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Music Localhost

Terms of Service

Music Localhost · Operated by SuperDarkCode Labs (Pvt) Ltd

Version 1.1 · Effective 25 May 2026 · SHA-256 5b87b6076906…

Music Localhost — Terms and Conditions

Version 1.1 Effective Date: 25 May 2026 Operator: SuperDarkCode Labs (Private) Limited, trading as Music Localhost D-U-N-S® Number: 631177843

Key Points (please read before accepting)

By clicking "I Agree" you confirm you have read and accepted these Terms. If you upload music, you additionally accept Sections 5–10 (the Artist Terms). You will be asked to accept these again at the moment you first upload.

1. Parties, Definitions & Scope

1.1 These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you ("User", "Artist", "you") and SuperDarkCode Labs (Private) Limited, a company registered in Zimbabwe, trading as Music Localhost ("Platform", "Music Localhost", "we", "us", "our").

1.2 Definitions:

1.3 These Terms apply to every person who accesses or uses the Platform's website, mobile apps, Telegram or WhatsApp bots, APIs, or any other service offered by SuperDarkCode Labs (Pvt) Ltd under the "Music Localhost" brand.

2. Account & Eligibility

2.1 You must be at least 18 years old to create an Artist account. Minors may use the Platform with written consent from a legal guardian, which the Platform may require documentary evidence of.

2.2 You agree to provide accurate, complete, and current information when registering, and to keep your information up to date. Impersonating another person, or uploading content under your account on behalf of another person without documented authority, is a material breach and grounds for immediate termination.

2.3 You are responsible for safeguarding your login credentials. The Platform is not liable for loss or damage arising from unauthorised use of your account.

2.4 Music Localhost is primarily intended for Zimbabwean Artists and audiences. Use from other jurisdictions is permitted, but it is your responsibility to comply with the laws of your own jurisdiction.

2.5 Know Your Customer (KYC). Before processing any payout, the Platform may require Artists and Producers to complete identity verification, including: a government-issued identification document, a selfie photograph for biometric matching, proof of address, beneficial-owner information for company accounts, and banking or EcoCash payout details. KYC is required to comply with anti-money-laundering ("AML") obligations, prevent fraud, and ensure royalties reach the rightful recipient. Until KYC is complete, payouts will be held in trust on your behalf. KYC documents are encrypted at rest and access is restricted to authorised compliance personnel on a need-to-know basis.

2.6 Sanctions Screening. The Platform screens accounts against United Nations, OFAC, EU, and United Kingdom sanctions lists, and against Politically Exposed Person (PEP) registers. The Platform may decline registration, suspend payouts, or terminate accounts that match a designated person or jurisdiction. You represent and warrant that you are not located in, ordinarily resident in, or a national of any country or jurisdiction subject to comprehensive sanctions; that you do not appear on any consolidated sanctions or denied-persons list; and that you will not use the Platform in violation of applicable export-control or anti-money-laundering laws.

3. General Use & Conduct

3.1 You will not:

(a) Use the Platform for any illegal purpose; (b) Upload, stream, or distribute any content that infringes a third party's intellectual property, publicity, privacy, or other rights; (c) Upload content that is defamatory, threatening, hateful, obscene, harassing, or that promotes violence or unlawful activity; (d) Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or interfere with the Platform's infrastructure, security, or source code; (e) Use bots, click farms, incentivised streaming, or any automated means to inflate streams, likes, plays, or engagement.

3.2 Artificial stream manipulation of any kind is grounds for immediate termination and forfeiture of outstanding Royalties.

3.3 You will not upload Tracks that are under an exclusive distribution agreement with a third party without first terminating that agreement.

4. Purchases, Payments & Memberships

4.1 Purchases of beats, licences, and memberships are processed via Pesepay or other payment gateways. You are responsible for gateway fees and currency-conversion charges unless stated otherwise at checkout.

4.2 Membership fees are billed monthly in USD and charged in advance. Payments made in Zimbabwean Dollars are converted at the spot rate on the billing date.

4.3 Membership fees are non-refundable once a billing period has started. You may cancel at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

4.4 If a scheduled membership payment fails, a 10-day grace period applies. If unresolved, the account is automatically downgraded to the Free Tier. Royalties accrued before the downgrade remain payable under the Tier in effect when earned.

4.5 Published prices may change with 30 days' notice. New prices apply only to billing periods starting after the effective date.

5. Artist Terms — Introduction

5.1 Sections 5 through 10 (the "Artist Terms") apply only to Users who upload Tracks. By uploading any Track, you confirm you have read and accepted the Artist Terms in addition to the rest of these Terms.

5.2 A separate acceptance record is stored at the moment you first attempt to upload a Track, capturing the date, time, IP address, user-agent, and Terms version. For uploads via Bot interfaces, the record additionally captures your phone number, the bot message ID, and your verbatim "AGREE" reply.

5.3 If the Artist Terms are materially amended in a future version, you will be prompted to accept the new version before uploading further Tracks.

6. Licence Grant from Artist to Platform

6.1 Ownership Retained. You retain full ownership of all sound recordings, musical works, cover art, photography, lyrics, and associated rights (collectively, "Your Content").

6.2 Licence. You grant the Platform a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence, for the duration of this Agreement and any applicable Tail Period, to:

(a) Reproduce, transcode, and create technical derivative works of Your Content (e.g., HLS segments, waveform previews, compressed previews, thumbnails) solely for the purpose of delivering Your Content on the Platform and to DSPs;

(b) Publicly perform, stream, display, and make Your Content available on the Platform's own services (music.localhost.co.zw, Music Localhost mobile apps, embedded players, and smart links);

(c) Sublicence Your Content to DSPs, directly or through one or more third-party distribution aggregators acting on the Platform's behalf, and collect Royalties from those DSPs on your behalf;

(d) Use your name, stage name, likeness, bio, and cover art to promote Your Content and the Platform, on the Platform, on DSPs, and in reasonable marketing materials.

6.3 Limited to Master Rights. The rights granted cover master recording rights only. Publishing rights, mechanical rights, performance (PRO) rights, neighbouring rights, and sync licensing rights remain 100% with the Artist. The Platform does not collect mechanicals, PRO royalties, or neighbouring rights on your behalf.

6.4 Sublicence Scope. The Platform's sublicence rights are limited to DSPs, aggregators, CDN providers, and service providers acting on its behalf in connection with hosting, delivering, and monetising Your Content.

6.5 Industry Identifiers (ISRC, UPC, ISWC). Where you do not provide them, the Platform may issue ISRC and UPC codes on your behalf as required by DSPs. ISRCs assigned by the Platform identify the recording and remain attached to the recording even after termination of this Agreement. You authorise the Platform to register, embed, and transmit ISRC, UPC, ISWC, and other industry identifiers as required by DSPs to enable distribution, attribution, and royalty accounting.

7. Artist Warranties & Indemnity

7.1 Warranties. You warrant and represent that, for every Track you upload:

(a) You are the sole owner of the master recording, or you have obtained all necessary licences, assignments, and permissions to distribute it; (b) All featured artists, co-writers, producers, session musicians, and contributors have been identified, credited, and paid, and resolving royalty splits among them is your sole responsibility; (c) All samples, interpolations, and derivative elements have been cleared and properly licensed; (d) You own or have licensed the cover art, photography, and any visual material accompanying the Track; (e) The Track does not infringe any third party's copyright, trademark, moral rights, publicity rights, privacy rights, or other rights; (f) The Track is not defamatory, obscene, unlawful, or otherwise objectionable; (g) If the Track is a cover version of another composition, you have obtained the appropriate mechanical licence for the territories of distribution; (h) You will promptly notify the Platform of any actual, pending, or threatened third-party claim relating to the Track.

7.2 Indemnity. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless SuperDarkCode Labs (Pvt) Ltd, the Platform, and their directors, officers, employees, and contractors from any and all third-party claims, damages, liabilities, judgments, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or relating to:

(a) Your Content or your breach of any warranty in Section 7.1; (b) Your breach of these Terms; (c) Any third-party claim of infringement, defamation, or other legal wrong relating to Your Content.

7.3 Takedown Rights. The Platform may at any time, without liability to you, remove, suspend, or decline to distribute any Content it reasonably believes infringes these warranties or is subject to a valid third-party claim. The Platform will make reasonable effort to notify you of such action.

7.4 Counter-Notification. If you believe Your Content has been removed or disabled in error or as a result of misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification in writing to legal@localhost.co.zw including: (i) identification of the removed material and its prior location on the Platform; (ii) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief the removal was a mistake or misidentification; (iii) your name, address, phone number, and consent to the jurisdiction of the courts of Zimbabwe; and (iv) your physical or electronic signature. On receipt of a valid counter-notification, the Platform may restore the material after 10 business days unless the original complainant initiates legal proceedings to restrain the alleged infringement and so notifies the Platform.

7.5 Repeat Infringer Policy. The Platform will terminate, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, the accounts of Users it determines to be repeat infringers of third-party intellectual-property rights. Repeated submission of materially false copyright complaints or counter-notifications is itself a material breach of these Terms.

8. Royalties, Splits & Payouts

8.1 Determining the Split. The Platform Share of each Royalty is set by the Artist's Membership Tier at the time the Royalty is earned (i.e., the period in which the underlying stream, sale, or other event occurred), not the time of payment. Tier rates and features are published at music.localhost.co.zw/pricing and incorporated by reference.

8.2 Current Tier Table (as at Version 1.1 effective date).

Tier Monthly Fee (USD) Artist Share Platform Share
Free $0 65% 35%
Starter $5 75% 25%
Pro $10 85% 15%
Premium $25 95% 5%
Label $50 100% 0%

8.3 Price and Split Changes. The Platform may adjust Tier fees, splits, features, and names with 30 days' notice posted to the Platform or delivered to your registered email. Changes apply only to Royalties earned after the effective date. Royalties earned before the effective date are paid under the prior Tier terms.

8.4 Payouts. Royalties are paid out monthly, subject to:

(a) A minimum withdrawal threshold of USD 10 (or ZWL equivalent at spot rate); (b) Receipt of the underlying royalty payment from the relevant DSPs — DSP payments typically lag 60–90 days; (c) Payment gateway fees, bank fees, EcoCash fees, or similar, which are deducted from the payout.

8.5 Chargebacks & Reversals. Chargebacks, refunds, and reversed transactions may be debited against your earned Royalties.

8.6 Withholding. The Platform may withhold payout for up to 90 days (or longer where required) to investigate any fraud, dispute, or third-party claim relating to your Content.

8.7 Taxes & Tax Forms. You are solely responsible for your own income tax, ZIMRA filings, VAT, and any other taxes payable on Royalties received from the Platform. Where required to settle DSP royalties, you must submit a valid tax form, including (where applicable) a US Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E for US-source royalties, or its equivalent under any applicable double-taxation treaty. The Platform may withhold tax at the statutory or treaty rate where you fail to provide a valid form, and may report royalty payments to ZIMRA or other competent tax authorities as required by law.

8.8 Royalty Audit Right. Once per calendar year, on at least 30 days' written notice and at your own cost, you may have a qualified independent accountant inspect the Platform's royalty records relating to your account. Any audit must be conducted during normal business hours, must not unreasonably interfere with the Platform's operations, must cover only the most recent 24 months of royalty activity, and must be subject to confidentiality undertakings on terms reasonable to the Platform. If the audit identifies a discrepancy of more than 5% in your favour, the Platform will reimburse the underpayment together with reasonable audit costs; otherwise, audit costs are borne by you.

9. Membership Tiers & Features

9.1 Your Membership Tier determines your Platform Share (Section 8), your Tail Period (Section 10), and your access to features such as advanced analytics, priority support, scheduled releases, multi-artist management (Label Tier), merchandise tools, and marketing boosts.

9.2 Feature lists per Tier are published at music.localhost.co.zw/pricing and may evolve. Material reductions to paid-tier features will be notified 30 days in advance.

9.3 You may upgrade or downgrade your Tier at any time. A downgrade takes effect at the end of the current billing period. An upgrade takes immediate effect upon successful payment.

9.4 A Tier change affects Royalty splits only for Royalties earned after the change's effective date.

10. Termination & Tail Period

10.1 Termination by the Artist. You may terminate this Agreement with 30 days' effective notice, delivered through your dashboard or by email to legal@localhost.co.zw.

10.2 Termination by the Platform.

(a) Immediate termination, with no notice, for: fraud; artificial stream manipulation; upload of infringing, illegal, or harmful content; chargebacks; impersonation; or repeated material breach.

(b) Termination for convenience, with 30 days' notice to the Artist's registered email.

10.3 Effect on Platform-Hosted Content. On the effective date of termination, the Platform will remove your Tracks from music.localhost.co.zw and its own apps within 7 days.

10.4 Tail Period — External DSP Distribution. For any Track distributed by the Platform to external DSPs prior to termination, the Platform retains the sublicence in Section 6.2(c) for the Tail Period, determined by the Tier in effect at the date of termination:

Tier in Effect at Termination Tail Period
Free 24 months
Starter 18 months
Pro 12 months
Premium 6 months
Label 3 months

10.5 During the Tail Period:

(a) The Platform continues to distribute Your Content to DSPs and to collect Royalties.

(b) All Royalties earned during the Tail Period are retained 100% by the Platform. You do not receive any Artist Share for Royalties earned in this period, regardless of the Tier in effect at termination. This recoupment compensates the Platform for the costs and efforts already incurred in transcoding, hosting, distributing, promoting, and supporting Your Content, which would otherwise remain unrecovered.

(c) You may not distribute the affected Tracks through any other distributor, licence them exclusively to any third party, or instruct any DSP to remove them, for the duration of the Tail Period.

(d) No further membership fees are charged during the Tail Period, and you do not have access to paid Tier features.

(e) Royalties earned before the effective date of termination remain payable to you at the Artist Share of the Tier in effect when they were earned, subject to the normal payout rules in Section 8.

10.6 Early Release. You may end the Tail Period at any time by paying an Early Release Fee of USD 25. Upon confirmed payment, the Platform will submit takedown requests to all DSPs within 14 days.

10.7 End of Tail Period. On expiry of the Tail Period, or upon payment of the Early Release Fee, the Platform will submit DSP takedown requests within 14 days. The Platform is not responsible for DSP propagation delays, which typically take 1–4 weeks and occasionally longer.

10.8 Platform Dissolution. If SuperDarkCode Labs (Pvt) Ltd ceases operating Music Localhost entirely, the Tail Period for all Artists terminates automatically and the Platform will submit DSP takedown requests within 30 days. No Early Release Fee is payable in this case.

10.9 Survival. Sections 6.3 (Publishing Rights Retained), 6.5 (Industry Identifiers), 7 (Warranties & Indemnity), 8.5–8.8 (Chargebacks, Withholding, Taxes, Audit), 10 (Termination & Tail), 12 (Platform IP), 14 (Liability), 16 (Disputes), 17 (General Provisions), 18 (Anti-Fraud), 19 (Account Inactivity & Successors), and any other provision which by its nature should survive, survive termination.

11. Platform Rights

11.1 The Platform reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, to:

(a) Reject, remove, suspend, or decline to distribute any Content; (b) Modify, suspend, or discontinue any feature of the Platform; (c) Change DSP partners, aggregators, or payment providers; (d) Impose or adjust technical delivery requirements (e.g., audio format, metadata, cover art specification).

11.2 The Platform may use aggregated and anonymised data about plays, purchases, and user behaviour for product improvement, marketing, and industry analytics.

11.3 The Platform may audit Artist claims in the event of a dispute, including requiring documentation of ownership, licences, or contributor splits.

12. Platform Intellectual Property

12.1 The Platform's name, logo, website design, software, code, graphics, and documentation are the sole property of SuperDarkCode Labs (Pvt) Ltd, protected by copyright and trade mark law.

12.2 These Terms do not grant you any licence to use the Platform's intellectual property beyond what is necessary for normal use of the services.

13. Privacy

13.1 The Platform's handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, published at music.localhost.co.zw/privacy and incorporated by reference.

14. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

14.1 The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

14.2 The Platform does not warrant uninterrupted service, error-free operation, acceptance of your Tracks by any DSP, minimum royalty amounts, or DSP propagation times.

14.3 Limitation of Liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, SuperDarkCode Labs (Pvt) Ltd's total aggregate liability to you, arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Platform, in any 12-month period, shall not exceed the greater of:

(a) The total fees and Platform Share you actually paid to the Platform in that 12-month period; or

(b) USD 100.

14.4 The Platform is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages — including loss of profits, goodwill, data, or opportunity — even if advised of the possibility.

14.5 Nothing in this Section limits liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, or any liability that cannot be limited under Zimbabwean law.

15. Force Majeure

15.1 Neither party is liable for failure or delay caused by circumstances beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, civil unrest, government action, pandemics, outages of third-party providers (DSPs, payment gateways, CDN, cloud hosts), or network failures.

16. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

16.1 Governing Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of Zimbabwe, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

16.2 Informal Resolution. Before initiating arbitration, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute through direct negotiation for a period of at least 30 days from the date the dispute is first raised in writing.

16.3 Arbitration. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms that is not resolved informally will be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration administered by the Commercial Arbitration Centre of Zimbabwe (CACZ), under the Zimbabwean Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15].

(a) Seat of arbitration: Harare, Zimbabwe. (b) Language: English. (c) Single arbitrator (appointed by CACZ) for disputes where the amount in controversy is below USD 10,000. (d) Three-arbitrator panel for disputes at or above USD 10,000 — one appointed by each party, and a chair appointed by CACZ. (e) Each party bears its own legal fees. The prevailing party may recover arbitration costs from the non-prevailing party at the arbitrator's discretion.

16.4 Interim Relief. Nothing in this Section prevents either party from applying to a Zimbabwean court for interim injunctive or equitable relief to protect intellectual property, confidential information, or to enforce payment obligations.

16.5 No Class Actions. The Artist expressly waives any right to bring a claim as a class, collective, or representative action. All claims must be brought individually.

17. General Provisions

17.1 Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the pricing page at music.localhost.co.zw/pricing, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Platform and supersede any prior or contemporaneous communications.

17.2 Modifications. The Platform may amend these Terms at any time. Material changes will be notified at least 30 days in advance by email and in-dashboard notice. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of the amendment constitutes acceptance. Where a material change affects Artist obligations, Users will be prompted to re-accept in the dashboard or via the Bot before their next upload.

17.3 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.

17.4 No Waiver. Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of that provision.

17.5 Assignment. The Platform may assign these Terms in whole or part (including to an affiliate or successor in any merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of assets). You may not assign these Terms without the Platform's prior written consent.

17.6 No Agency. Nothing in these Terms creates any partnership, joint venture, agency, fiduciary, or employment relationship between you and the Platform.

17.7 Notices. Notices to you may be delivered to the email address on your account or posted to the Platform's dashboard. Notices to the Platform must be sent in writing to legal@localhost.co.zw, addressed to SuperDarkCode Labs (Private) Limited (D-U-N-S® Number 631177843).

17.8 Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

17.9 Language. These Terms are drafted and binding in English. Any translation into Shona, Ndebele, or other languages is for convenience only; the English version controls.

17.10 Contact. Questions? Write to legal@localhost.co.zw.

18. Anti-Fraud & Streaming Manipulation

18.1 Zero-Tolerance Policy. The Platform operates a zero-tolerance policy for stream manipulation, payment fraud, and identity fraud. The following are strictly prohibited:

(a) Bots, click farms, paid placement on artificial-stream playlists, incentivised streaming, or any automated means to inflate streams, plays, likes, follows, or other engagement metrics;

(b) Coordinated activity intended to game DSP charts, trending algorithms, or editorial selections;

(c) Use of stolen credit cards, stolen identities, or third-party payment instruments without authorisation to purchase memberships, beats, or licences;

(d) Submission of recordings the Artist does not own or has not properly licensed (including AI-generated recordings of unlicensed copyrighted works), or fraudulent metadata designed to mis-attribute royalties;

(e) Multi-accounting, identity-laundering, or use of nominee accounts to evade suspension, sanctions, or terms of service.

18.2 Detection. The Platform may use automated detection, statistical models, machine-learning systems, and third-party fraud-screening services to identify suspicious activity. The Platform may freeze payouts and content distribution while an investigation is pending.

18.3 Consequences. A confirmed violation of this Section results in:

(a) Immediate termination of the account, with no refund of fees;

(b) Forfeiture of all outstanding Royalties in the account, which may be applied to fund chargeback liability, returned to affected DSPs, or set off against any fines or fees levied against the Platform;

(c) Reporting to DSPs and aggregators, which may permanently bar you from the global distribution network;

(d) Recovery from you of any fines, fees, takedown costs, or charges levied against the Platform by a DSP or other third party as a consequence of your activity, together with the Platform's reasonable investigation and legal costs.

18.4 Set-Off. The Platform may set off any amount you owe under this Section against any Royalties, payouts, or other amounts payable to you by the Platform or its affiliates.

19. Account Inactivity & Successors

19.1 Inactive Accounts. If your account has had no successful logins, uploads, or authenticated activity for 12 months and carries an unclaimed Royalty balance below USD 25, the Platform may treat the account as dormant. The Platform will attempt to contact you at the registered phone number and email at least 60 days before any further action. Where contact fails, dormant balances may be forfeited or escheated to the relevant authority in accordance with applicable law.

19.2 Successor in Interest. On the death or legal incapacity of an Artist, control of the account, accrued Royalties, and any subsisting Tail Period rights may be transferred to the Artist's personal representative, executor, or heir, on production of a death certificate, letters of administration, grant of probate, or equivalent documentation acceptable to the Platform. The Platform may continue to honour the existing distribution licences until the successor instructs otherwise. The successor takes the account subject to all outstanding obligations under these Terms.

19.3 Transfer Otherwise Prohibited. Save as expressly permitted in clause 19.2, accounts are personal and may not be transferred, sold, gifted, or assigned to any third party.

Version 1.1 — Effective 25 May 2026 © SuperDarkCode Labs (Private) Limited, trading as Music Localhost. D-U-N-S® Number 631177843.

Change Log - v1.1 (25 May 2026) — Added Section 2.5 (KYC), 2.6 (Sanctions Screening), 6.5 (ISRC/UPC issuance), 7.4 (Counter-Notification), 7.5 (Repeat Infringer Policy), expanded 8.7 (Tax Forms), 8.8 (Royalty Audit Right), Section 18 (Anti-Fraud & Streaming Manipulation), Section 19 (Account Inactivity & Successors). Contact email updated to legal@localhost.co.zw. Domain references corrected from musiclocalhost.com to music.localhost.co.zw (consumer site) and records.localhost.co.zw (management portal). - v1.0 (17 April 2026) — Initial published version.