CHRT TERMS OF SERVICE
1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS
These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and CHRT Music LLC, a New Mexico limited liability company ("CHRT," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of chrtmusic.com and all related applications and services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, submitting a track, viewing or listening to content, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to the Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Contest Rules, and Submission Agreement, each incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
2. ELIGIBILITY
You must be at least 13 years old to create an account and use the Service. If you are between 13 and the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you represent that a parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf. Submitting a track to the chart specifically requires that you be at least 18 years old, as confirmed by the declarations you make at the time of submission. We may require additional verification of age or identity at any time and may suspend or terminate accounts where eligibility cannot be confirmed.
3. YOUR ACCOUNT
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to provide accurate information and to notify us promptly of any unauthorized use of your account. We are not liable for any loss arising from your failure to safeguard your credentials.
4. THE SERVICE
CHRT is a platform for discovering and competing with AI-generated music. The Service organizes music submissions into recurring competitive periods ("Seasons") and ranks tracks based on verified listener engagement. Verified plays, rankings, certifications, and Season outcomes are determined solely by CHRT using methodology we may update at any time, in our sole discretion, to preserve the integrity of the Service. CHRT does not guarantee any particular ranking, certification, outcome, or level of visibility for any submission.
5. SUBMISSIONS AND CONTENT LICENSE
a. Ownership. As between you and CHRT, you retain all ownership rights in any track, recording, lyrics, title, artwork, image, video, or other content you submit to or make available through the Service ("User Content"), subject to the license below.
b. License grant. By submitting User Content, you grant CHRT a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, stream, promote, and create excerpts or derivative formats (e.g., waveform visualizations, short promotional clips, thumbnails) of your User Content, in connection with operating, promoting, and improving the Service, including on third-party platforms for promotional purposes (e.g., social media). This license survives removal of your account to the extent necessary for CHRT to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and maintain archival records of past Season results.
c. Your representations. By submitting User Content, you represent and warrant that: (i) you created the content or otherwise own or control all rights necessary to grant the license above; (ii) the content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third party's intellectual property, publicity, privacy, contractual, or other rights; (iii) the content was generated using AI tools and does not include unauthorized samples, recorded performances, or copyrighted material you do not have the right to use; (iv) the content complies with the Content Standards in Section 6 and with all applicable laws; and (v) you have obtained every consent, release, and permission necessary for the content and its use as contemplated by these Terms.
d. No obligation to host. CHRT has no obligation to display, feature, or continue hosting any User Content and may remove, disable, restrict, or disqualify any submission at any time, for any reason or no reason, including suspected infringement, rule violations, Content Standards violations, or integrity concerns, without notice or liability to you.
6. CONTENT STANDARDS
You are solely responsible for all User Content you submit, including audio, lyrics, titles, handles, images, cover art, and video. You agree not to submit, upload, or make available through the Service any content that:
a. is unlawful, or promotes, facilitates, or depicts any illegal act;
b. depicts, describes, or in any way involves the sexual exploitation or abuse of minors — this is strictly prohibited, will be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and/or law enforcement as required by law, and results in immediate permanent removal;
c. is pornographic or sexually explicit, or is obscene;
d. is hateful, or harasses, threatens, defames, degrades, or incites violence or hatred against any person or group, including on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic;
e. is defamatory, libelous, or knowingly false in a manner that harms another;
f. is graphically violent, or glorifies or encourages violence, terrorism, self-harm, suicide, or the abuse of any person or animal;
g. infringes, misappropriates, or violates any third party's intellectual property, publicity, privacy, or other rights, including any content that uses another person's name, voice, likeness, or persona without authorization;
h. contains malware, or is designed to interfere with, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to the Service or any system or data; or
i. violates any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right.
CHRT may determine, in its sole discretion, whether User Content violates these Content Standards, and may remove content and/or terminate accounts for any violation. These Content Standards set a floor, not a ceiling — CHRT may remove content it finds objectionable even if not specifically listed above.
7. PROHIBITED CONDUCT
You agree not to: (a) submit content you do not have the rights to submit or that violates the Content Standards; (b) attempt to manipulate play counts, rankings, certifications, or Season outcomes through automated tools, bots, fraudulent accounts, paid or incentivized listening schemes, or any other artificial means; (c) interfere with or disrupt the Service, its infrastructure, or other users' use of the Service; (d) reverse engineer, scrape, or attempt to circumvent any security, verification, or rate-limiting mechanism; (e) impersonate any person or entity; (f) upload malicious code; or (g) use the Service for any unlawful purpose. Any violation may result in immediate, permanent removal from the Service without notice or refund, consistent with the declarations you make at submission.
8. USER CONTENT; NO ENDORSEMENT; NO OBLIGATION TO MONITOR
The Service hosts content created and submitted by users and generated by third-party artificial-intelligence tools. CHRT is a provider of an interactive computer service and is not the creator, author, publisher, or speaker of User Content. User Content reflects the views and choices of the user who submitted it, not those of CHRT, and CHRT does not endorse, verify, adopt, or guarantee any User Content or its accuracy, legality, quality, or safety.
CHRT does not pre-screen or approve User Content before it is made available, and any automated tools, filters, AI safeguards, or "guardrails" the Service uses are imperfect by nature and may fail to detect or prevent content that is offensive, objectionable, infringing, inaccurate, unlawful, or otherwise in violation of these Terms. You acknowledge that you may be exposed to such content and that CHRT is not responsible or liable for it.
CHRT reserves the right, but assumes no obligation, to monitor, review, filter, moderate, remove, restrict, or edit User Content, at any time and in its sole discretion. The exercise or non-exercise of this right does not make CHRT the publisher of any User Content, does not create any duty to any user or third party, and does not waive any protection available to CHRT, including under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230) and similar laws.
9. AI-GENERATED CONTENT
The Service is built around music and visuals produced by third-party AI tools operated by others. You understand that AI systems can produce unexpected, unpredictable, biased, offensive, inaccurate, or infringing output, and that CHRT neither creates, controls, directs, nor reviews the output of any AI tool used to make User Content. CHRT makes no representation or warranty regarding any AI-generated content and disclaims all responsibility and liability for it to the maximum extent permitted by law. You are solely responsible for the content you generate with AI tools and submit to the Service, and for compliance with those tools' own terms.
10. ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND RELEASE
You access and use the Service, and view, listen to, and interact with User Content, at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by law, you release, waive, and discharge CHRT and its officers, members, managers, employees, contractors, and agents (the "CHRT Parties") from any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, and liabilities of every kind, known or unknown, arising out of or relating to: (a) any User Content, including content that is offensive, objectionable, infringing, defamatory, unlawful, or harmful; (b) the conduct of any user or third party; and (c) any interaction or dispute between you and any other user. If you are a California resident, you expressly waive California Civil Code Section 1542 (and any similar law in any jurisdiction), which says: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."
11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF CHRT
The Service, including its software, design, branding, "CHRT" name and logo, and all related intellectual property (excluding User Content), is owned by CHRT or its licensors and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right to use CHRT's trademarks, logos, or branding without our prior written consent.
12. COPYRIGHT COMPLAINTS (DMCA)
If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice containing: (i) your physical or electronic signature; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (iii) identification of the allegedly infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to locate it; (iv) your contact information; (v) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized; and (vi) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner, to: Alexander Rudman, Copyright Agent, CHRT Music LLC, 1209 Mountain Road Pl NE, Ste N, Albuquerque, NM 87110, legal@chrtmusic.com. We reserve the right to remove content and terminate repeat infringers' accounts.
13. REPORTING OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT
If you encounter User Content you believe violates the Content Standards or these Terms, you may report it to legal@chrtmusic.com or through any in-Service reporting tool. We may, but are not obligated to, investigate and take action in our sole discretion. Reporting content does not obligate us to remove it or create any duty owed to you or any third party.
14. NO CASH PRIZES; PROMOTIONAL NATURE OF THE CHART
CHRT does not award cash prizes, monetary compensation, or anything of monetary value for chart placement, certification, or Season outcomes. Recognition on the Service (rankings, certifications, "Season Champion" status, and similar designations) is reputational only. Additional rules governing the chart competition are set out in the CHRT Contest Rules, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference.
15. CHRT PRO SUBSCRIPTION; BILLING
a. What CHRT Pro is. CHRT offers an optional paid subscription ("CHRT Pro") that unlocks additional creator features, which may include expanded analytics, a higher or unlimited monthly submission allowance, additional profile customization options, and a badge indicating Pro status. The specific features included in CHRT Pro may change from time to time; we will describe the current features on the Service before you subscribe.
b. Chart integrity is not for sale. CHRT Pro is a paid tier for creator tools, account features, and submission capacity — never for competitive outcomes. Every track, regardless of whether its owner has CHRT Pro, is scored, ranked, and certified under the exact same rules and the exact same verified-play methodology. A CHRT Pro subscription may let you submit more tracks in a given period, but it does not affect, and cannot be used to affect, the ranking, play count, certification, or Season outcome of any individual track. Section 4 (methodology determined solely by CHRT) and Section 7 (prohibition on manipulating rankings by artificial means) apply equally to Pro and non-Pro accounts and to every submission a Pro account makes.
c. Billing and auto-renewal. CHRT Pro is billed in advance on a recurring basis (monthly, or another interval we display at checkout) at the price shown to you at the time you subscribe. YOUR SUBSCRIPTION WILL AUTOMATICALLY RENEW AT THE END OF EACH BILLING PERIOD, AND YOU WILL BE CHARGED THE THEN-CURRENT SUBSCRIPTION PRICE FOR THE SERVICE, UNLESS YOU CANCEL BEFORE THE RENEWAL DATE. If we change the price of CHRT Pro, we will give you advance written notice (by email or through the Service) of at least the period required by applicable law, and in no event less than 14 days, before the new price takes effect on your next renewal. Where applicable law requires your affirmative consent to a price increase rather than permitting continued use to serve as consent, we will obtain that consent before charging the new price; otherwise, continuing your subscription after the new price takes effect constitutes your acceptance of it, and you may cancel before that date to avoid the change.
d. Payment processing; role of the payment processor. CHRT Pro payments are processed by a third-party payment processor, Paddle, engaged as merchant of record for CHRT Pro subscriptions. As merchant of record, the payment processor — not CHRT — is the seller of record for the transaction: it collects your payment details directly, determines and collects applicable sales tax/VAT, and its own terms of service and refund/dispute procedures also apply to your purchase alongside these Terms. CHRT does not receive, process, or store your full payment card number or other payment credentials. See the Privacy Policy for more detail on what billing-related information CHRT itself does receive.
e. Cancellation. You may cancel CHRT Pro at any time through the self-service billing management tool available in your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current paid billing period; you will retain CHRT Pro access through that period, and your subscription will not renew afterward. We design this self-service cancellation path to require no more steps than subscribing did.
f. Refunds. CHRT Pro comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee, described in full in our Refund Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you are located in a jurisdiction that grants a statutory right to withdraw from or cancel a digital subscription within a certain period (for example, the withdrawal rights available to consumers in the European Union and United Kingdom), that right applies to the extent required by law and is not limited by our Refund Policy.
g. Failed payments and suspension. If a payment for CHRT Pro fails, we (or our payment processor) may retry the charge and may place your account into a temporary grace period. If payment is not successfully collected before that grace period ends, your CHRT Pro access will end and your account will revert to the free tier; your submissions and other User Content are not affected by this reversion.
h. Taxes. Subscription prices may be exclusive or inclusive of applicable sales tax, use tax, VAT, or similar charges depending on your location; any such tax will be disclosed and collected at checkout as required by law.
16. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
THE SERVICE AND ALL USER CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. CHRT DOES NOT WARRANT AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LEGALITY, ACCURACY, QUALITY, SAFETY, OR APPROPRIATENESS OF ANY USER CONTENT, INCLUDING WHETHER IT IS OFFENSIVE, OBJECTIONABLE, OR INFRINGING. CHRT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, THAT USER CONTENT WILL BE SCREENED OR MODERATED, OR THAT ANY RANKING, PLAY COUNT, OR CERTIFICATION WILL BE ACCURATE OR FREE FROM MANIPULATION BY THIRD PARTIES, THOUGH WE TAKE COMMERCIALLY REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE LATTER. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
17. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW: (A) THE CHRT PARTIES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, OR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO USER CONTENT OR THE CONDUCT OF ANY USER OR THIRD PARTY, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF CHRT HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES; AND (B) THE CHRT PARTIES' TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (i) THE TOTAL AMOUNT, IF ANY, YOU PAID TO CHRT IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (ii) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ON WHICH A CLAIM IS BASED AND EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE LIMITED, INCLUDING LIABILITY FOR GROSS NEGLIGENCE, FRAUD, OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT WHERE APPLICABLE LAW PROHIBITS SUCH A LIMITATION.
18. INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the CHRT Parties from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, judgments, fines, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs) arising out of or related to: (a) your User Content, including any claim that it is offensive, unlawful, defamatory, or infringing, or that it violates the Content Standards; (b) your use or misuse of the Service; (c) your violation of these Terms, the Submission Agreement, or the Contest Rules; (d) your violation of any third-party right, including intellectual property, publicity, or privacy rights; or (e) your violation of any applicable law. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with our defense; you will not settle any such matter without our prior written consent. This Section survives termination.
19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION; ARBITRATION; CLASS ACTION WAIVER
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY — IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.
a. Agreement to arbitrate. You and CHRT agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved through binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its rules then in effect, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual action in small claims court if it qualifies.
b. Class action waiver. YOU AND CHRT AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.
c. Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to legal@chrtmusic.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.
d. Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except where such laws are preempted by or inconsistent with applicable arbitration law.
20. TERMINATION
We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Service at any time, with or without cause or notice, including for violation of these Terms. Termination does not relieve you of any payment obligation for CHRT Pro charges already incurred. You may stop using the Service and request account deletion at any time through your account settings. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including the license in Section 5(b) and Sections 8 through 19) will survive.
21. CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
We may modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be notified through the Service or by email. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
22. GENERAL
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Contest Rules, and Submission Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and CHRT regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. CHRT's failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of that provision. You may not assign these Terms; CHRT may assign these Terms without restriction.
23. CONTACT
Questions about these Terms can be sent to legal@chrtmusic.com.