PRIVACY POLICY

1. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE

This Privacy Policy describes how The Sound Marketplace LLC, a Florida limited liability company based in St. Petersburg, Florida (the "Company"), collects, uses, shares, retains, and protects personal information through thesoundmarketplace.com and its related applications and services (together, the "Platform"). The Platform is an online marketplace where independent creators license and sell human-made music, sample packs, sound effects, and song lyrics.

This Policy applies to every visitor, Buyer, Seller, and Collaborator. Capitalized terms not defined here carry the meanings given in the Platform's Terms of Use. This Policy is a standalone document. It is not part of the Terms of Use, and the Terms of Use point to it wherever a platform rule touches personal data. Send privacy questions and data requests to support@thesoundmarketplace.com.

2. INFORMATION THE PLATFORM COLLECTS

The Platform collects the categories below, organized by source.

2.1 Account registration data. Name or stage name, email address, username, password in protected form, and any profile details you choose to add.

2.2 Seller payout and tax data. Legal name, mailing address, taxpayer identification details, and payout account information. Stripe collects most of this data directly during payout onboarding, and the Platform receives only confirmation of onboarding status and not the underlying tax identifiers or bank numbers.

2.3 Buyer purchase data. Order history, the License Tier attached to each purchase, receipts, refund requests, and the logged records of each click of assent described in the Terms of Use.

2.4 Payment data. Stripe processes all payments. Card numbers and full payment credentials go to Stripe and not to the Platform. The Platform receives transaction confirmations, payout status, and limited billing details needed to service orders.

2.5 Uploaded content and its metadata. The files a Seller uploads, listing descriptions, Collaborator Split-Sheets, upload certifications, the AI disclosure tier selected for each upload, and the results of the authenticity scans described in the Terms of Use.

2.6 Device and usage data. IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, pages viewed, timestamps, and referring pages, collected automatically when you use the Platform.

2.7 Cookies and analytics data. Data collected through cookies and similar technologies, described in Section 9.

2.8 Support communications. Messages, dispute submissions, flag reports, and any attachments you send to support. This category also includes messages you exchange with the Platform's automated chat assistant, if one is offered.

3. HOW THE PLATFORM USES INFORMATION

The Platform uses personal information to create and manage accounts, deliver purchased Content, process payments and payouts through Stripe, keep the logged assent and electronic signature records the Terms of Use require, screen uploads with authenticity scanning tools, review flags and disputes, prevent fraud and enforce the Terms of Use, provide customer support, send service and transactional emails, send marketing emails you can opt out of at any time, comply with tax and other legal obligations, and maintain the security of the Platform. The Platform does not use personal information for targeted advertising and does not build advertising profiles.

4. HOW THE PLATFORM SHARES INFORMATION

The Platform shares personal information only with the categories of recipients below and does not sell personal information.

4.1 Payment processing. Stripe and Stripe Connect receive the data needed to process payments, run payout onboarding, split Collaborator payouts, and meet financial compliance duties.

4.2 Hosting and infrastructure. Hosting providers store Platform data and server logs on the Company's behalf.

4.3 Analytics providers. Analytics vendors receive usage data described in Sections 2.6 and 2.7 to help the Company understand how the Platform performs.

4.4 Authenticity scanning vendors. Third-party detection vendors receive uploaded audio and lyric files, and related metadata, to screen for AI-generated content as described in the Terms of Use. The Company may change or combine vendors at any time, and this Policy applies the same way no matter which vendor the Platform uses.

4.5 Email and support services. Email delivery and support ticket vendors receive contact details and message content needed to run those services. If the Platform offers an automated chat assistant, the vendor that operates the assistant receives the messages you send it so the assistant can respond.

4.6 Legal and safety disclosures. The Platform may disclose personal information to comply with law, respond to valid legal process, enforce the Terms of Use, or protect the rights, safety, or property of the Company, its users, or the public.

4.7 Business transfers. If the Company merges, is acquired, or sells assets, personal information may transfer as part of that transaction, with notice to you consistent with the Terms of Use.

4.8 With your direction. The Platform shares information when you ask it to, such as displaying a Seller profile or stage name on a public Listing.

4.9 No advertising sales. The Platform does not sell personal information and does not share personal information with third parties for advertising. The Platform runs no advertising-based revenue model. Revenue comes from commissions and Membership fees.

5. DATA RETENTION AND DISPOSAL

The Platform keeps account data while an account stays active and for a reasonable period afterward to handle disputes, refunds, and legal duties. Transaction records, license and assignment records, and the logged assent and signature records stay as long as needed to prove the rights each purchase transferred, and at least three years for subscription consent records. Tax and financial records stay as long as tax law requires. When personal information is no longer needed, the Platform deletes it or strips it of identifying details using reasonable secure disposal measures, consistent with Florida law described in Section 11. The retention period for each category follows stated criteria: account data lasts while the account is active, transaction, license, and assignment records last as long as the rights they prove, tax records follow tax law deadlines, and support and dispute records last as long as needed to resolve and document the matter.

6. DATA SECURITY

The Platform uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including encryption of data in transit, access controls, and vendor review. No method of transmission or storage is fully secure, and the Platform cannot promise perfect security. If a breach of security affects your personal information, the Platform will notify you as described in Section 11 and as other applicable law requires.

7. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

The Platform operates from the United States, and personal information is processed and stored on servers in the United States. If you use the Platform from outside the United States, your information transfers to the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those of your home country. Sections 14 and 15 describe added protections for users in Europe and Canada.

8. YOUR CHOICES AND REQUESTS

You may review and update most account information in your account settings. You may also email support@thesoundmarketplace.com to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information. The Platform verifies each request by matching it to the account email or asking for information only the account holder would have, and responds within 30 days. The Platform may keep records it needs for completed transactions, copyright assignment records, dispute history, fraud prevention, and legal compliance even after a deletion request, and will tell you when it does. You may opt out of marketing emails through the unsubscribe link in any marketing message. Service and transactional emails continue while you hold an account.

9. COOKIES, ANALYTICS, AND DO NOT TRACK

9.1 Cookies. A cookie is a small file stored on your device. The Platform uses strictly necessary cookies to run accounts, carts, and checkout, functional cookies to remember preferences, and analytics cookies to measure how the Platform performs. The Platform does not use advertising cookies and does not permit third-party advertising networks to collect data across other websites through the Platform. Analytics vendors may set cookies that collect usage data for the Platform's own analytics only. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though parts of the Platform may stop working without the strictly necessary ones. Optional cookies load only after you make a choice in the cookie banner, and the banner offers accept and reject options.

9.2 Do Not Track. Some browsers send "Do Not Track" signals. No common industry standard for responding to those signals exists, so the Platform does not change how it collects information when it receives one. The Platform collects no cross-site advertising data in any case, and Section 8 describes the choices available to every user regardless of browser signals.

10. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

If you are a California resident, the following disclosures apply to you. The California Online Privacy Protection Act, known as CalOPPA, applies to any commercial website that collects personal information from California residents, with no size or revenue threshold, and this section provides the disclosures it calls for.

10.1 Categories collected and shared. The categories of personal information the Platform collects appear in Section 2. The categories of third parties that may receive that information appear in Section 4. The Platform does not sell personal information and does not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

10.2 Reviewing and requesting changes. You may review, update, correct, or request deletion of your personal information through the process in Section 8.

10.3 Do Not Track and cross-site tracking. The Platform's response to browser "Do Not Track" signals appears in Section 9.2. Third parties do not collect personally identifiable information about your activities across different websites when you use the Platform, except that analytics vendors collect usage data for the Platform's own analytics as described in Section 9.1.

10.4 Policy changes and effective date. The process for notifying you of material changes to this Policy appears in Section 16, and the effective date appears at the top of this Policy.

11. FLORIDA RESIDENTS

If you are a Florida resident, the following applies to you. The Florida Information Protection Act applies to every business that keeps personal information about Florida residents, with no size threshold, so it binds the Platform from day one. The Platform maintains reasonable safeguards to protect personal information and disposes of records containing personal information securely once they are no longer needed. If the Platform determines that a security breach has compromised your personal information, the Platform will notify you within 30 days of that determination, and a 15-day extension is available only for good cause. If a breach affects 500 or more Florida residents, the Platform will also notify the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. If a breach requires notice to 1,000 or more individuals at one time, the Platform will also notify the nationwide consumer reporting agencies.

12. RESIDENTS OF OTHER STATES

Several states have their own privacy laws that grant residents rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain uses of personal information. The Platform extends the request process in Section 8 to residents of every state. If the law of your state grants you a right this Policy does not list, you may still submit the request, and the Platform will honor it where the law requires.

13. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

The Platform is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. Every account holder must be at least 18 years old, for buyers and sellers alike. If you believe someone under 18 has provided personal information to the Platform, email support@thesoundmarketplace.com and the Platform will delete it. A parent or guardian may make that request on the child's behalf.

14. USERS IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA, UNITED KINGDOM, AND SWITZERLAND

If you use the Platform from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following applies to you. The Platform is available worldwide, including in these regions, and The Sound Marketplace LLC acts as the controller of your personal information and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation and its United Kingdom and Swiss counterparts.

14.1 Lawful bases for processing. The Platform processes your personal information on the following lawful bases: performance of a contract (running your account, delivering purchases, and processing payouts), legitimate interests (fraud prevention, Platform security, analytics, and upload screening), consent (marketing emails and optional cookies), and compliance with legal obligations (tax and financial records). Account and payment information is needed to open an account and complete purchases, and the Platform cannot provide the service without it. Marketing consent is optional and never a condition of service.

14.2 Your rights. You may request access to your personal information, correction, erasure, restriction of processing, or a portable copy, and you may object to processing based on legitimate interests. Where processing rests on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting processing that already took place. Submit requests through the process in Section 8. The Platform answers requests under this Section within one month.

14.3 International transfers. Your personal information is processed and stored in the United States as described in Section 7. Transfers from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland rest on standard contractual clauses and other recognized transfer safeguards in place with each processor that handles the data.

14.4 Representatives. The Platform's representative in the European Union is DataRep, and its representative in the United Kingdom is DataRep. Either representative may be contacted about this Policy, and every request may also come directly through Section 17.

14.5 Automated decisions. No decision that produces a legal or similarly significant effect is made about you by software alone. Scan results and flagged listings receive human review under the Terms of Use before any final action, and account decisions are made by people.

14.6 Breach notice. Where this Section applies, the Platform notifies the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach that requires notice, and informs affected users without undue delay when the law requires.

14.7 Complaints. You may contact the Platform about any privacy concern through Section 17. You may also lodge a complaint with the data protection authority in your country.

15. USERS IN CANADA

If you use the Platform from Canada, the following applies to you. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, known as PIPEDA, guides how the Platform handles your information. The Platform follows the practices PIPEDA calls for, meaningful consent, collection limited to stated purposes, safeguards matched to the sensitivity of the data, openness about its policies, and access and correction rights, through this section and Sections 5, 6, and 8. The Platform expects Canadian users from launch, designates a privacy officer accountable for how personal information is handled, reachable at support@thesoundmarketplace.com, and makes a French version of this Policy available on request for Quebec residents.

15.1 Consent. The Platform collects, uses, and discloses your personal information with your consent, express or implied, and for the purposes described in this Policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal and contractual limits, and the Platform will explain the effect of withdrawal on request.

15.2 Access and accuracy. You may request access to the personal information the Platform holds about you and ask the Platform to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete, through the process in Section 8.

15.3 Complaints. If you are not satisfied with how the Platform has handled your personal information, you may contact the Platform through Section 17. You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

16. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

The Platform may update this Policy as its practices or the law change. Updates post at this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. For material changes, the Platform will email the address on your account and post a conspicuous notice on the Platform at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date accepts the updated Policy, except where the law requires fresh consent. The Platform may publish translations of this Policy, and if a translation conflicts with the English version, the English version controls.

17. CONTACT

Send privacy questions, data requests, and complaints to The Sound Marketplace LLC at support@thesoundmarketplace.com or by mail at 7901 4th St N, STE 300, St. Petersburg, FL 33702. The Platform responds to data requests within 30 days and will tell you if it needs more time.