Terms of Service

Effective Date: May 1st, 2025

Welcome to Apolone! These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") explain how you can use our services. When you create an account, buy a campaign, or purchase credits, you're agreeing to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use our services.

1. Who We Are and What We Do

Apolone Music Company, located at 16192 Coastal Hwy, Lewes, DE 19958, United States, is here to help independent artists like you connect with real music lovers. We use smart technology to match your music with human curators who manage playlists. Our goal is to help you get genuine streams and grow your audience, without relying on bots or fake engagement.

These Terms apply to all your activities on our platforms, including app.apolone.com, apolone.com, and start.apolone.com, covering everything from building campaigns to using your artist profile.

2. Agreeing to These Terms

By using any part of our service, you're confirming that you understand and agree to these Terms. Think of it as a clear agreement between you and Apolone. If we make changes to these Terms (and we might, as our services evolve), your continued use means you accept those changes. We'll always do our best to let you know about important updates.

3. Who Can Use Apolone (Eligibility & Your Account)

To use Apolone, you need to be at least 18 years old, or have reached the age of adulthood in your area.

For Users Under 18: If you're under 18, you'll need written permission from a parent or guardian before creating an account or submitting any music. We may ask you to fill out a consent form and return it within 3 days if requested. By creating an account, you're confirming that you either:

Are at least 18 years old, OR
Have the required written consent from your parent or guardian

When you sign up, please give us accurate and complete information, and keep it updated. Your account details (like your password) are private, and you're responsible for keeping them safe. If you think someone else is using your account without permission, please tell us right away.

4. Our Services Explained

Apolone provides a matchmaking platform that connects artists with independent human curators. We facilitate the delivery of your song preview link to these curators. Please understand that curators are independent and make their own decisions about what music to add to their playlists. We connect demand with supply, but we don't control their choices.

Here's what we offer:

Playlist Pitching: Our smart AI analyzes your music (genre, mood, potential popularity) to find the best matching playlists and curators for your song (For AI use refer to No AI Training Policy in sec. 7). You choose the pitch tier (playlist size) and how many curators you want to reach. Campaigns start immediately after you submit them, so please double-check everything before you confirm – no cancellations or edits are possible once submitted.

Curator Vetting: We work hard to ensure our network consists of verified human curators. We do not pay curators to influence their content or guarantee placement. Our platform is designed to connect you with genuine opportunities.

Real Growth Strategies: Our campaigns focus on getting your music in front of real listeners, not bots. We aim for authentic engagement that helps you build a lasting fanbase.

Credit System: You can purchase credits or pre-built campaigns to use our services. Credits do not expire and their cost depends on the quantity purchased and any special offers. Credits are for use on our platform only and are not legal tender, crypto, tokens, or stocks.

We're always working to improve our services, so we might change, limit, or stop certain features. We'll always try to give you advance notice if this happens.

5. Our Guarantees, Your Refunds, and Important Disclaimers

We stand by our service and want you to feel confident. Here's what we guarantee and how our refund policy works:

Minimum Stream Guarantee: We guarantee at least 500 new streams from your campaign. If this minimum isn't met within the agreed campaign period, we'll continue promoting your track at no extra cost until it is.

Authenticity Guarantee: We promise to only place your music on real, active playlists with engaged listeners. We have a strict zero-tolerance policy against bot-generated streams or artificial engagement. If we find any suspicious activity related to bots or fake engagement, we'll investigate immediately. If confirmed, we may end the campaign without a refund and terminate the curator involved. We strongly encourage all artists to report any suspicious curator activity or playlists that seem to use bots.

Refund & Re-Pitching Policy (Store Credit Only)

Refunds are issued as store credit only and only in these specific situations:

No Response (within 96 hours): If a curator doesn't respond to your pitch within 96 hours, we'll re-assign your pitch to another curator. If we can't find a suitable replacement, we'll issue a refund in store credit.
No Placement After Acceptance: If a curator accepts your track but never actually adds it to their playlist.
Early Removal: If your track is removed from a playlist before the agreed minimum period.
Suspicious Curator Activity: If you report suspicious curator or playlist activity, and our investigation confirms it, we will refund/re-pitch your campaign and terminate the curator.

Situations Not Eligible for Refund:

Declined Pitches: Curators make their own choices, and their decision to decline a pitch is final and not eligible for a refund.
Low Streams or Low Engagement: We provide pitching opportunities, but we cannot guarantee specific stream counts or engagement levels beyond our Minimum Stream Guarantee.
Fewer Responses Than Expected: The number of curator responses can vary and is not a basis for a refund.
Campaigns Older Than 14 Days: Refund requests must be made within 14 days of your campaign's completion.
Subjective Dissatisfaction: If you're simply unhappy with the results or they don't meet your personal expectations, this is not eligible for a refund.

How to Request a Refund:

Refund requests must be made within 14 days of your campaign's completion and must include:

Your Campaign ID
A clear description of the issue
Screenshots or links as evidence

We will respond to your refund request within 72 hours.

Disclaimer: While we work hard to get you great results, Apolone doesn't guarantee viral success, specific chart positions, or any particular level of commercial success. Our services are about providing genuine exposure and growth within the music industry. The actual results can vary depending on your music's quality, your target audience, market trends, and other factors outside our control.

Investigation Process for Complex Issues:

For situations requiring investigation (like suspicious curator activity or technical issues), here's what to expect:

Investigation Timeline: While we respond to all refund requests within 72 hours, complex investigations may take up to 7 additional days to complete thoroughly.
What We'll Do: We'll keep you updated throughout the investigation process. If we need additional information from you, we'll explain exactly what we need and why.
Our Commitment: We take all reports seriously, especially those involving curator misconduct or technical problems that affect your campaign results.

6. Your Responsibilities and What Not to Do

When you use Apolone, you agree to:

Follow all applicable laws and regulations, especially those related to copyright and intellectual property.
Always provide accurate and truthful information.
Respect everyone's intellectual property rights. Make sure any content you submit doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights.

Things You Must NOT Do (Prohibited Conduct):

Don't submit content you don't own: This includes music or any other material that infringes on someone else's copyrights, trademarks, privacy, or other rights. If you submit music you don't own, you are fully responsible for any legal claims that arise from that action.
No system manipulation: Don't try to manipulate our system or scoring, or interfere with how our services work. This includes introducing viruses, malware, or any harmful code.
No harassment: Don't harass curators, our staff, or other users.
No fake content: Don't upload fake, AI-generated, stolen, or malicious content.
No bypassing Apolone: Don't try to contact curators directly outside our platform to influence playlist content or offer incentives.
No artificial engagement: Don't use bots, automated scripts, or any other unauthorized methods to generate fake streams, plays, followers, or any other artificial engagement.
No reselling our service: Don't reproduce, copy, sell, or resell any part of our service for commercial purposes without our written permission.
Don't impersonate anyone: Don't pretend to be someone else or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
Don't collect user data: Don't collect or store personal data about other users for any prohibited activities.

If you violate these rules, we may immediately suspend or terminate your account and services, without a refund. Serious or repeated violations could also lead to permanent bans and legal action.

Respecting Our Community:

Constructive Feedback Only: While we welcome feedback about our service, we ask that you keep criticism constructive and professional. This helps us improve while maintaining a positive environment for all artists.

Public Communications: We appreciate honest reviews and feedback about your experience. However, please avoid making false or misleading statements about our service, our team, or other users.

Protected Rights: This doesn't limit your right to:

Leave honest reviews on review platforms
Report illegal activity to authorities
Exercise any legal rights that can't be waived
Comply with legal orders or regulations

7. Your Music, Our Platform: Content Ownership & Rights

You always own your music. You keep full legal ownership of all content you submit to Apolone. We do not download or store your music files.

When you submit your music, you give Apolone a limited permission (a "license") to use your content only for specific purposes related to our service:

Displaying your track info: We can display your track's metadata (like song name, artist name, and artwork) during your campaign.
Using positive feedback: We can use positive feedback from curators in our marketing materials to show how effective our service is.

Important: We will never use your music to train our AI models or transfer it to third parties for analysis. This is a common concern for artists, and we want to assure you that your creative work is safe with us.

You confirm that you have all the necessary rights and permissions to grant us this license and that your content doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights. You agree to protect Apolone from any claims if your content does infringe on a third party's intellectual property rights.

Additional Content Protections (No AI Training Policy)

AI Training Protection: We will never use your music to train our AI models or transfer it to third parties for analysis. Your creative work stays yours, and we respect that.
Content Investigation: If someone claims you've submitted content you don't have rights to, we'll investigate fairly. We may temporarily suspend the content while we look into it, but we'll work with you to resolve any legitimate disputes.
Your Guarantee to Us: By submitting music, you're confirming that you own all the necessary rights or have permission to use the content. You also confirm that your submission doesn't break any laws or infringe on anyone else's rights.

8. Payments, Billing & Credits

Campaigns are paid for either directly or by using credits you've purchased. We'll provide all the details about pricing and payment methods when you make a purchase. All payments are due before we start providing the service.

Minimum Purchase: There might be a minimum purchase requirement, for example, $10 or its equivalent.
No Refunds on Unused Credits: Once purchased, credits cannot be refunded, but they never expire and can always be used for future campaigns.
Chargebacks: Chargebacks are strictly prohibited. By agreeing to these terms, you waive your right to initiate chargebacks under your card processor's terms of service (e.g., Stripe) for services rendered.
Invoices: Invoices are issued only for completed transactions.

9. Your Data and Privacy

How We Protect Your Information: We're committed to keeping your data secure using industry-standard protection measures. This includes technical safeguards and organizational policies to prevent unauthorized access, loss, or misuse of your information.

Third-Party Tools We Use: To provide you with the best service, we use trusted third-party tools for things like:

Email delivery and communications
Analytics to improve our platform
Payment processing
Customer support systems

By using Apolone, you agree that these trusted partners can process your data according to their privacy policies. We only work with reputable companies that meet our security standards.

How We Use Your Data: We may use your information to:

Improve our platform and matching algorithms
Provide customer support
Send you important updates about your campaigns
Conduct research on music industry trends (always anonymized)

Your Communication Preferences: You can control what communications you receive from us in your account settings. While you can opt out of promotional emails, we'll still need to send you important service-related messages.

10. Account Termination & Abuse

We may suspend or close your account, and any associated email address, without prior notice if:

You violate these Terms.
You engage in fraudulent or illegal activities.
Your account is inactive for a long time.

Once your account is terminated, you won't be able to use our services. Any parts of these Terms that are meant to continue even after termination (like ownership rights, disclaimers, and liability limits) will remain in effect.

11. Limiting Our Responsibility (Liability & Disclaimers)

We provide a platform to help you connect with curators, but we don't guarantee specific outcomes. Apolone is not responsible for:

The actions or decisions of independent curators.
Specific placement decisions on playlists.
Any damage to your artist reputation, including but not limited to takedowns by Spotify or other digital streaming platforms (DSPs) due to content you submitted that you did not have rights to.

Our maximum responsibility for any damages is limited to the amount you have paid to Apolone for the specific service that caused the issue. We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, such as lost profits or data, even if we've been advised of the possibility of such damages.

12. Protecting Apolone (Indemnification)

You agree to protect Apolone Music Company, our partners, employees, and directors from any claims, damages, or expenses (including legal fees) that arise because of:

Your use of our services.
Your violation of these Terms.
Any content you post or submit through our services, especially if it infringes on someone else's intellectual property rights.

13. How We Resolve Disputes (Governing Law & Arbitration)

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States. If there's a disagreement, we'll resolve it through binding arbitration in Lewes, Delaware, following the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. This means disputes will be settled by an arbitrator, not in court with a jury. You agree that there will be no class actions. Each party will pay their own legal costs. However, either party can still go to court for urgent matters like seeking an injunction while arbitration is pending.

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. If we make a significant change, we'll give you at least 30 days' notice, usually by email or a clear announcement on our platform. A "material change" is something important that affects your rights or obligations. If you continue to use our services after the new Terms take effect, it means you agree to them. If you don't agree, please stop using our services. We'll explicitly tell you about your option to object and what happens if you don't.

15. Other Important Details (Miscellaneous)

Entire Agreement: These Terms are the complete agreement between you and Apolone about our services. They replace any previous discussions or agreements.

Waiver and Severability: If we don't immediately enforce a part of these Terms, it doesn't mean we're giving up our right to do so later. If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid, the rest of the Terms will still apply.

Assignment: You can't transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone else without our written permission. We can transfer these Terms at our discretion.

Uncontrollable Events (Force Majeure): Sometimes things happen that are completely outside anyone's control - like natural disasters, server outages, pandemics, wars, or major internet disruptions. If events like these prevent us (or you) from fulfilling our obligations under these Terms, we won't be held responsible for delays or inability to perform.

If such an event occurs, the affected party should notify the other as soon as possible about the situation and expected delays. We'll both work reasonably to minimize the impact and get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

Neither party will be liable for damages caused by these uncontrollable events, but we'll do our best to resume normal service as soon as we can.

16. Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy

Apolone respects intellectual property rights, and we expect our users to do the same. If we find that a user repeatedly infringes on copyrights, we may, at our discretion, terminate their account. We may also limit access or terminate accounts of users who infringe on intellectual property rights, even if it's not a repeat offense.

If you believe your copyrighted work has been copied or used on our service in a way that infringes your copyright, please send a notice to our Copyright Agent. To be valid under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), your notice must include:

An electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or someone authorized to act on their behalf.
A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed.
If multiple works are involved, a list of those works.
Identification of the material that is infringing and where it can be found on our service.
Your contact information (address, phone number, email).
A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on their behalf.

Please contact our Copyright Agent at:

Apolone Music Company
16192 Coastal Hwy, Lewes, DE 19958, United States
Email: team@apolone.com

17. Get in Touch (Contact Us)

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please don't hesitate to contact us at:

Apolone Music Company
16192 Coastal Hwy, Lewes, DE 19958, United States