Terms of Service

Thank you for visiting our website. By using our website, you agree to the terms provided below. Please read them carefully.

Last updated: 8/20/2023

1. Acceptance

The terms stated below (collectively, the “Agreement”) constitute a legal agreement between you and The Practicing Musician S.P.C, a Washington social purpose corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). In order to use our website and any of the software or services that we provide on our website (collectively, the “Website”) you must accept the terms that are provided below. By using the Website, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement, and any future amendments and additions to this Agreement as published from time to time on the Website. If you do not agree to the terms below, please do not use the Website. If you have any questions or concerns about this Agreement please feel free to contact us at [email protected].

2. Amendments

We reserve the right to modify this Agreement. Unless otherwise stated in the Agreement, any modifications will be effective upon posting an updated version of this Agreement at www.practicingmusician.com/terms-of-service. We may also provide email notice when we update these terms. You are responsible for regularly reviewing this Agreement, and your continued use of the Website after any changes have been made will constitute your consent to such changes. You can reject any revised terms by discontinuing use of the Website.

Restrictions on Use

3. Authorized Use Only

You may not resell, redistribute, or make any other commercial use of, or create derivative works or materials utilizing any of the content in or on the Website. 

4. Interference with Intellectual Property or Advertising

You may not remove, alter, interfere with, or circumvent any (A) copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices on the Website, or (B) any advertisement on the Website.

5. No Copying

You may not reproduce, distribute, or modify any content provided by the Website without our express consent. You may not record, reproduce, or redistribute any tutoring sessions conducted through our platform without express written consent.

6. No Mining

You may not use any software robots, spider, crawlers, or other data gathering or extraction tools, whether automated or manual, to mine or aggregate data from the Website.

7. Denial of Service Attacks

You may not take any action that may impose an unreasonable burden on the Website or its servers and infrastructures.

8. Discussion Boards

Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to use the discussion boards on the Website or post videos. Any use or access to a discussion board by any user under the age of 13 is strictly prohibited and violates these Terms of Service. We reserve the right to restrict access to and remove any content from discussion boards if we believe the use was in violation of our Terms of Service.

9. Inappropriate Content

You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit, or otherwise distribute on the Website any content that (a) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or threatening, (b) advocates or encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, gives rise to civil liability, or otherwise violates any applicable law or regulation; or (c) advertises or otherwise is a solicitation of goods or services. We reserve the right to terminate your distribution of any such material and to delete any such material from the Website and our servers. We intend to cooperate fully with any law enforcement officials or agencies in the investigation of any violation of this Agreement or of any applicable laws.

10. Unacceptable Conduct

You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate any security features of the Website, including, without limitation:

• Accessing content or data not intended for you, or logging onto a server or account that you are not authorized to access;
• Attempting to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the website, or any associated system or network, or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization;
• Interfering or attempting to interfere with our services to any user, host, or network, including, without limitation, by means of submitting a virus to the website, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail bombing, or crashing the Website; • Using the Website to send unsolicited e-mail, including, without limitation, promotions, or advertisements for products or services;
• Forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or in any posting using the website; or
• Attempting to modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise reduce or attempt to reduce to any form any of the source code used by us to provide and maintain the Website. Any violation of system or network security may subject you to civil liability, criminal liability, or both.

11. Ownership of Intellectual Property

Except as otherwise stated in this Agreement, we retain all ownership of and interest in the Website, including without limitation all software used to create, maintain, and develop the website, all content on the Website, and all intellectual property, including, without limitation, all ideas, logos, copyrights, trademarks, or other information provided by you or any other party relating to the Website. This Agreement does not grant you any intellectual property rights in or to the Website, or any of the components of the Website, including any software used in the Website.

12. Grant of Limited License

Except as otherwise stated in this Agreement, if you post or upload any content to the website (“User Content”), you acknowledge and agree that you are granting the Company (and its licensees, affiliates, successors, and assigns) a worldwide, royalty-fee, perpetual, irrevocable, sub-licensable, non-exclusive right to use, reproduce, publicly display, publicly perform, modify, sublicense, and distribute in any manner and any media. You represent and warrant that you own such content or have sufficient rights in the content to grant to us the license detailed above without infringing or violating any third-party rights. Further, you acknowledge and agree that we may retain any and all revenue generated from any sales, licenses, assignments, and other transfers of the rights drafted by you to us under this license.

13. Use of Software

We may make certain software available to you from the Website. If you download software from the Website that we own, the software, including all files and images contained in the software, and accompanying data (the “Software”) will be licensed to you by us for your personal, non-commercial use only. We do not transfer title to or the rights in the Software and all components of the Software. We retain all rights, title, and interest to the Software and any intellectual property associated with the Software.

You may not sell, redistribute, or reproduce the Software, or reverse-engineer, disassemble, or otherwise convert the Software in any way or in any form. All trademarks and logos associated with the Software are owned by us or its licensors, and you are not granted any rights to use them for any purpose.

14. Access to Site

While some aspects of the Services are provided to all users, for other aspects, such as the ability to use some social features, you must be at least 13 years of age, capable of forming a binding contract with us, and not otherwise barred from using the Services under applicable law. It’s important that you provide us with accurate, complete, and current account information and keep this information up to date. If you don’t, we might have to suspend or terminate your account. To protect your account, keep the account details and password confidential, and notify us right away of any unauthorized use. You’re responsible for all activities that occur under your account.

15. Nature of Information; Your Responsibility for Use of Information

The information we provide to you is for educational purposes and is intended to be used as a resource by you. You agree that you are using your own judgment in using the Website and are doing so at your own risk and in compliance with our Privacy Policy and these Terms of Service. You agree and understand that you assume all risks and we do not guarantee any results in any way related to the information on the Website or your implementation of such advice. We provide information to you merely to provide you with resources to help you further develop your musical skills. You are solely responsible for your actions, decisions, and results based on the use, misuse, or non-use of the information provided to you on the Website.

16. School Associated Accounts & Student Privacy

When use of Practicing Musician services is directed by a school or school official, this will cause Practicing Musician to collect, store and process user information on behalf of the school (“School Associated Account”). With School Associated Accounts, you and your school agree to comply with these Terms of Service and be deemed directly liable to Practicing Musician for any acts or omissions in connection with the use of our Services in violation of this Agreement or applicable laws, rules, or regulations.

Confidentiality

Practicing Musician agrees to treat School Associated Account information as confidential. We will not share it with third parties, other than is necessary to deliver our service, support your instrument rental, and as described in these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

Student Personal Information Access

By agreeing to these Terms, you agree you are authorized to grant Practicing Musician access to and grant the right to collect student personal information for the purposes of providing lesson content, lesson feedback, and access to instrument rentals. For School Associated Accounts in the U.S., Practicing Musician will collect and process student information as a school official with a legitimate educational interest pursuant to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 34 CFR Part 99,31(a)(1). As between the parties, the School or the student owns and controls student information. Practicing Musician does not own or control, or license such student information, except as described in the Terms of this Section.

School Associate Account Consents and Authority

If you provide students an access code to create a School Associated Account, you represent and warrant that you have provided appropriate disclosures to the school and to parents regarding our use of student personal information. Both parties agree to uphold their obligations under FERPA, the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (“PPRA”) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”). Practicing Musician relies on each school to obtain and provide appropriate consent and disclosures, if necessary, for us to collect personal information directly from students under the age of 13, as permitted under COPPA. You agree to comply with these Terms and all laws and regulations governing the protection of personal information, including children’s information, and to notify us of any changes in your specific jurisdiction.

Use of Student Personal Information

By directing a student to create a School Associated Account, you agree that Practicing Musician may use student personal information solely for the following purposes: (i) delivering services, including lesson content, student recordings, lesson feedback, and instrument rentals; (ii) improving and developing our School Associated Services; (iii) determining the level of funding to provide schools based on our fundraising model; and (iv) to create aggregated or other de-identified studies. Practicing Musician will not otherwise use information from a Student Associated Account, sell or data mine student personal information, or use it to engage in targeted advertising. To protect student privacy, School Associated Account users will not be able to use social media sharing plugins or post public comments on our Website unless explicitly requested by you in writing and authorized by us.

Notwithstanding the above, by agreeing to this Agreement, you agree that we may use the student’s personal information collected via the School Associated Account for the purpose of creating a separate Practicing Musician subscription-based consumer account and/or providing private lessons, if directed by you, the student, or the student’s parent or legal guardian.

Student Personal Information Retention and Deletion Requests

Unless otherwise specified by the school, Practicing Musician will retain personal information in a School Associated Account only as long as is needed to deliver school-based services to each student, but no longer than five (5) years. You may request that we delete student personal information in our possession at any time or return it by providing such a request in writing. We will respond to these requests as soon as possible, but in most instances within 45 days. We are not required to delete information a student or parent has saved or transferred outside the School Associated Account environment.

Security

Practicing Musician will use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to our Website and services. In the event we have a reasonable good faith belief that an unauthorized party has gained access to School Associated Account information collected or received through this service, we will promptly notify the school or authorized representative.

Intellectual Property Rights

Parties agree that all the school and its authorized agents exclusively own all rights, title and interest in and to all School Associated Account information and content and Practicing Musician has a limited, nonexclusive license solely for the purpose of performing its obligations as outlined in this section.

17. Micro-tutoring Services

Our micro-tutoring services connect students with tutors for real-time virtual music lessons and feedback. By using these services, you represent that you are the account owner or the parent/legal guardian of the minor student account owner. You authorize the collection of information such as student name, contact details, skill level, and recordings of tutoring sessions for the purposes of facilitating lessons, payments, and monitoring quality. Tutors are independent contractors – we do not control them and are not liable for their acts or omissions.

Copyrights and Digital Millennium Copyright Act

18. Notice of Copyright Infringement

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that materials on the Website infringe your rights under U.S. copyright law, you may send us a notice at the address listed below requesting that the material be removed. The notice must include the following information:

• The signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or the subject of infringing activity, and information that reasonably allows us to locate the material on the Website;
• Your name, address, telephone number, and email address (if available);
• A representation that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by you (the copyright owner), your agent, or the law; and
• A representation that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Please be advised that we will not respond to complaints that do not meet the requirements above. If we determine that the materials alleged to infringe your rights do not require removal, we will remove those materials only pursuant to a court order that declares the content or use of the materials unlawful.

19. Counter-notices

If you believe that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed against you, the DMCA permits you to send us a counter-notice. Counter-notices must include the following information:

• Your name, address, and telephone number;
• A description of the source of the content that was removed;
• A representation under penalty of perjury that you believe that the content was removed in error;
• A representation that you consent to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district that we choose, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided the original complaint; and
• Your signature (physical or electronic is acceptable).

20. Updated Requirements

Notices and counter-notices with respect to the Website must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA and should be sent to us through the address listed below. Please be aware that there can be penalties for false claims under the DMCA.

Our address for receiving notifications is:

ATTN: DMCA Copyright Claims Agent

The Practicing Musician S.P.C.

P.O. Box 60193

Seattle, WA 98160

21. Privacy Policy

We value the importance of your privacy. To better protect your privacy, we provide you with a notice that explains our policies for collecting and using the information that we collect from you. You can review our Privacy Policy at www.practicingmusician.com/privacy-policy. The terms of our Privacy Policy are incorporated into these terms by reference.

22. Indemnification

You agree to fully indemnify us, our employees, directors, officers, and affiliates, from any claims or damages resulting from your breach of this agreement, your violation of any rights of any third party service providers you were introduced to by us, or your use or misuse of the Website. For purposes of this indemnification, “damages” includes, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by us. You retain responsibility for the implementation of advice and techniques you learn on the Website. You agree that we are not liable for any damages arising from your implementation of the advice or techniques on the Website. You agree to defend and indemnify the Company from all damages relating to the implementation of advice and techniques. This includes any claims arising from micro-tutoring services, such as disputes with tutors.

23. Disclaimers

The Website is provided “as is” and as available, and the Company disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of intellectual property rights, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Without limiting the general nature of the previous sentence, (A) the Company has no obligation to indemnify or defend you against claims related to infringement of intellectual property rights; (B) although we make our best efforts to keep the site up and running, the Company does not warrant that the website will perform without error or immaterial interruption; (C) although we make our best efforts to keep the Website free of any viruses or other harmful components, the Company cannot make any guarantees, thus the Company does not warrant that the Website will be free of viruses or other harmful components.

You acknowledge and agree to assume the entire risk associated with your use of the Website, including any third-party services or products that you use as a result of the Website, and any injuries or damages that result from your use of or reliance on information provided to you through the Website when playing or maintaining your instrument(s).

24. Limitation of Liability

You agree that in no event will our liability arising out of or related to this Agreement exceed the amount of money you’ve paid to us the prior 12 months. In no event will the company be liable for any consequential, indirect, special, incidental, or punitive damages. Further, the company is not liable or otherwise responsible for any damages resulting from any relationship or transaction between you and any third-party advertiser on the Website, and we are not liable for the actions or inactions of tutors who provide services through our platform.

We may introduce users (other than users of School Associated Accounts) to third-party service providers. You acknowledge that while we may introduce you to third-party service providers, we do not assess the suitability, legality, or ability of any of these third-party service providers. Accordingly, you expressly waive and release us from any and all liability that is related in any way to the third-party service provider. We will not participate in any way in any dispute between you and a third-party service provider. If applicable law limits the application of any part of this section, our liability will be limited to the maximum extent permissible. 

25. Internet Problems

The Website may be subject to limitations, delays, outages, and other problems that are inherent in the use of the internet, software, and other electronic communications. We are not responsible for such delays, failures, or other damages that result from such problems.

General

26. Notices

We may send notices pursuant to this agreement to you via your e-mail address listed on your account, and such notices will be deemed received by you three days after they are sent. You may send notices pursuant to this Agreement to us at [email protected], and such notices will be deemed received by us three days after they are sent.

27. No Waiver

Neither party will be deemed to have waived any of its rights under this Agreement by lapse of time or by any statement or representation other than by explicit written waiver. No waiver of a breach of this Agreement will constitute a waiver of any prior or subsequent breach of this Agreement.

28. Assignment & Successors

Neither party may assign this Agreement or its right or obligations under this Agreement, except we reserve the right to assign this Agreement or any of our rights or obligations under this Agreement without your consent as part of a merger, acquisition, or any other change of control of the Company. This agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the respective successors and assigns of the parties.

29. Choice of Law & Jurisdiction

This Agreement will be governed solely by the internal laws of the State of Washington, without reference to any principles of conflicts of law. The parties consent to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the federal and state courts in King County, Washington.

30. Severability

This Agreement will be enforced to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. If for any reason any provision of this agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable to any extent, then (a) the provision will be interpreted, construed, or reformed to the extent reasonably required to render the provision valid, enforceable, and consistent with the original intent underlying such provision; (b) the provision will remain in effect to the extent that it is not invalid or unenforceable; and (c) the invalidity or unenforceability of the provision will not affect any other portion of this agreement.

31. Entire Agreement

This Agreement is the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior agreements as to the use of the website.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the terms above, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].
The Practicing Musician S.P.C