Terms of use

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Fountain platform and services (“Fountain”, “we”, “us”, “our”). Fountain is operated by Fountain Labs Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. By creating an account or using Fountain, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Services.

1. Description of Services

Fountain provides a platform for listening to, publishing, hosting, distributing, and monetising audio and media content. The “Services” include:

• Podcast hosting and distribution
• Music hosting and distribution
• Listener applications (web, mobile and integrations)
• Creator monetisation tools (subscriptions, tips, donations and other payments)
• Payment routing and revenue splits
• Analytics and dashboards
• Community and messaging features
• APIs and integrations
• Any related features or services we provide

Services may change or evolve over time.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old (or the minimum legal age in your jurisdiction) to use Fountain. If you use Fountain on behalf of a company, network, or organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

3. Accounts

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the security of your account
• All activity under your account
• Providing accurate information

You must not:

• Impersonate others
• Create accounts for abuse or fraud
• Circumvent suspensions or restrictions

We may suspend or terminate accounts where these Terms are violated.

4. Creators (Podcasters and Artists)

If you upload, host, or distribute content via Fountain, you are a “Creator”. Creators may:

• Upload and distribute podcasts or music
• Enable payments or subscriptions
• Set payment splits and payout addresses
• Access analytics and creator tools

You are solely responsible for your content and its distribution.

5. Content Ownership and Licence

You retain ownership of all content you upload to Fountain, including podcasts, music, artwork and metadata. By uploading content, you grant Fountain permission to:

• Host and store your content
• Distribute via RSS and other protocols
• Enable playback and access
• Promote and feature your content within the Services
• Provide analytics and platform functionality

This licence continues only as necessary to operate the Services and ends when you remove your content, except where:

• Backup or caching persists
• Content has already been distributed via open RSS or public networks
• Retention is required for legal or compliance purposes

6. Creator Responsibilities

You represent and warrant that:

• You own or control all necessary rights to your content
• You have obtained permissions from contributors or rights holders
• Your content does not infringe intellectual property rights
• Your content complies with applicable laws and regulations

You are responsible for:

• Rights clearance
• Music licensing
• Guest permissions
• Compliance with advertising or sponsorship laws

You agree to indemnify Fountain against claims arising from your content.

7. Hosting and Distribution

Availability We aim to provide reliable hosting but do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free service. Services may be unavailable due to maintenance, technical issues, third-party failures, or events outside our control. Distribution Fountain distributes content via RSS and open protocols. We do not guarantee:

• Placement in third-party apps or directories
• Discovery or promotion
• Continued availability on external platforms

External platforms control their own policies and listings. Storage and usage We may apply reasonable usage limits to prevent abuse or service degradation. We may suspend or restrict accounts that unreasonably impact platform stability.

8. Payments and Monetisation

Fountain enables payments between listeners and creators. This may include:

• Donations
• Subscriptions
• Other monetisation features

Fountain utilises third party services for payment processing including Stripe for card payments and ZBD for bitcoin payments. Fees Fountain may charge fees for monetisation and hosting. Current standard fees (subject to change with notice): Lightning payments:

• 2% for podcasts hosted on Fountain
• 10% for music hosted on Fountain
• Fees may vary for content not hosted on Fountain

Card payments via Stripe:

• 5% Fountain fee plus Stripe’s standard processing fees

Additional fees or changes may apply with notice. Payouts Lightning payouts are routed instantly to payout addresses defined by creators. Fiat payouts are processed via Stripe and subject to Stripe’s terms and timelines. Creators are responsible for:

• Providing accurate payout details
• Taxes and reporting
• Compliance with financial regulations

We reserve the right to withhold payouts where required to:

• Prevent fraud
• Comply with law
• Resolve disputes

9. Payment Risks

Certain features use Bitcoin, Lightning Network, or other digital payment systems. You acknowledge:

• Digital asset values are volatile
• Transactions may be irreversible
• Wallet keys and addresses are your responsibility
• Network disruptions may occur
• Third-party custodians or processors may be involved

ZBD acts as a licensed bitcoin custodian for certain services. Fountain is not responsible for losses resulting from:

• Wallet errors
• Incorrect payout details
• Network issues
• Third-party failures

Nothing on Fountain constitutes financial advice.

10. Acceptable Use

You must not use Fountain to:

• Infringe intellectual property
• Upload unlawful or harmful content
• Harass or abuse others
• Promote scams or fraud
• Manipulate payments or metrics
• Attempt to disrupt or exploit the platform

We may remove content or suspend accounts at our discretion.

11. Third-Party Services

Fountain relies on third-party services including:

• Payment processors
• Bitcoin custodians
• Podcast and app directories
• Hosting and infrastructure providers
• Open networks and protocols

We are not responsible for third-party services or their availability. Your use of third-party services is subject to their terms.

12. Data and Portability

Creators retain ownership of their content and RSS feeds. You may export content where functionality allows. After termination:

• Content may be removed from Fountain
• Public RSS content may persist externally
• Certain data may be retained for compliance or legal purposes

13. Termination

You may stop using Fountain at any time. We may suspend or terminate access if:

• You breach these Terms
• Required by law
• Necessary to protect users or the platform
• We discontinue services

We may remove or disable access to content after termination.

14. Disclaimers

Services are provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not guarantee:

• Continuous uptime
• Earnings or monetisation success
• Audience growth
• Compatibility with all third-party platforms

15. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Fountain will not be liable for:

• Indirect or consequential losses
• Loss of revenue, profits or data
• Payment or digital asset losses
• Third-party actions or platform changes

Our total liability is limited to the amount paid by you to Fountain in the previous 12 months. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability where unlawful to do so.

16. Changes to Services or Terms

We may update:

• Services
• Features
• Fees
• These Terms

Where appropriate, we will provide notice. Continued use of Fountain constitutes acceptance of updated Terms.

17. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Disputes shall be subject to the courts of England and Wales unless otherwise required by applicable consumer law.

18. Contact

Fountain Labs Ltd 124 City Rd London EC1V 2NP hello@fountain.fm