This Refund & Cancellation Policy ("Policy") sets forth the terms and conditions governing purchases, subscriptions, refunds, chargebacks, and account cancellations on the DistroVibe digital music distribution platform, governed under the laws of England and Wales.
By registering an account, purchasing a subscription tier, or uploading content, you ("User", "Artist", "Label", or "Licensor") agree to this Policy in its entirety. If you do not agree, you must refrain from using the Services.
1. The Nature of Digital Distribution and SaaS
DistroVibe operates as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and digital music distribution provider. Because our services involve the automated encoding, metadata processing, and DDEX transmission of digital audio files to third-party Digital Service Providers (DSPs), there is no physical mechanism to "return" or undo digital distribution once technical ingestion has commenced.
Standard consumer return policies applicable to tangible retail goods do not apply to DistroVibe's real-time digital services. Your eligibility for a refund is strictly governed by the operational milestone of your release.
2. Statutory Right to Cancel & When Refunds Are Given
Under the UK Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, consumers generally have a 14-day statutory right of withdrawal ("cooling-off period") for online contracts.
At checkout you expressly request that DistroVibe starts your plan immediately and acknowledge that, once the service has started, you can no longer cancel for a full refund. Your request is recorded with your order and confirmed by email. Where applicable law still gives you a right to cancel after the service has started, we deduct a proportionate amount for the service provided up to the time you tell us you are cancelling.
When We Give Refunds
Refunds are not discretionary and DistroVibe does not offer a money-back guarantee. We only refund:
- Billing errors, such as a duplicate charge or an amount charged by mistake.
- A paid service that DistroVibe could not provide for reasons within our control.
- A cancellation within 14 days of your initial purchase, made before the service has started.
- Any other case in which applicable consumer law requires a refund.
Renewal payments are not refundable. Request a refund through a support ticket or support@distrovibe.com; approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 5–10 business days and end the subscription immediately.
The service has started (and the full-refund cancellation right ends) once any of the following has happened:
- Uploading or submitting any release on the dashboard.
- Generation of assigned ISRC / UPC codes.
- A&R or Quality Assurance (QA) compliance inspection.
- DDEX delivery, ingestion, or publication on any DSP.
3. Absolute Exclusions & Anti-Fraud Reference
DistroVibe maintains absolute zero tolerance for platform abuse. Any right to a refund is immediately voided in the event of:
Copyright Infringement
Releases flagged, rejected, or taken down due to uncleared samples, stolen instrumentals, or bootlegs.
Artificial Streaming & Bot Traffic
Engagement in click farms, automated playlisting scripts, or stream manipulation.
DSP Fines & Penalty Passthrough
Tracks penalized by Spotify (€10 fee per track) or any DSP for fraudulent traffic.
Metadata Manipulation
Submissions rejected for keyword stuffing, deceptive artist naming, or SEO manipulation.
Artist Impersonation & Deepfakes
Unauthorized AI voice clones, identity theft, or deceptive mapping to established artist profiles.
4. Cancellation of Service and Catalogue Takedowns
4.1. Effect of Subscription Cancellation
Cancelling an active subscription turns off auto-renewal for the next billing cycle. Your music remains live on DSPs until you explicitly submit a "Takedown Request." Global takedowns generally take 30 to 60 business days for external DSPs to process.
4.2. Mid-Cycle Terms and Outstanding Balances
Cancelling your subscription mid-cycle does not entitle you to a prorated refund for remaining unused days. Outstanding balances or DSP fines are not absolved by account closure; DistroVibe retains the right to offset balances or charge the payment method on file to settle debts.
5. Chargebacks & Dispute Cost Offset
Chargeback Defense & Financial Offset
Filing a chargeback or payment dispute for digital services rendered constitutes a material breach of contract. If a chargeback or payment dispute is initiated:
- Your account is immediately suspended and blacklisted.
- Global takedown orders are issued across all DSPs for your entire catalogue.
- All accrued and unpaid royalties will be frozen and retained to offset chargeback dispute fees, administrative costs, and liquidated damages incurred by DistroVibe.
- Your details and payment instruments are added to global anti-fraud blocklists.
6. Platform & DSP Ingestion Delays
DistroVibe provides technical DDEX delivery to third-party stores. Once metadata and audio have been transmitted, the time required for music to appear live is entirely within the discretion of external platforms. DistroVibe does not issue refunds or subscription credits for:
- A DSP taking longer than expected to index or publish audio.
- A DSP assigning releases to an incorrect artist page (rectified via Support mapping).
- DSP technical outages, maintenance, or ingest queue backlogs.
- A DSP independently rejecting content under its own editorial guidelines.
7. Dashboard Auto-Renewal & Add-ons
7.1. Subscription Auto-Renewal Management
You may cancel your subscription auto-renewal at any time through the Billing section of your creator dashboard or by contacting support. Cancellations take effect at the end of the current billing cycle; we do not issue refunds for forgotten renewals or mid-cycle cancellations once renewal processing has executed.
7.2. Non-Refundable Add-On Services
Fees for specialized add-on services (such as YouTube Official Artist Channel setups, priority mastering, express delivery, or custom domain mapping) are non-refundable once technical configuration has started.
8. Governing Law & Modifications
This Policy is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising hereunder shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of London, United Kingdom. DistroVibe reserves the right to amend this Policy with reasonable notice on the creator dashboard.