Last Updated: February 13, 2026
Welcome to Alera, a music career management and distribution platform operated by Alera Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Alera," "we," "our," or "us"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Alera's website(s), mobile applications, APIs, and related services, tools, and content (collectively, the "Platform" or "Services").
By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, you may not use the Services.
You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to use the Platform. If you are between 13 and 17, you may use the Platform only with the consent and supervision of your parent or legal guardian.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to promptly notify Alera of any unauthorized use of your account.
We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Platform for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms.
You agree not to:
Certain Services, including but not limited to unlimited music distribution, require an active, paid subscription plan ("Plus" or "Pro"). All fees are displayed at checkout and must be paid using an accepted payment method.
ALERA offers a free tier ("Free") that provides access to certain Platform features at no cost and with no time limitation. The Free tier is not a trial — it does not expire and does not require a payment method to use.
Free Tier Features: The Free tier includes access to Smart Bio (artist link-in-bio page), basic Fan CRM, and Private Library (upload and store your music privately). Free tier features may be modified, expanded, or reduced at ALERA's sole discretion with reasonable notice.
Distribution Requires a Paid Plan: Music distribution to Digital Service Providers (DSPs) such as Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming platforms is not included in the Free tier. To distribute music to DSPs, you must subscribe to an active paid plan (Plus, Pro, or Label). Free tier users may complete the release submission form, but submission for distribution requires an active paid subscription.
Upgrade: You may upgrade from the Free tier to a paid subscription plan at any time through the Platform.
By providing a payment method, you authorize us to charge fees and applicable taxes. All payments are non-refundable unless expressly stated otherwise.
We reserve the right to change pricing or payment terms upon notice. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
You are responsible for any fees charged by your chosen payment provider (e.g., PayPal fees, bank transfer fees, crypto network fees). Such fees will be deducted from your final payout amount.
(a) Minimum Lead Time. To ensure adequate time for content review, quality checks, and distribution to DSPs, all releases are subject to a minimum lead time between the date of submission and the selected release date. The minimum lead time varies by subscription tier:
Releases submitted with a release date that does not meet the minimum lead time for the applicable tier will be rejected. ALERA enforces these minimums both in the Platform interface and via server-side validation.
(b) Review Times. All releases submitted through the Platform undergo a content review process before being delivered to DSPs. Estimated review times vary by subscription tier:
These review times are estimates only and do not constitute a guarantee. ALERA reserves the right to extend review times during periods of high volume, for releases requiring additional content review, or for any other reason at its sole discretion.
(c) Recommended Lead Time. ALERA strongly recommends setting your release date at least three (3) weeks (21 calendar days) from the date of submission. This allows sufficient time for content review, distribution processing by DSPs, and the minimum seven (7) days required by certain DSPs (including Spotify) to be eligible for editorial playlist consideration.
(d) DSP Processing Time. After ALERA completes its review and delivers your release to DSPs, additional processing time is required by each DSP before your release becomes live. ALERA does not control DSP processing times and cannot guarantee that your release will be live on any specific DSP by your selected release date. See Sections 4.3 and 4.4 for further details.
(e) Rejection and Resubmission. If your release is rejected during the review process (for content policy violations, metadata issues, artwork issues, or any other reason), you will be notified and may correct and resubmit the release. A resubmission restarts the review process and the minimum lead time is recalculated from the new submission date. If your original release date can no longer be met, you will need to select a new release date that satisfies the minimum lead time requirement for your tier.
You retain ownership of your User Content (music, metadata, artwork, etc.), but you grant Alera a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to:
You represent and warrant that:
You acknowledge and agree that ALERA utilizes a network of third-party distributors and aggregators ("Distribution Partners") to deliver your User Content to Digital Service Providers ("DSPs"). By using our Services, you agree that your User Content will be subject to the terms, conditions, and content policies of these Distribution Partners. ALERA is not liable for any delays, errors, content rejections, or any other failures caused by our Distribution Partners in the delivery of your content to DSPs.
ALERA acts as a service provider to deliver your User Content to DSPs such as Spotify and Apple Music. You acknowledge that ALERA does not control and is not responsible for the business practices, content policies, or timelines of these DSPs. We do not guarantee that your User Content will be accepted by any DSP, nor can we control the time it takes for a release to become live on a DSP's platform.
By opting to distribute your User Content to a specific DSP through the Platform, you acknowledge and agree that you are also bound by the individual terms of service, content policies, and guidelines of that DSP (e.g., Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Snapchat, etc.). It is your responsibility to review and comply with these third-party terms.
For the purposes of these Terms, "Artificially Generated Content" or "AI Content" refers to music, lyrics, or artwork where a significant portion of the creative material was generated using artificial intelligence tools or processes, with minimal human creative input or authorship. This includes, but is not limited to, tracks generated entirely by AI models or tracks using AI-cloned vocals of existing artists.
You must accurately disclose the use of AI in the creation of each track submitted through the Platform, using the specific declaration tools provided in the release submission form. Failure to provide accurate information regarding the use of AI constitutes a material breach of these Terms.
In addition to the general Content Responsibilities outlined in Section 4.2, if you submit AI Content, you further represent and warrant that:
You acknowledge and agree that the acceptance, categorization, and monetization policies for AI Content vary significantly across different Digital Service Providers (DSPs) and are rapidly evolving. ALERA and its Distribution Partners must comply with the policies set forth by each DSP. Therefore:
You remain solely responsible and liable for any and all claims, disputes, or losses arising from the AI Content you submit through the Platform. Providing false information regarding AI usage or submitting AI Content that infringes third-party rights may result in the rejection of your release, the termination of your account, and potential legal action.
All Platform content, software, designs, trademarks, and branding are owned by Alera or its licensors. You may not use our marks or proprietary content without written permission.
By submitting ideas or feedback, you grant us an unrestricted license to use and incorporate your suggestions without compensation.
Our Privacy Policy governs how we collect and use your personal information. By using the Services, you consent to our data practices. This includes the collection and processing of information required for our identity verification and fraud prevention measures.
We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Platform at any time for any reason, including but not limited to, breach of these Terms, failure to pass identity verification, or submission of fraudulent content, at our sole discretion.
You may cancel your paid subscription at any time through your account settings. Your cancellation will take effect at the end of your current billing period; you will retain full access to all paid features until that date.
Your releases remain live. Upon cancellation of your paid subscription, all releases you have distributed through the Platform will remain live on all Digital Service Providers (DSPs) indefinitely. ALERA will not initiate a takedown of your catalog as a result of subscription cancellation. Your music is your property and we do not hold it hostage.
Because your releases remain live on DSPs after cancellation, they will continue to generate royalties. ALERA will continue to collect, process, and hold these royalties on your behalf according to the following schedule:
(a) Grace Period (Months 1–6). For a period of six (6) months following the effective date of your subscription cancellation (the "Grace Period"), ALERA will continue to collect and process your royalties at no additional cost. During the Grace Period:
(b) Post-Grace Period (Month 7 onward). Beginning on the first day after the expiration of your Grace Period, ALERA will apply a Royalty Collection and Maintenance Fee ("Collection Fee") of twenty percent (20%) of all net royalties earned by your catalog. This fee compensates ALERA for the ongoing costs of maintaining your releases on DSPs, processing royalty statements, and providing continued access to your ALERA account. During the Post-Grace Period:
If you resubscribe to any active paid subscription plan (Plus, Pro, or Label) at any time after cancellation:
After cancellation, your ALERA account will remain active in a limited capacity. You will retain:
You will lose access to paid features including, but not limited to, wallet withdrawals, submitting new releases, next-day delivery, advanced analytics, the Service Exchange, Fan Zone monetization tools, and priority support.
If you have cancelled your subscription and do not log in to your ALERA dashboard for a continuous period of eighteen (18) months, your account will be considered dormant. ALERA reserves the right to close a dormant cancelled account and retain any accrued royalties to cover the long-term administrative and platform costs of maintaining the account and its live releases. ALERA will make reasonable attempts to notify you via your registered email address at least thirty (30) days before your account is closed and royalties are forfeited. Your releases will remain live on DSPs unless you request a takedown or ALERA determines that continued distribution is not commercially viable.
You may request a takedown of any or all of your releases at any time through the Platform, regardless of your subscription status. ALERA reserves the right to charge an administrative fee for processing takedown requests. Any applicable fees will be clearly displayed before you confirm your request. Once a takedown is processed, royalty collection for the taken-down release(s) will cease after the DSPs complete the removal process.
If ALERA terminates your account pursuant to Section 8.1 due to breach of these Terms, fraudulent activity, or other cause, ALERA reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to (a) remove your releases from DSPs, and (b) withhold any accrued but unpaid royalties. The Music Permanence Guarantee described in Section 8.3 and the Grace Period described in Section 8.4 do not apply to accounts terminated by ALERA for cause.
The Platform is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access or that defects will be corrected.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, including lost profits, arising from your use of the Platform. Our total liability to you for all claims is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount paid by you for Services in the 12 months prior to the claim.
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Alera, its affiliates, and their respective officers, employees, and agents from any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, or expenses arising from:
We respect copyright laws. If you believe content on the Platform infringes your rights, please notify us at contact@alera.fm. Your notice must comply with the DMCA (17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)).
We may revise these Terms at any time. Material changes will be notified via email or platform notification. Continued use of the Platform constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, U.S.A., without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Delaware.
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Alera. If any part is found unenforceable, the remainder will remain in effect. No waiver of any term will be considered a continuing waiver.
If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at:
Email: contact@alera.fm