1. Acceptance of these Terms
By creating an account, uploading content, making a purchase, or otherwise accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, which are incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. If you use the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that organization to these Terms.
2. Eligibility and Age
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service as a listener. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may use the Service only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian.
Creators who upload content for sale and receive payouts must be at least 18 years old, because payouts are processed through Stripe Connect, whose terms require account holders to be adults. By registering as a creator you represent that you meet this requirement and that all information you provide to Stripe is accurate.
Note for counsel: confirm the minimum listener age (13 assumed for U.S. COPPA alignment; some jurisdictions require 16 for data-processing consent) and the 18+ creator/Connect requirement against Stripe’s current Connected Account Agreement.
3. Accounts and Authentication
Account creation and sign-in are handled by our authentication provider, Clerk. When you register, Clerk stores and processes your email address, name, and basic profile information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly at contact@droppd.dev if you suspect unauthorized use of your account. You may not share, sell, or transfer your account.
4. Creator Terms
4.1 Ownership of your content
You retain all ownership of the music, cover art, metadata, and other materials you upload ("Creator Content"). DROPPD does not claim ownership of your Creator Content.
4.2 License you grant to DROPPD
To operate the Service, you grant DROPPD a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, encode, stream, publicly perform and display, create previews and thumbnails of, distribute, and sell your Creator Content to listeners through the Service, and to promote your dropps within the Service. This license exists only so that we can run the platform and fulfill purchases; it ends when you remove your Creator Content or close your account, except (a) to the extent needed to complete transactions already in progress, honor licenses already granted to purchasers, or comply with law, and (b) for residual backup copies retained for a limited period.
4.3 Prohibited content
You may not upload content that you do not have the rights to; that infringes intellectual-property rights; that is unlawful, defamatory, hateful, harassing, or that depicts or promotes violence, sexual exploitation of minors, or other illegal activity; that contains malware; or that violates the acceptable-use rules in Section 9.
5. Creator Responsibility, Content Warranties, and Indemnification
This is an important section. If you upload content to DROPPD, it sets out what you promise about that content, that you are solely responsible for it, and your obligation to protect DROPPD if a claim relating to your content arises. Please read it carefully.
5.1 Your rights warranties
You represent and warrant that you own or control, and hold, all rights, licenses, consents, and clearances necessary to upload, host, stream, sell, and otherwise make available your Creator Content through the Service — including all rights in the underlying musical compositions, lyrics, sound recordings, samples, cover art and images, names, likenesses, and any other third-party materials it contains. You further represent and warrant that your Creator Content, and DROPPD’s use of it as permitted by these Terms, does not and will not infringe or violate any third party’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, right of publicity or privacy, moral right, or any other right, and does not violate any law. You are solely responsible for paying any royalties, mechanical or performance licenses, session or musician fees, producer points, and any other amounts owed to co-writers, performers, producers, publishers, labels, rights organizations, or other rights holders in connection with your Creator Content.
5.2 Your sole responsibility; DROPPD is a neutral host
You are solely responsible for your Creator Content and for all consequences of uploading, publishing, distributing, and selling it. DROPPD acts only as a neutral host, technology provider, and marketplace that enables creators to make their content available to listeners. DROPPD does not create, own, endorse, or pre-screen Creator Content, and does not independently verify the rights, accuracy, or legality of any Creator Content. To the fullest extent permitted by law, DROPPD is not responsible or liable for Creator Content or for any claim, loss, or harm arising out of or relating to it. This does not limit DROPPD’s right (but not its obligation) to moderate or remove content under Section 10.
5.3 Indemnification for your content
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless DROPPD and DROPPD LLC, and their owners, officers, directors, affiliates, employees, contractors, and agents (together, the "DROPPD Parties"), from and against any and all claims, demands, disputes, actions, proceedings, damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, settlements, costs, and expenses — including reasonable attorneys’ fees and legal costs — arising out of or related to: (a) your Creator Content, including any claim that it infringes or violates a third party’s intellectual-property, publicity, privacy, or other rights; (b) your breach of any representation, warranty, or obligation in these Terms; (c) your use of the Service; or (d) your violation of any law or any right of a third party. DROPPD may, at its option and expense, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, and you agree to cooperate with DROPPD’s defense of such claims.
5.4 How these protections fit together
These protections operate together with the rest of these Terms — in particular the copyright / DMCA notice-and-takedown and repeat-infringer termination policy in Section 8, the "as is" disclaimers in Section 12, and the limitation of liability in Section 13. Nothing in this section limits any other right or remedy available to the DROPPD Parties.
6. Listener and Purchase Terms
The Service may require you to sign in before purchasing; guest checkout is not available. Previews or samples of a dropp may be offered before purchase.
When you purchase a dropp, you receive a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to stream and, where offered, download and listen to that dropp for your own personal, non-commercial use. You do not acquire ownership of the music or any intellectual-property rights in it. Unless expressly stated, a purchase does not grant you rights to redistribute, publicly perform, broadcast, sync to video, remix, or otherwise commercially exploit the content. Rights are granted by the creator, who is the source of the content; DROPPD facilitates the transaction.
6.1 Buyer access, downloads, and takedowns
What a purchase gives you, in four points:
- Downloads are yours to keep. A file you download stays yours to keep under the personal, non-commercial license in Section 6 of the Terms of Service.
- In-app streaming and download links may be revoked at any time, including when a dropp is removed after a copyright takedown notice. Download a dropp if you want to keep it forever.
- If a dropp is removed after a copyright takedown, we do not issue a refund or a credit for it.
- Creators cannot delete a dropp after it has sales. A creator can unpublish it, and buyers keep access when it is unpublished.
7. Payments and Fees
7.1 Payment processing
Payments are processed by Stripe. DROPPD does not receive or store your full card number; card data is handled directly by Stripe under its own terms and security standards. By purchasing, you agree to Stripe’s applicable terms.
7.2 Platform fee
DROPPD charges creators a platform fee on each sale, based on the creator’s plan tier: 10% on the Basic tier and 5% on the Pro tier. The applicable percentage and tiers may change prospectively as described in Section 15.
7.3 Stripe processing fee
The Stripe payment-processing fee on each transaction is borne by the creator, not by DROPPD. A creator’s net proceeds on a sale are calculated as: gross sale price − Stripe processing fee − DROPPD platform fee.
7.4 Payouts and split payouts
Creator payouts are made through Stripe Connect. To receive payouts, a creator must onboard and maintain a Stripe Connect account and provide the identity, tax, and banking information Stripe requires. Where a dropp has multiple collaborators, proceeds may be split among them via Stripe Connect destination charges according to the split the creator configures. By default, DROPPD pays out creator earnings weekly when your available balance is at least $10; smaller balances carry over to the next week. You may change your payout schedule or pay out your available balance at any time from your Stripe account. Payout timing, holds, reserves, and minimums remain subject to Stripe’s policies.
7.5 Your Stripe account and the Connected Account Agreement
Payout processing is provided by Stripe and is subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Services Agreement (together, the "Stripe Agreement"). By onboarding as a creator and using payout services on DROPPD, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Agreement, as it may be modified by Stripe from time to time. As a condition of DROPPD enabling payout services through Stripe, you agree to provide DROPPD accurate and complete information about you and your business, and you authorize DROPPD to share it, and transaction information related to your use of the payout services, with Stripe.
A creator’s Stripe account is the creator’s own account with Stripe, with its own credentials and its own dashboard. Stripe — not DROPPD — collects and verifies the identity and banking information required to operate it, decides whether to enable payouts, and holds the creator’s balance. DROPPD does not have access to a creator’s Stripe sign-in credentials.
7.6 Payment processing and acquiring
Card transactions on DROPPD are processed by Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates through Stripe’s acquiring bank partners. DROPPD is the merchant of record for purchases made on the Service: the buyer’s payment is made to DROPPD, and DROPPD is the party to any chargeback or dispute the buyer raises with their card issuer. Where a dispute is decided against DROPPD, DROPPD may reverse the corresponding transfer to the creator up to the amount transferred. Information you provide in connection with payments is handled by Stripe under Stripe’s own privacy policy, available at https://stripe.com/privacy.
Note for counsel: confirm (a) the current Stripe Connected Account Agreement / Stripe Services Agreement URLs and whether Stripe requires them to be surfaced as live links at the point of onboarding rather than only in these Terms, and (b) the acquiring-bank disclosure Stripe currently requires for US connected accounts, including whether the acquiring bank(s) must be named.
7.7 Supporter tiers
DROPPD may offer supporter tiers or similar recurring or optional support features. Any recurring charges will be disclosed at sign-up and continue until cancelled.
7.8 Taxes
Creators are solely responsible for determining, collecting (where applicable), reporting, and remitting any taxes arising from their sales, and for any tax filings and forms associated with their Stripe Connect account. DROPPD does not provide tax advice.
8. Intellectual Property, Copyright, and DMCA
8.1 DROPPD’s intellectual property
The Service itself — including the DROPPD name, logo, software, and design — is owned by DROPPD LLC or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. Nothing in these Terms grants you rights in DROPPD’s marks or software except as needed to use the Service.
8.2 Copyright complaints (DMCA)
We respect intellectual-property rights and respond to notices of alleged infringement under 17 U.S.C. §512(c). If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, please submit a written notice to our designated agent that includes all six elements required by 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)(A): (i) your physical or electronic signature; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed; (iii) identification of the allegedly infringing material and its location on the Service; (iv) your contact information; (v) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (vi) a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on their behalf. For full instructions and our online intake form, see our Copyright Policy at /copyright.
DMCA Designated Agent: DROPPD LLC — contact@droppd.dev — 20 Worthington Access Dr, Maryland Heights, MO 63043 — 314-200-5275
8.3 Counter-notice and repeat infringers
If your content is removed in response to a DMCA notice and you believe the removal was a mistake, you may submit a counter-notice under 17 U.S.C. §512(g)(3) to our designated agent at contact@droppd.dev. A valid counter-notice must include: your physical or electronic signature; identification of the removed material and where it appeared; a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed by mistake or misidentification; your contact information; and a consent to jurisdiction. If no court action is filed within 10 to 14 business days of our forwarding your counter-notice to the claimant, we will restore the material. We will terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances, in accordance with our Copyright Policy. For the full procedure see /copyright.
9. Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- violate any law or third-party right;
- upload or distribute infringing, unlawful, or harmful content;
- impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation;
- upload malware or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its systems;
- scrape, harvest, or bulk-download content except as expressly permitted;
- circumvent rate limits, paywalls, previews, or access controls;
- manipulate reactions, follows, rankings, or sales (for example, fake plays or purchases);
- resell or redistribute purchased content; or
- interfere with the operation, security, or integrity of the Service.
10. Content Moderation and Removal
We may, but are not obligated to, review, moderate, refuse, restrict, remove, or disable access to any content, and to limit or remove features, at our discretion — for example where content violates these Terms, is subject to a valid legal complaint, or poses a risk to the Service or its users. Where practicable and lawful, we will aim to notify affected creators.
11. Suspension and Termination
You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or to protect the Service or other users. Upon termination, the rights granted to you end; sections that by their nature should survive (including Sections 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, and 14) survive. Completed purchases and any refund rights are governed by the Refund Policy.
12. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that content will always be available, or that creators’ content is accurate, lawful, or non-infringing. DROPPD is a platform that connects creators and listeners and is not a party to the underlying licensing relationship between them.
13. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the DROPPD Parties will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the Service or to any Creator Content. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability arising out of or related to the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the total amounts you paid to DROPPD in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) USD $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.
14. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of [GOVERNING LAW / JURISDICTION], without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. [Insert agreed dispute-resolution mechanism — for example, venue and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of [JURISDICTION], and/or a binding arbitration clause, class-action waiver, and informal-dispute-resolution period, as finalized by counsel.]
Note for counsel: choice of law, arbitration vs. courts, class-action waiver, and any consumer-protection carve-outs must be selected deliberately for the operating entity’s home jurisdiction and target markets.
15. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will take reasonable steps to notify you (for example, by posting a notice on the Service or updating the "Last updated" date). Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
16. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at contact@droppd.dev, DROPPD LLC, 20 Worthington Access Dr, Maryland Heights, MO 63043.