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Terms of Service

These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of TIM — a platform that helps independent artists plan releases, run AI-assisted rollout campaigns, connect and analyze their audience data, and access funding.

1. Acceptance of these Terms

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and The Indie Machine (“TIM,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), the operator of the TIM platform, websites, applications, and related services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, messaging the TIM chatbot, connecting a third-party platform, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

If you use the Service on behalf of a band, label, management company, or other entity, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms on that entity’s behalf.

2. What TIM provides

TIM gives independent artists tools that would normally require a full record-label team, including:

  • AI-assisted release planning and rollout campaigns (the “TIM chatbot” and campaign studio);
  • The ability to submit releases and metadata for distribution to digital streaming platforms through our distribution partner;
  • Analytics and audience insights aggregated from streaming and social platforms you choose to connect;
  • Access to funding tools such as advances and payouts, where you qualify and where offered.

The Service is provided for professional and creative use by musical artists and their representatives. We may add, change, or remove features at any time.

3. Eligibility & accounts

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, to create an account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, for keeping your login credentials secure, and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly at support@theindiemachine.io if you suspect unauthorized use.

To access certain features — including verified analytics, funding, or payouts — we may require you to verify your identity or your ownership of an artist profile. You agree to provide accurate verification information and authorize us to confirm it.

4. Your content & ownership

You keep 100% of your masters and your rights. TIM does not claim ownership of your music, artwork, lyrics, metadata, or any other material you upload or create using the Service (your “Content”).

You grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process, and transmit your Content solely as needed to operate and provide the Service — for example, to deliver your release to our distribution partner, to display your analytics back to you, or to let the TIM chatbot reason over your catalog. This license ends when you delete the relevant Content or close your account, except where retention is required to complete a pending distribution, meet a legal obligation, or as described in our Privacy Policy.

You represent that you own or have all necessary rights to your Content and that it does not infringe any third party’s intellectual property, publicity, or other rights.

5. Release submissions & distribution

When you submit a release through TIM, you authorize us and our distribution partner to deliver your recording and metadata to the digital service providers and stores you select. Distribution is subject to each store’s content, metadata, and quality requirements, and delivery timelines are not guaranteed. We may decline or remove a submission that appears to be fraudulent, infringing, or in violation of a store’s rules.

You are responsible for holding all rights required to distribute a release, including rights to any samples, features, or third-party material.

6. Connected platforms & third-party services

TIM lets you connect third-party accounts — such as Spotify, SoundCloud, Instagram (Meta), TikTok, and YouTube (Google) — so that TIM can retrieve your audience, engagement, and content data on your behalf. When you connect a platform, you authorize TIM to access that data through the platform’s official API, using the permissions you grant during the connection flow.

Your use of each connected platform through TIM is also governed by that platform’s own terms, including:

You can disconnect any platform at any time from your TIM settings, and you can also revoke TIM’s access directly from the platform (for example, from your Google account permissions). TIM is not responsible for third-party platforms, and their availability or data may change without notice.

7. AI features & the TIM chatbot

TIM includes AI-powered features, including a chatbot that generates release strategy, content ideas, and analysis. AI output is generated automatically and may be inaccurate, incomplete, or not suitable for your situation. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not professional, legal, financial, or tax advice. You are responsible for reviewing AI output before relying on or acting on it.

To provide these features, your messages and relevant account data may be processed by our AI service providers, as described in our Privacy Policy. You agree not to use the AI features to generate unlawful, infringing, or abusive content.

8. Funding, advances & payouts

Where offered, TIM may make funding available — such as advances against future royalties — and may facilitate payouts of amounts owed to you. Funding is discretionary, subject to eligibility, verification, and separate funding terms presented to you at the time of any offer. A funding score, projection, or estimate shown in the Service is not an offer, guarantee, or commitment to provide funds.

TIM is not a bank and does not provide investment, lending, or financial advice. Advances and payouts may be subject to identity verification, anti-fraud, anti-money-laundering, and tax requirements, and to the terms of our payment and banking partners.

9. Plans, fees & billing

TIM offers free and paid plans. Paid plans are billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annually) until cancelled. Some plans also include a revenue share on streaming income, as described in the pricing information presented at the time you subscribe. Fees are non-refundable except where required by law. You authorize us and our payment processor to charge your payment method for all applicable fees. We may change our fees on a going-forward basis with reasonable notice.

10. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • upload, distribute, or generate content you do not have the rights to, or that infringes, defames, or violates any law;
  • misrepresent your identity, artist ownership, streams, or engagement, or engage in streaming fraud or artificial manipulation of metrics;
  • attempt to access data or accounts that are not yours, or use the Service to access another platform’s data in violation of that platform’s terms;
  • reverse engineer, scrape, overload, or interfere with the Service or its security;
  • resell, sublicense, or use the Service to build a competing product.

11. TIM intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, branding, and content (excluding your Content), is owned by The Indie Machine and its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service in accordance with these Terms. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

12. Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that any analytics, projection, or AI output will be accurate. Distribution, third-party data, and funding outcomes are not guaranteed.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, The Indie Machine and its affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amounts you paid to us in the twelve months before the claim, or US $100.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Indie Machine and its affiliates from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your Content, your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right, including any connected platform’s terms.

15. Suspension & termination

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, if required by law or a platform partner, or to protect the Service or other users. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ends; sections that by their nature should survive (including ownership, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and indemnification) will survive.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice through the Service or by other reasonable means and update the “Effective date” above. Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

17. Governing law & disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You agree to resolve any dispute in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, unless applicable law requires otherwise. Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you may have under mandatory consumer-protection laws in your place of residence.

18. Contact us

Questions about these Terms? Contact us at legal@theindiemachine.io or support@theindiemachine.io.