Copyright and Usage

1. About this policy

This page explains how you may use a song and related material created by Songs Aloud. It covers:

• Personal commissions;
• Commercial and business use;
• Social-media and video use;
• Music-platform distribution;
• Copyright and ownership;
• Customer-supplied material;
• Portfolio permission; and
• Uses that are not permitted.

This policy should be read together with our Terms and Conditions.

Where there is any inconsistency, the following take priority:

1. A separately signed commercial licence or rights agreement;
2. Your written quotation or order confirmation;
3. Our Terms and Conditions; and
4. This Copyright and Usage Policy.

Songs Aloud is a service supplied by Business Software Group Limited, registered in England and Wales under company number 02926171.

Questions about permitted usage should be sent to support@songsaloud.com.

2. The different parts of a song

A completed Songs Aloud commission may contain several different elements, including:

• The customer’s memories, facts and ideas;
• Material supplied by the customer;
• Original lyrics;
• Musical composition and arrangement;
• A produced sound recording;
• Vocal and instrumental elements;
• Artwork;
• Lyric sheets;
• Video;
• Drafts and alternative versions; and
• Production and project materials.

Different rights may apply to different elements.

Purchasing a song does not automatically mean that every copyright or other intellectual-property right in every element has been transferred to you.

Your permitted use is defined by the licence included with your order.

3. Your stories remain yours

Songs Aloud does not claim ownership of:

• The events of your life;
• Your memories;
• Facts about you or your family;
• Your relationships;
• Your ideas;
• Your name or likeness;
• Photographs, recordings or text you already owned; or
• Other original material you supplied to us.

You remain free to:

• Tell your story;
• Write about it;
• Share your memories;
• Use your own photographs and recordings;
• Create other work based on the same facts; and
• Commission other creative work about the same people or events.

However, this does not give you ownership of Songs Aloud’s particular lyrics, recording, arrangement, artwork or other creative expression except where we expressly transfer those rights in writing.

4. Material supplied by you

You retain the rights you already hold in material supplied to us.

By providing material for a commission, you give Songs Aloud permission to use, reproduce, edit and process it as reasonably necessary to review the brief, create the song, produce revisions, deliver the finished materials, provide support and exercise any separate portfolio permission you grant.

You must ensure that you are entitled to supply and authorise the use of:

• Photographs;
• Audio and video;
• Poems;
• Existing lyrics;
• Written accounts;
• Melodies;
• Voice recordings;
• Speeches; and
• Other protected material.

Commissioning a song does not transfer third-party rights to Songs Aloud or to you.

5. Songs Aloud creative material

Subject to any different written agreement, Songs Aloud retains the rights it owns or controls in:

• Lyrics created or substantially developed by us;
• Musical compositions and arrangements;
• Sound recordings;
• Artwork and videos;
• Drafts and unused alternatives;
• Instrumental versions;
• Stems and project files;
• Production instructions;
• Prompts;
• Templates;
• Internal style descriptions;
• Editing and production methods; and
• The Songs Aloud name, website and branding.

Your payment purchases the commissioned service and the licence described in your order. It does not purchase our internal production process or source materials.

6. Use of modern production technologies

Songs Aloud may use a combination of human creative direction, original writing and editing, generative artificial intelligence, digital audio production, audio processing, synthetic or digitally produced voices, mixing and mastering software, and other creative technologies.

We grant only those rights that Songs Aloud owns or is contractually entitled to grant.

We do not guarantee that every individual AI-assisted element:

• Qualifies separately for copyright protection;
• Is unique in every respect;
• Can be registered independently with a collecting society;
• Is eligible for every distribution platform;
• Is suitable for automated rights-management systems; or
• Can be claimed exclusively throughout the world.

The rights we grant in your order remain contractual rights between you and Songs Aloud even where the copyright status of an individual production element may be uncertain.

7. Personal-use licence

Unless your order expressly states otherwise, a personal commission includes a Personal-Use Licence. The licence begins when we have received full payment.

It is:

• Perpetual;
• Worldwide;
• Non-exclusive;
• Non-transferable, except to the intended recipient as described below; and
• Limited to personal, family and other non-commercial use.

The purchaser and intended recipient may use the finished song as set out in this policy.

8. What personal use permits

Under the Personal-Use Licence, you may:

Listen and keep copies

• Listen to the song privately;
• Download and store the supplied files;
• Keep reasonable backup copies;
• Copy the song between your personal devices;
• Provide a copy to the intended recipient; and
• Share it privately with friends and family.

Play the song at private events

You may play the song at private events such as weddings, wedding receptions, anniversaries, birthday celebrations, family gatherings, retirement parties, funerals, wakes, celebrations of life and other private, non-commercial occasions.

A venue, celebrant, DJ, photographer or videographer may receive a copy solely to provide services for that private event. They may not retain or reuse the song for:

• Their own advertising;
• Promotional showreels;
• Other customers;
• Public distribution; or
• Any separate commercial purpose.

Use it in personal photographs and videos

You may include the song, or a reasonable extract, in a private wedding video, a family slideshow, a birthday or anniversary video, a memorial video, a personal holiday film, a home video or another non-commercial personal production.

You may make basic technical edits needed for that purpose, such as trimming the beginning or end, using an extract, adding a fade, adjusting volume or converting the file format.

You may not materially rewrite, remix or misrepresent the song without our written permission.

Share it on personal social media

You may upload the song or use it in a personal post on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, LinkedIn or a comparable personal social-media service.

This permission applies where:

• The account is personal rather than operated for a business;
• You are not intentionally monetising the upload;
• The post is not an advertisement or paid promotion;
• The song is not being offered for sale or download;
• You do not suggest that it was performed by a named real artist; and
• You do not register the song with an automated rights-claiming service.

Advertising automatically placed by a platform, over which you have no control and from which you receive no revenue, will not by itself turn an otherwise personal post into prohibited commercial use.

Print and display the lyrics privately

You may print the supplied lyrics, frame them as a personal gift, include them in a family album, display them privately in your home, and make reasonable copies for close family members.

You may not sell printed lyrics, artwork or other merchandise without a commercial licence.

9. Attribution

Attribution to Songs Aloud is not required for ordinary private use.

Where practical, we appreciate the following credit on public personal posts:

Original song created by Songs Aloud — songsaloud.com

A commercial licence may make a particular credit mandatory or may expressly waive attribution.

You must not:

• Credit the song to a real singer or songwriter who was not involved;
• Suggest that the voice is a recording of a named performer;
• Remove a required commercial credit; or
• Give misleading authorship or production information.

10. What personal use does not permit

The Personal-Use Licence does not permit you to:

• Sell the song;
• Sell copies or downloads;
• License it to another person or organisation;
• Use it in a business;
• Use it in advertising;
• Use it in sponsored content;
• Monetise it;
• Release it through a music distributor;
• Upload it to commercial streaming platforms as an artist release;
• Broadcast it on radio or television;
• Use it in a monetised podcast, film, game or channel;
• Use it to promote a product, service, organisation or campaign;
• Manufacture merchandise containing substantial lyrics or artwork;
• Register Songs Aloud material as solely your own work;
• Register the recording with a content-identification system;
• Create commercial derivative works;
• Train an AI model using the recording, lyrics or production files;
• Resell stems, instrumentals or isolated elements; or
• Permit another person to do any of these things.

Commercial use requires written permission and may involve an additional fee.

11. Streaming and commercial music release

A Personal-Use Licence does not include distribution through services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, Tidal, Bandcamp, SoundCloud monetisation, digital-download stores or music-distribution services.

Contact us before submitting a song to a distributor.

Where commercial release is appropriate, we may offer a separate Release Licence specifying:

• The approved recording;
• The release name and artist credit;
• Permitted platforms;
• Territory;
• Duration;
• Monetisation rights;
• Revenue arrangements, if any;
• Copyright and metadata declarations;
• Whether edits are permitted;
• Collecting-society treatment;
• Content-identification restrictions; and
• Any attribution requirements.

We do not guarantee that a distributor or platform will accept a song. Each provider applies its own policies and eligibility rules.

12. YouTube and Content ID

You may use a personal song in a non-commercial personal YouTube video as described above.

You must not submit the song to YouTube Content ID, Meta Rights Manager, TikTok rights-management systems, Audible Magic, a distributor’s automated copyright-claiming service, or any comparable fingerprinting or rights-enforcement database, unless Songs Aloud has expressly authorised this in writing.

These systems can create automated claims against Songs Aloud, other customers, production providers or lawful users of related material.

A licence to upload or use a song is not necessarily an exclusive right sufficient to register that material in an automated content-claiming system.

If a platform issues a copyright or Content ID claim against an authorised personal use, contact support@songsaloud.com. Please provide:

• Your order number;
• The platform;
• The affected URL;
• A screenshot or copy of the notice; and
• The claimant information shown.

We will review the matter but cannot guarantee that a third-party platform will remove or resolve a claim within a particular period.

13. Public performance

The Personal-Use Licence permits playback at the private events described in this policy. It does not automatically permit:

• Regular playback in a shop, restaurant, hotel or workplace;
• Ticketed public performance;
• Broadcast;
• Public entertainment;
• Use at a commercially promoted event; or
• Use intended to benefit a business or organisation.

A venue, broadcaster or event organiser may also require licences from collecting societies or other rights holders. A Songs Aloud licence does not replace licences legally required from third parties.

Contact us where the song will be used outside an ordinary private celebration.

14. Business and commercial licences

A commercial licence is required where the song is used wholly or partly to support a company, a sole trader, a charity, a club, a political organisation, an event organiser, a professional creator, a monetised channel, a product, a service, a campaign, or another revenue-generating or promotional activity.

Commercial uses may include:

• Company-anniversary videos;
• Recruitment campaigns;
• Staff-retirement presentations;
• Product launches;
• Paid advertising;
• Promotional social posts;
• Corporate websites;
• Conferences;
• Public events;
• Podcasts;
• Broadcast;
• Film and television;
• Commercial YouTube channels;
• Charity fundraising;
• Sports-club promotion; and
• Customer-facing business premises.

Commercial licences are individually defined and may be limited by purpose, media, territory, duration, audience, advertising budget, number of campaigns, number of locations, distribution volume, exclusivity, permitted edits and monetisation method.

No commercial rights should be assumed beyond those expressly stated in writing.

15. Internal business use

A business commission may sometimes include internal-use rights only.

Internal use may permit playback or distribution among employees, contractors, invited guests, private company events and secure internal communication systems.

Internal-use rights do not automatically permit:

• Public website publication;
• Social-media advertising;
• Customer-facing campaigns;
• Broadcast;
• External distribution;
• Paid media; or
• Commercial music release.

The quotation or licence will define the approved use.

16. Exclusivity and buyouts

Personal and standard commercial licences are normally non-exclusive.

This means Songs Aloud may retain its underlying rights and may continue to use general production skills, musical techniques, common structures, broad themes, non-confidential style knowledge and independently created material.

We will not knowingly publish your private story, photographs or commissioned song as a portfolio example without separate permission.

An exclusive licence or transfer of rights must be:

• Expressly agreed;
• Recorded in writing;
• Clear about the rights transferred;
• Signed where legally required; and
• Separately priced.

References to an “exclusive song”, “unique gift” or “made for you” do not by themselves constitute a legal assignment of copyright.

17. Editing, covers and derivative versions

You may not commission, generate or distribute a substantially altered version of the Songs Aloud recording for commercial use without permission. Examples requiring approval include:

• A remix;
• A new commercial recording;
• A translated version;
• A karaoke release;
• A cover version for sale or streaming;
• Replacement vocals;
• Sampling;
• Changing the lyrics for another recipient;
• Using stems in another recording; or
• Training or directing a system to reproduce the song.

We may be able to provide an instrumental version, an alternative vocal, a shorter edit, a new arrangement, a revised family version, a commercial mix, a human-performed version or a separate cover licence. Additional fees may apply.

18. Existing songs and performer identities

Songs Aloud creates original work.

You may describe genres, musical periods, tempos, moods, instrumentation, vocal qualities and music you generally enjoy.

You may not use a Songs Aloud commission to:

• Pass off the recording as an unreleased song by another artist;
• Claim that a synthetic voice belongs to a real performer;
• Create a deceptive impersonation;
• Copy protected lyrics;
• Copy a recognisable melody;
• Reproduce a distinctive existing recording;
• Mislead listeners about endorsement; or
• Infringe another person’s intellectual-property or personality rights.

Where a similarity concern is discovered, we may require the affected version to be altered or withdrawn.

19. Portfolio and promotional use by Songs Aloud

Every personal commission is private by default.

Purchasing a song does not automatically permit Songs Aloud to publish the song, an extract, the lyrics, the customer’s story, names, photographs, video, a testimonial or recipient reactions.

We will request separate permission for any portfolio or promotional use. Permission may specify:

• Which materials may be used;
• Whether full names, first names or pseudonyms may appear;
• Whether the full song or only an extract may be published;
• Which photographs or videos are approved;
• The channels on which material may appear;
• Whether paid advertising is permitted; and
• Any agreed restrictions.

Portfolio consent is optional and is not a condition of receiving the service.

You may withdraw permission for future use by contacting support@songsaloud.com. Withdrawal will not affect use that occurred lawfully before withdrawal and may not enable us to recall material already printed, distributed or incorporated into completed publications.

20. Sharing private previews

Private previews are supplied for review and approval.

Before final delivery, you may share a preview privately with people whose opinion is reasonably needed, such as a spouse or partner, a close family member, a fellow gift purchaser, a wedding planner, a celebrant or another approved contributor.

You must not:

• Publish the preview;
• Sell or distribute it;
• Upload it to a streaming service;
• Register it with a rights-management system;
• Use it commercially;
• Present it as final; or
• Remove an audio watermark.

Unused previews and alternative versions remain Songs Aloud material unless your written agreement says otherwise.

21. Refunds do not normally include usage rights

Where an order is cancelled and fully refunded, no licence to use unfinished or preview material is granted unless we agree otherwise in writing.

Where a partial refund is made, any continuing rights will be stated in the cancellation or settlement communication.

You must delete material for which no licence remains.

22. Misuse and withdrawal of permission

If you use a song outside the licence granted, we may:

• Ask you to stop the unauthorised use;
• Ask a platform or distributor to remove the material;
• Suspend file access;
• Terminate the licence where the breach is serious;
• Seek the appropriate commercial licence fee;
• Recover reasonable enforcement costs where legally available; and
• Take other action to protect our rights.

We will normally try to resolve genuine misunderstandings before taking formal action.

23. Platform and third-party rules

Social-media, streaming and distribution platforms operate under their own terms.

Your Songs Aloud licence does not guarantee:

• Platform acceptance;
• Eligibility for monetisation;
• Eligibility for copyright registration;
• Eligibility for Content ID;
• Playlist inclusion;
• Continued availability;
• Protection against third-party claims; or
• Compliance with a distributor’s current AI-content policy.

You are responsible for complying with the rules of any platform you use.

Contact us before making declarations about authorship, performance, ownership, exclusivity or artificial-intelligence involvement on a distributor or rights-management form.

24. Reporting suspected misuse

To report suspected unauthorised use of a Songs Aloud song, contact support@songsaloud.com. Please provide:

• The song title;
• The order number, where known;
• The location of the suspected use;
• Relevant URLs;
• Screenshots;
• The name of the person or organisation involved; and
• An explanation of why you believe the use is unauthorised.

We will assess reports in good faith.

25. Requesting additional rights

To request commercial, release, broadcast or other rights, contact sales@songsaloud.com. Please describe:

• The song;
• The proposed use;
• The organisation or channel;
• The platforms or media;
• The geographic territory;
• The intended duration;
• Whether the use will be monetised;
• Whether advertising is involved;
• Whether exclusivity is required; and
• Any launch or campaign date.

We will confirm whether the use is available and provide a written quotation or licence.

Do not begin the proposed use until written permission has been granted.

26. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes to our services, changes to production technologies, new distribution methods, changes to platform rules, changes in copyright law, or improvements to our licensing arrangements.

The version applying to an existing order will normally be the version incorporated into that order, unless a change is required by law, the new version gives you additional rights, or a different arrangement is agreed in writing.

27. Contact details

Songs Aloud, Business Software Group Limited, Nine Hills Road, Cambridge, England, CB2 1GE.

Commercial and licensing enquiries: sales@songsaloud.com

Support, copyright concerns and usage questions: support@songsaloud.com