.

9. Liability

The platform is provided with reasonable care and skill but without guarantees of uninterrupted availability or of any store's acceptance, placement or reporting. Subject to the next sentence, our total liability under or in connection with these terms is limited to the fees you paid us in the twelve months before the claim, and we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business or any indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be limited or excluded under the law of England and Wales.

10. General

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in force. A delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver of it. These terms and your agreement are the whole understanding between us about the platform. No one other than you and Hovnect has rights under these terms, and the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply.

11. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms, and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with them or the platform, are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim.

12. Changes and contact

We may update these terms; material changes are announced in the platform 30 days before they take effect. Questions: hello@northsongs.com.