These Terms govern your use of iamaudio (the "Platform"). By creating an account, subscribing, or publishing, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't use the Platform.
1. Eligibility & accounts
You must be at least 13 years old to use iamaudio. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for any activity on your account. You may use a handle that does not match your legal name; see the Privacy Policy for how pseudonymous accounts work.
2. The Service
iamaudio is a directly-funded audio publishing platform. Creators upload audio posts; listeners subscribe to individual creators via monthly slot allocations; creators are paid monthly. The Platform does not run ads inside audio streams, does not optimize for watch-time, and does not personalize discovery based on opaque behavioral inference.
3. Subscriptions, slots, and payment
Creators
A Creator subscription is $5.56 per month, billed monthly, and gives you the ability to upload audio posts and accept slot allocations from listeners.
Listeners
A Listener subscription is $6.80 per month, billed monthly, and includes five creator slots. Each additional slot is $1.36 per month, queued onto your next invoice and prorated by month, not by day.
How a slot pays a creator
Of every $1.36 you pay for a slot (or the $1.36 effective cost of one of the five base slots), $1.00 funds the creator directly and the remainder is retained by the Platform for streaming, payment processing, affiliate payouts, and the tip jar. Creator payouts are made monthly via Stripe Connect.
Guest preview
Anonymous visitors receive a 60-minute preview budget per creator before being asked to subscribe.
4. Cancellation & the 30-day creator notice period
You may cancel any slot or your entire listener subscription anytime from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle — for the remainder of that cycle the creator continues to receive their $1.00 share, and your access continues. This is a deliberate design choice: it guarantees creators a predictable month of income after a listener departs and eliminates incentives to optimize for retention through dark patterns.
Slots that are mid-cycle when you cancel enter a "notice period" state. At the end of that period the slot ends, no further charges accrue, and the creator's share for the closed cycle is included in their next monthly payout. See the Refund Policy for refund eligibility.
5. Content ownership & license
You retain all rights to content you upload. You grant the Platform a non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, stream, transcode, transcribe, cache, and display your content for the purpose of operating the Service. You may delete any of your content at any time; doing so terminates the license for that content.
6. Acceptable use
You agree not to upload content that is unlawful, infringes others' rights, contains child sexual abuse material, incites violence, constitutes targeted harassment, or otherwise violates applicable law. We may remove content that violates these standards.
7. Termination
You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or place the Platform or its users at material risk. Where suspension is for a safety-rule violation, you will receive notice and a path to dispute the decision.
8. Declaration of Content Independence — Common Carrier Defense
Where iamaudio facilitates direct relationships between independent businesses and creators (for example, any future advertiser marketplace), the Platform operates as a common carrier and conduit only. Specifically:
8.1 No third-party indemnification
The Platform holds zero liability, financial responsibility, or operational oversight for the execution, payment, performance, or failure of any brand deal, sponsorship, or commercial agreement brokered between a Creator and an external party. Disputes between a Creator and a sponsor must be resolved between those parties.
8.2 Anti-interference guarantee
The Platform's discovery and matchmaking systems are blind to any advertising or sponsorship relationship a Creator may have. A Creator with a million-dollar brand deal receives the exact same algorithmic treatment as a Creator with no commercial partnerships.
8.3 Non-modification clause
Creators may not be required, by the Platform or by any commercial counterparty operating within the Platform, to alter their pedagogical rigor, soften their critiques, or modify their independent perspective to accommodate advertiser sensibilities. Advertisers purchase co-presence with independent creators as-is and hold zero editorial power.
9. Editorial sovereignty
Content formatting and algorithmic matchmaking weights are entirely insulated from advertiser or sponsor preferences. The Platform's default position in any external brand dispute is solidarity with the Creator:
- We will not entertain corporate grievances regarding a Creator's independent thought, framing, or opinions.
- We will not review, pause, or investigate a Creator based on outside advertiser pressure unless the complainant proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the Creator has violated explicitly documented community safety rules.
- If a brand alleges that a Creator's nuanced critique or personal opinion "hurts their brand image," we will dismiss the complaint under this provision. Advertisers enter the ecosystem with the clear understanding that they are buying space next to independent minds, not corporate puppets.
10. Direct relationship recourse
Because brand partnerships are negotiated directly and exclusively between an independent business and a Creator, the Platform recognizes only one legitimate recourse for an advertiser who no longer wishes to support a channel: terminate the direct contract with that Creator. The Platform will not act as intermediary, arbitrator, or censor on behalf of corporate entities. Pulling funding is a legitimate business decision; it carries zero standing to impact the Creator's status, monetization, reach, or algorithmic distribution platform-wide.
11. Disclaimers & limitation of liability
The Platform is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, or for any loss of profits, goodwill, data, or other intangible losses, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service.
12. Changes
We may update these Terms. Material changes will be announced via email or in-app notice. Continued use after a change constitutes acceptance.
13. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Disputes shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in California.