Terms of Service

1. Company and parties

The Service is provided by Sonar Distribution («Sonar», «we»), website https://sonar-distribution.com. Contact: [email protected].

«User», «you» means the individual or legal entity that registers an account or uses the Service on its own behalf or on behalf of an artist, label, or other rights holder.

2. The Service

The Service is a digital music distribution platform. We accept your audio, artwork, and metadata, moderate submissions, deliver them to digital stores (streaming and download services), surface analytics, and administer royalty accounting and payouts.

Stores (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and others) are independent third parties. Store-side timing, storefront placement, recommendations, and policies are theirs alone. Sonar does not guarantee that a store will ingest, index, or promote a release.

3. Account and age

The Service is for persons 18 years or older (or the age of majority in your country of residence, if higher). By registering, you confirm that you have legal capacity and authority to act for the named artist, label, or rights holder.

• You must provide an accurate name, email, and country and keep them current.
• You are responsible for your password and for all activity in the account.
• One account is for one User. Sharing access without Sonar’s consent is not allowed.
• We may refuse registration, request proof of identity or authority, and suspend an account if we suspect a breach.

4. Distribution licence

By uploading Content (audio, artwork, lyrics, metadata, images, UPC/ISRC identifiers, and related materials) you grant Sonar a royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable, worldwide licence for as long as the release remains in the Service and on stores: to reproduce, communicate to the public, store, transcode, deliver to stores and their sublicensees, and make technical copies and excerpts needed for distribution, previews, moderation, reporting, and rights protection.

Exclusive rights in the Content remain with you or your licensors. We do not claim authorship and do not become your publisher or label unless a separate agreement says so.

5. User warranties

You represent and warrant that:

• you hold all rights needed in the Content, including neighbouring rights of performers and phonogram producers, artwork, samples, covers, and lyrics;
• distribution will not infringe third-party rights, contracts, law, public order, or store rules;
• metadata, AI-generation flags, contributors, and rights holders are stated honestly;
• the Content contains no malware and is not designed to manipulate play-count systems;
• you will pay any sums due to third parties (authors, publishers, neighbouring rights holders) where that is your obligation.

6. Prohibited content and use

• Infringement of copyright, neighbouring rights, trademarks, image rights, or personal data.
• Unlawful content: incitement to violence or extremism, child sexual abuse material, fraud, or trafficking in prohibited goods.
• Spam, artificial streaming, listen farms, or misleading stores or listeners.
• Circumventing moderation, hacking, scraping, or abusing the API and rate limits.
• Malware and content that stores expressly forbid.

AI-assisted music is allowed if you mark it honestly in metadata. We may reject a release if a store or the law requires otherwise.

7. Moderation and takedown

Sonar may review releases before and after delivery, request proof of rights, and reject, delay, or take down Content for a breach of these Terms, store rules, rights-holder complaints, or law. Typical moderation timing is stated on the site and may change.

Removal from stores takes time that third parties control. We are not responsible for delayed takedowns, caches, or copies kept by listeners.

8. Fees and payouts

Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the User receives 90% of royalties that Sonar Distribution actually receives from stores for your Content (after taxes, chargebacks, store and payment-provider fees, and amounts withheld by law or claims). Sonar retains 10% as a distribution and service commission.

• Credits appear in the cabinet after store reports are received and processed. That can lag the listening period by weeks or months.
• Withdrawals require a positive balance and saved payout details. We may set a minimum payout amount.
• Sonar may freeze or adjust a balance if we suspect fraud, store clawbacks, rights-holder claims, or reporting errors.
• You are responsible for taxes in your country of tax residence.

9. API and partners

API access, where granted, is governed by the documentation and these Terms. Keys must not be shared. We may throttle or revoke access for abuse.

10. Service intellectual property

Software, design, trademarks, interface copy, and documentation belong to Sonar or its licensors. You receive a limited, revocable licence to use the Service as intended. Reverse engineering, copying the interface, and using the Sonar Distribution brand without permission are forbidden except where the law expressly allows it.

11. Personal data

Processing of personal data is described in the Privacy Policy. Registration means you have read it. Separate consents are collected where the law of your country requires them.

12. Limitation of liability

The Service is provided «as is». To the fullest extent permitted by law, Sonar does not warrant uninterrupted operation, error-free performance, any particular volume of streams, or any particular revenue.

Sonar is not liable for acts of stores, payment providers, or ISPs, or for indirect loss, lost profits, data loss, or reputational harm. Sonar’s aggregate liability arising out of the Service is limited to the commission actually received from you in the 12 months before the claim, or EUR 100, whichever is greater. This cap does not apply to liability that the law does not allow to be limited (including wilful misconduct, gross negligence, and mandatory consumer rights).

13. Responsibility for your content

If a third party makes a well-founded claim against Sonar because of your Content or your breach of these Terms, you reimburse Sonar for documented direct loss that was actually caused by you. We handle our own defence and do not pass on other people’s fines, legal fees, or settlements as a blanket obligation.

This clause does not apply if the loss was caused by Sonar, and it does not override mandatory consumer protections. In most cases it is enough to take the release down and, if needed, hold related payouts until the claim is resolved.

14. Term, changes, and termination

These Terms apply while the account exists or your Content remains on stores through the Service. You may request account deletion via [email protected]; store takedowns may take additional time.

We may change these Terms by posting a new version on the site. Material changes take effect no sooner than 14 days after posting, unless the law requires otherwise. Continued use of the Service means you accept the new version. We may terminate access immediately for a material breach, fraud, or a legal or store requirement.

15. Governing law and disputes

Unless mandatory rules provide otherwise, these Terms are governed by the law of the country where Sonar Distribution is established. Consumers in the EU/EEA keep protections that cannot be waived under the law of their habitual residence. Mandatory consumer rights in other countries likewise remain available.

The parties will try to resolve disputes by negotiation. Send a notice to [email protected]. If unresolved, the dispute will be heard by a competent court under applicable procedure. EU consumers may use the European Commission ODR platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

16. Miscellaneous

• If a provision is held invalid, the rest remains in force.
• Sonar’s failure to enforce a right is not a waiver.
• You may not assign the contract without Sonar’s consent. Sonar may assign rights in connection with a reorganisation or transfer of the Service.
• These Terms are the entire agreement regarding the Service and replace prior arrangements on the same subject, except separately signed contracts.