Payment Terms

Last updated: August 27, 2026.

These Payment Terms govern subscriptions, platform sponsorships, artist earnings, payouts, and payment processing on Gruvvy. They form part of and incorporate the Gruvvy Terms of Service. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in the Terms of Service. By subscribing, sponsoring, uploading music, or receiving payouts through Gruvvy, you agree to these Payment Terms.

1. Definitions

• "Gruvvy," "we," "us" — the operator of the Gruvvy music streaming and distribution platform.
• "Artist" — a user who distributes or monetizes music through Gruvvy and is eligible to receive payouts.
• "Subscriber" — a user who pays a recurring subscription fee to access music on Gruvvy.
• "Platform Sponsorship" — a recurring monthly contribution that supports the operation of Gruvvy itself, described in Section 4. A "Sponsor" is a user who holds one.
• "Connected Account" — an Artist's Stripe account, enrolled with Gruvvy through Stripe Connect, used to receive payouts.
• "Stripe Services Agreement" — the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service, as modified by Stripe from time to time.

2. Subscriptions and billing

Gruvvy offers the following recurring monthly subscription plans:

• Recurring billing. Subscriptions are billed in advance each month and automatically renew until cancelled. By subscribing, you authorize Gruvvy and its payment processor to charge your payment method on each renewal date.
• Cancellation. You may cancel at any time through your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period, and you retain access until that date.
• Failed payments. If a charge fails, we may retry the charge and may suspend or limit your access until payment succeeds.
• Price changes. We may change subscription prices on at least 30 days' notice. Changes take effect at your next renewal.

3. Free Listening days

Gruvvy may designate recurring Free Listening days on which any registered, signed-in user may stream the full catalog without a subscription. Guests who are not signed in are not included — an account is required.

• Which days. Free Listening days may be set to any day or days of the week, at Gruvvy's discretion. As a rule we expect to set one day per week, but we do not commit to a particular day, to a fixed number of days, or to offering the perk at all. The current days are shown in the Service.
• Timing. A Free Listening day runs from midnight to midnight UTC, not in your local time zone. The window is therefore the same worldwide and may begin or end partway through your local day.
• Changes. We may change, add, remove, or discontinue Free Listening days at any time and without notice. They are a promotional perk, not a subscription entitlement, and no refund or credit arises from a change to them.
• Artists are still paid. Listening on a Free Listening day is tracked like any other listening, but it is not itself a payment. Artist earnings continue to be allocated only out of Subscriber payments under Section 6, so listening by a non-Subscriber — on a Free Listening day or otherwise — generates no earnings.

4. Platform sponsorships

A Platform Sponsorship is a recurring monthly contribution that supports the operation of Gruvvy — hosting, storage, streaming bandwidth, and the ongoing development of the platform. Sponsorships are offered at the following levels:

• A sponsorship pays Artists nothing. No part of a Platform Sponsorship enters the artist revenue pool, is allocated by listening, or is paid out to any Artist. Sponsorship funds support the platform only. This is the defining difference between a Platform Sponsorship and a subscription.
• A sponsorship is not a subscription. It does not grant catalog access or Subscriber features. A Sponsor who also wants those must hold a subscription as well. The two are separate products, may be held at the same time, and are billed separately.
• Not to be confused with the subscription tier. The subscription plan named "Indie Artist Sponsor ($49.99)" in Section 2 is a subscription that earns Artists revenue under Section 6. It is not a Platform Sponsorship.
• Recurring billing. Sponsorships are billed in advance each month and automatically renew until cancelled. By sponsoring, you authorize Gruvvy and its payment processor to charge your payment method on each renewal date.
• Cancellation and refunds. You may cancel at any time through your account settings, effective at the end of the current billing period. Sponsorship payments are non-refundable, except where required by law.
• Price changes. We may change sponsorship prices on at least 30 days' notice. Changes take effect at your next renewal.
• Public recognition. A Sponsor's display name, handle, and profile photo may be listed publicly on the Gruvvy sponsors page and elsewhere on the Service. Sponsors may opt out of public listing at any time in their account settings; opting out does not change the amount charged and does not entitle you to a refund. Recognition is not advertising and confers no endorsement, editorial influence, or control over Content, Artists, or artist earnings.

5. Refunds

Payments are non-refundable, and Gruvvy does not provide refunds or credits for partial billing periods, except where required by law. This applies to both subscriptions and Platform Sponsorships.

6. Artist revenue share

A flat payment processing fee of $0.75 is deducted from each subscription payment before any artist share is calculated. The fee covers the cost of processing the payment and is not Gruvvy revenue. The percentages below apply to the remaining net amount, not to the gross subscription price.

Artists earn a share of each Subscriber's subscription fee based on the Subscriber's plan, calculated on subscription revenue net of that fee:

Example: a $9.99 Indie Artist Supporter payment is reduced by the $0.75 fee to $9.24 net. The 70% artist share of that net — $6.47 — is distributed among the Artists that Subscriber listened to during the period; the remaining $2.77 is retained by Gruvvy.

Gruvvy uses a listener-centric model. For each Subscriber, the Artist share of that Subscriber's fee is distributed among the Artists that Subscriber actually listened to during the billing period, in proportion to the minutes the Subscriber listened to each Artist. A subscription supports the specific Artists a Subscriber chooses to play, rather than a general pool.

7. How listening is measured

Minutes listened are measured by Gruvvy's playback tracking. A stream qualifies for revenue allocation once a track has been played for at least 30 seconds, and listening time accrues in ongoing intervals thereafter. Gruvvy's records of minutes listened are the basis for revenue allocation, absent manifest error. Listening activity that is artificial, automated, or manipulated does not qualify for earnings and may result in withheld or reversed payouts.

8. Payouts

• Balance. Earnings accrue to the Artist's balance as listening is allocated for each billing period. They remain in that balance until the Artist requests a payout — Gruvvy does not pay out automatically.
• Requests. An Artist may request all or part of their available balance. The minimum request is $20.00; a balance below the minimum stays in the balance until it reaches that threshold. Available balance is earnings less amounts already paid and less any pending or approved request, so the same earnings cannot be requested twice. A pending request may be cancelled by the Artist; once a request has been approved it is being processed and can no longer be cancelled.
• Review and payment. Requests are reviewed by Gruvvy and paid to the payout destination the Artist has set up — a Stripe Connected Account or a PayPal account. A request may be approved, denied, or paid in part; a partial payment leaves the remainder outstanding. Gruvvy does not guarantee a specific processing time.
• Adjustments. Payouts may be adjusted for refunds, chargebacks, reversals, or corrections attributable to the relevant period.
• Connected Account. Where an Artist is paid through Stripe, Connected Accounts are enrolled through Stripe Express under a recipient service agreement. Under a recipient service agreement, the account relates to Gruvvy rather than directly to Stripe, cannot process card payments, and payouts may take up to an additional 24 hours to become available. Once a service agreement type is accepted, it cannot be changed on that account.
• Eligibility. You must be at least 18 years old and provide accurate identity and tax information to enroll a payout destination and receive payouts.

9. Payment processing by Stripe

Payment processing services for artists and creators on GRUVVY are provided by Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service (collectively, the "Stripe Services Agreement"). By agreeing to these terms or continuing to operate as a creator on GRUVVY, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Services Agreement, as the same may be modified by Stripe from time to time.

As a condition of Gruvvy enabling payout services through Stripe, you agree to provide Gruvvy accurate and complete information about you and your business, and you authorize Gruvvy to share it and transaction information related to your use of the services provided by Stripe.

10. Gruvvy is not the payment processor

Gruvvy facilitates billing and instructs Stripe on the movement of funds, but Gruvvy does not itself hold or take possession or control of user funds. Subscription and sponsorship payments are collected, safeguarded, and settled by Stripe under the Stripe Services Agreement. Questions about the status of collected or settled funds should be directed to rufus+billing@gruvvy.com, and may be referred to Stripe where appropriate.

11. Taxes

You are solely responsible for determining what, if any, taxes apply to your use of Gruvvy and your earnings, and for assessing, collecting, reporting, and remitting the correct tax to the appropriate authority. Gruvvy and Stripe do not provide tax advice. Tax forms, such as a 1099-K where applicable, are issued through Stripe based on your Connected Account activity. You are responsible for keeping your tax and identity information current.

12. Disputes, chargebacks, and liability

As the platform, Gruvvy may be liable to Stripe for activity on Connected Accounts, including transactions, disputes, refunds, reversals, and associated fines. Where a Subscriber chargeback, refund, or reversal affects amounts already allocated or paid to an Artist, Gruvvy and Stripe may recover the affected amounts from the Artist's balance or future payouts, and you authorize such recovery. You agree to cooperate in resolving disputes and to provide requested information promptly.

13. Data and privacy

When you provide personal data in connection with payments, Stripe receives that data and processes it in accordance with the Stripe Privacy Policy. Our payment processor may obtain information from credit agencies and identity-verification sources to verify your identity, as described in Stripe's Privacy Policy. Gruvvy's own handling of your data is described in our Privacy Policy.

14. Changes to these Payment Terms

We may update these Payment Terms from time to time and will provide at least 30 days' notice of material changes. Stripe may amend the Stripe Services Agreement on its own timeline, with those changes binding when they take effect. Your continued use of Gruvvy after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

15. Contact

• Billing, subscriptions, sponsorships, and payouts: rufus+billing@gruvvy.com
• Legal matters and notices: rufus+legal@gruvvy.com

Terms of Service  ·  Payments Terms  ·  Privacy Policy  ·  Cookie Policy