Terms of Service

Last updated: May 2, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and Sound Throne LLC ("Sound Throne", "we", "us"). They govern your use of the Sound Throne mobile app and related services (the "Service").

By creating an account or paying an entry fee, you agree to these Terms and to the separate Official Contest Rules below.

1. Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years old.
• You must be a legal resident of one of the 47 eligible U.S. states (see Official Contest Rules § 1; New York, Florida, and Rhode Island residents are not eligible until further notice).
• You must not be an employee, contractor, or immediate family member of Sound Throne LLC.

If you do not meet these requirements, do not use the Service.

2. Account

You are responsible for safeguarding your password and for any activity on your account. Notify us immediately at support@soundthrone.studio if you suspect unauthorized access.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, the Official Contest Rules, or applicable law.

3. Submissions

You retain all ownership of audio you submit. You represent and warrant that:

• You own or have full rights to the audio (including any samples, beats, or vocals).
• The submission does not infringe any third-party rights.
• The submission does not contain illegal content, threats, hate speech, sexual content involving minors, or impersonation.

You grant Sound Throne a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, display, play, and excerpt your submission inside the Service and on Sound Throne's official social channels solely for the purposes of running and promoting the contest. This license ends if you delete your submission, except for excerpts already published before deletion.

We may remove any submission at our sole discretion.

4. Entry Fees & Refunds

Entry into a weekly contest costs $25.00 USD per submission, paid through Stripe. All entry fees are final and non-refundable once your submission has been queued for AI judging, except where required by law. Duplicate or accidental charges will be refunded if reported to support@soundthrone.studio within seven (7) days.

Free alternative entry is available — see Official Contest Rules § 4.

5. AI Judging

Submissions are evaluated by an automated panel powered by Google's Gemini API. Verdicts and scores are produced by an algorithm and are final. Sound Throne does not guarantee that AI verdicts reflect human musical taste; you accept this evaluation method by submitting.

6. Prohibited Conduct

• Submit copyrighted material you do not own or license.
• Pay entry fees with stolen or unauthorized payment methods.
• Use bots, scripts, or multiple accounts to manipulate the leaderboard.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to disrupt the Service.
• Harass, threaten, or impersonate other users.

Violations may result in account termination, forfeiture of entry fees, and disqualification from prizes.

7. Intellectual Property

The Sound Throne name, logo, app design, judging system, and software are the property of Sound Throne LLC. You may not copy or reproduce them without our written permission.

8. DMCA / Copyright

If you believe a submission infringes your copyright, send a notice to support@soundthrone.studio including: identification of the work, the allegedly infringing submission, your contact info, and a sworn statement of good faith. We will respond per the DMCA.

9. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. SOUND THRONE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SOUND THRONE LLC AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE ENTRY FEES YOU PAID IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100.00).

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold Sound Throne LLC harmless from any claim, damage, or expense (including attorneys' fees) arising from your submissions, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

12. Arbitration & Class Action Waiver

Any dispute will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Rules. You waive the right to a jury trial and the right to bring or participate in a class action. This clause does not prevent either party from seeking injunctive relief in small-claims court.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, excluding its conflict-of-law rules.

14. Changes

We may update these Terms. Material changes will be announced inside the app. Continued use after a change means you accept the new Terms.

15. Contact

Sound Throne LLC
Email: support@soundthrone.studio

Official Contest Rules

Sound Throne Weekly State Battles

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

These Official Rules govern the Sound Throne Weekly State Battles (each, a "Contest"). By entering, you agree to be bound by these Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final.

1. Eligibility

Open only to legal residents of the 47 eligible U.S. states and the District of Columbia, who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. Residents of New York, Florida, and Rhode Island are NOT eligible. Employees of Sound Throne LLC, their immediate family members, and members of their households are not eligible. Void in NY, FL, RI, and where prohibited or restricted by law.

2. Sponsor

Sound Throne LLC ("Sponsor"), 3416 Ebb Cir, Fairburn, GA 30213.

3. Contest Period

A new Contest opens every Monday at 12:00 a.m. America/New_York and closes the following Sunday at 11:59:59 p.m. America/New_York. Each Contest is independent.

4. How to Enter

There are two ways to enter, each treated equally:

(a) Paid Entry. Open the Sound Throne app, select a song, pay the $25 USD entry fee, and submit. One paid entry per submission. No limit on the number of paid entries per Contest Period, subject to the 500-spot-per-state weekly cap.

(b) Free Alternate Method of Entry (AMOE). Mail a 3" × 5" postcard with your full name, mailing address, email, date of birth, and the song title and artist name you wish to enter, to:

Sound Throne Free Entry
3416 Ebb Cir
Fairburn, GA 30213

Each postcard must be hand-printed and mailed in a separate envelope. Postcards must be received by Sunday 11:59 p.m. ET of the relevant Contest Period. Free entrants must email an audio file (MP3, ≤25 MB) of the same song to freeentry@soundthrone.studio referencing the postcard within 24 hours of mailing. Free entries have an equal chance of winning as paid entries and are placed in the same state-specific finalist pool.

5. Judging

After the Contest Period closes, the top ten (10) finalists from each state (by composite score from Sound Throne's eight-judge AI panel) are evaluated by an automated meta-judge ("THE THRONE") which selects one (1) Grand Prize Winner per state. AI verdicts are final.

6. Prizes

For each Contest, one (1) Grand Prize Winner per eligible state will receive forty percent (40%) of that state's Contest entry revenue, capped at a maximum of five thousand U.S. dollars ($5,000.00 USD) per state per week. Prizes paid by ACH bank transfer or check within 30 days after winner verification.

ARV: up to $5,000 per state. Total ARV per week: up to $235,000 (47 states × $5,000), assuming maximum participation. Most weeks the actual prize per state will be less. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received per state.

7. Winner Selection & Notification

Winners are announced inside the Sound Throne app under the Winners tab and may be contacted by the email on file. Winners must respond within seven (7) days and provide a signed Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release (where lawful), and a W-9 tax form. Failure to respond or comply forfeits the prize, which may be awarded to an alternate finalist.

8. Taxes

Winners are solely responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes on their prize. Sound Throne will issue an IRS Form 1099-MISC for prizes of $600 or more.

9. Publicity

Acceptance of a prize constitutes consent for Sound Throne to use the winner's name, state, and submission excerpt for promotional purposes worldwide in any medium, without further compensation, except where prohibited by law.

10. Disqualification

Sound Throne may disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process, submits content they don't own, uses multiple identities, or otherwise violates these Rules or the Terms of Service. Cheating may also result in account termination and forfeiture of all entry fees.

11. Limitation of Liability

By entering, you release Sound Throne LLC, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claim or liability arising from participation in the Contest or acceptance of any prize.

12. Disputes

These Rules are governed by the laws of Georgia. Disputes are subject to the arbitration and class-action waiver clauses in the Terms of Service.

13. Winners List

For a list of winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Sound Throne Winners List
3416 Ebb Cir
Fairburn, GA 30213

within 90 days of the relevant Contest Period.

14. Privacy

Information submitted with an entry is subject to the Sound Throne Privacy Policy.

15. Apple Disclaimer

Apple Inc. is NOT a sponsor of, administrator of, endorser of, or otherwise involved in any way with the Sound Throne Weekly State Battles contest. Apple has no responsibility or liability for the contest, the entry process, the judging, prize fulfillment, or any disputes arising from the contest.

Sponsor: Sound Throne LLC · support@soundthrone.studio