Terms of Service
1. GENERAL TERMS
If you have a problem with any of the statements below, they may be changed if discussed with me PRIOR to our agreement to work together.
The Final Product: An unwatermarked audio export of all of your tracks delivered in the file format and quality of your specifications delivered via Google Drive unless some other method is specified and agreed to.
Prices listed in this document and/or on my website are estimated prices and subject to change (not without warning) based on demand, complexity of the work and/or time required for completion of the order (if time sensitive). The prices listed do not include any extra expenses (special equipment, travel, space rentals, etc.). Any extra expenses will be discussed and approved of before final billing
I have the right to reject any project that I do not feel comfortable with for any reason, at any point. If I do that AFTER you pay me, I'll provide a FULL REFUND to you. Please don’t ask for a PayPal chargeback, I'll transfer the money myself.
I do my best to keep my equipment maintained but technology occasionally has other plans. Your project will be backed up to an external Hard Drive as well as backed up to Google Drive for safe keeping. If anything happens and your project is lost to the digital void, you will not be charged for the completed work and the start of work deposit will be refunded. The rate for your project moving forward will be halved.
2. PAYMENT
Final Payment must be received in full before the delivery of the Final Export.
If you have multiple services as a part of your project, you may be asked to pay some amount of the incurred charges before moving on to the next stage of work. The amount will be agreed upon before the start of work.
Currency is USD and can be paid via PayPal (Invoice). If you prefer other means of payment, make sure to discuss with me prior to our agreement to work together.
You will have to pay a deposit before the start of work. If I'm booked up and you wish to reserve an opening, you will have to pay a deposit but it will count as your start of work deposit and I will immediately start work on your project when the previous project is finished. The amount of the deposit will be discussed and agreed to beforehand but will be based on the total estimated cost of the project. If you're reserving my time, the deposit is refundable until I've started work on your project.
Don't send/gift/transfer payment before I agree to work on your project. I'll prepare and send the Invoice myself, with all the proper information on it.
3. PROCESS, PRODUCT & DELIVERY
Goes like this: You request a quote and tell me a bit about your project, I accept your request and send you an estimate of the cost to do it. Once we agree on an amount, I'll send the invoice for the Start of Work deposit (or reservation deposit). Once paid, I'll start work on your project.
I'll notify you (via email) once I have started working on your project. At this point you may no longer request a Full Refund (6. REFUND /CANCELATION POLICY).
While working on your project I’ll provide watermarked, low-quality Work in Progress (WIPs) files for you to review at the end of each of the stages listed below, to make sure I'm on the right track. I urge you NOT to publish these unfinished artwork by any means.
The progression of work will ideally follow the following steps. This may look a little different depending on the service you've hired me for or if you've hired me for multiple services.
Start of Work: Letting you know (through email) that I've started working on your project.
Rough Draft: The form this will take depends on the service(s) you're requesting but it will usually be a piano sketch or lyrics/chord chart with a piano demo or a rough mix. Essentially, it will be the basic form of the core idea for your project. The form this will take will be conveyed to you at the start of work. This will be the opportunity to suggest changes for the core idea as it will be more difficult to do so later on in the process.
Second Draft: A cleaner, fleshed out version of the Rough Draft. Any corrections made from the rough draft stage will be in place. This will have some rough Virtual Instruments (VSTs) filling in parts or have refined chord progressions. Some specialized effects may also be in place. It will be a rough approximation of what the Final Export will sound like.
Third Draft: A near final version of your project. Any corrections requested in the Second Draft will be in place. Virtual instruments will be in their near final state, parts will be finalized, mixes will be polished and have near final effects on them. Essentially everything will be in its final state short of any last tweaks.
Final Draft/Export: Any last minor tweaks or last polishing will be put into place. If you approve of the Final Draft, you’ll get an unwatermarked export (or exports) of your project in the format that we agreed on before the Start of Work. After that, your project is in your hands and on its way out into the world. Congrats!
Final payment must be received in full before the Final Export will be delivered.
The time it takes to finish a project varies greatly depending on factors such as, the type of work; the intricacy of your project; my health; the amount of work I have; and life overall. If anything with the potential to slow the progress of your project comes up, I'll let you know right away. Feel free to contact me at any time (email is preferable).
If your request is time sensitive make sure to tell me before I agree to take it. I may not take the job. If I do, requests like this may require a "sleepless night fee".
The Final Product will be delivered as a high-quality 48kHz, 24 bit WAV unless otherwise specified and agreed to. If it’s a digital project, it will be delivered to you through a Google Drive link via email. If it's physical, we will make arrangements to get it delivered safely and promptly. Shipping costs may be calculated into the final cost of the project.
After the receipt of the Final Product, it will be kept in the Google Drive for one month. At that point, it will be removed from the Google Drive and stored on a local disk for as long as I have the space. At that point, files pertaining to your project can be found and sent to you for a $20 retrieval fee.
4. COPYRIGHT/USAGE POLICY
Once you have received the Final Product of your project, it is yours to use as you wish. In the case of Original Composition works, Songwriting works, and Music Production works; ownership, rights, credits and royalty splitting will be negotiated and agreed to before the receipt of the Final Product. This may play a factor in the final cost of your project.
Unless otherwise agreed to, I, Phill, am allowed to use the work to:
Promote myself with it everywhere.
Make posts on social media and my website as either Phill Kovach or Edge of Oblivion Productions utilizing your project or stems from your project
If you would prefer to keep your project under wraps until it's released, just let me know. Otherwise, I'll assume I'm free to post.
Build out my portfolio to share with other potential clients
The Client is allowed to:
Use the commissioned work/stems for online posting to promote yourselves, work, project etc. on any social media/website you want. You are not required to give credit but it is certainly appreciated.
Use the commissioned work for any use. Once you receive the Final Product, it’s yours to do with as you please.
Some works may be subjected to Copyright. You'll be made aware of this if it applies. In this case, rights ownership, and royalty splits will all be negotiated before the final payment and delivery of the Final Export.
The following is considered copyright infringement:
Reproducing/using the copyrighted work as a means making money off it in any way without permission
Reproducing/using the copyrighted In Progress/Unfinished work without my permission
5. REFUND/CANCELATION POLICY
If you cancel work on your project BEFORE the Start of Work (3. PROCESS, PRODUCT & DELIVERY) The start of work deposit will be fully refunded.
If for any reason I am unable to start working on your project or am unable to complete work on your project you will receive a Full Refund and any exports/project files I have completed.
If you cancel your order before you’ve received the Second Draft export (3. PROCESS, PRODUCT & DELIVERY), You can get a Partial Refund (50% of the paid amount). No refunds of any kind are available past this point.
This policy applies to multiple service projects in the following way:
For example: You’ve hired me for Music Production, Recording, and Mixing. If you cancel before you receive the second draft export of the mix, you will receive a refund or only owe 50% of the amount for mixing. Since the other stages are already completed, no refund will be dispersed. This will all be sorted out if we need to. Hopefully we won’t though.
If you are getting a refund, DO NOT request a Paypal chargeback. I will transfer the money back to you myself.
If you request a Paypal chargeback at any point when you were not allowed to ask for a refund, I will decline the chargeback and supply Paypal with our conversations in which we talk about the commission as evidence that I have completed and/or intended to complete work for you. Furthermore, your project will be immediately terminated and you will be blacklisted from commissioning me again. You will receive any work at my discretion.
6. CREDITING
If your project is getting a wide release, I will need to be credited. This can be on the CD cover notes, website, end credits, metadata. Wherever fits for your project. In most cases credits will look something like this:
*Service(s) Completed* by Phill Kovach for Edge of Oblivion Productions
You will be informed if your project needs credits and the specific credits it will need in the email with your final export.
7. THANKS!
Thanks for taking the time to read this. It’s lengthy and confusing but the short version is to just communicate with me about anything and I’ll do the same for you. Let’s make something great!
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