Terms of Service

Lakou Music is Haiti's professional music industry network operating at lakoumusic.com. The platform connects artists, producers, studios, labels, managers, promoters, videographers, DJs, photographers, distributors and all music professionals across Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. By accessing or using lakoumusic.com you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms do not use the platform.

You must be at least 16 years old to create an account on Lakou Music. By creating an account you confirm that you are at least 16 years of age. If you are under 18 you may only use the platform with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account login credentials. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. You must provide accurate and truthful information when creating your profile. You may not impersonate another person or misrepresent your professional credentials. You may not create more than one account per person. Lakou Music reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms at any time without notice.

4.1 Free Plan

Free membership is available to all users at no cost. Free members have access to basic platform features including profile creation, directory browsing, snippet submission, and 3 votes per week in the Weekly Challenge. After weekly vote allocation is used free members may purchase additional votes at $1 per vote. Free members pay $50 per event flyer post.

4.2 Pro Plan

Pro membership is available for $15 per month billed monthly. Pro members receive enhanced features including verified badge eligibility, priority placement in search results, 10 votes per week in the Weekly Challenge, 1 free event flyer post per week with additional posts at $25 each, 1 track upload, and direct contact visibility. After weekly vote allocation is used Pro members may purchase additional votes at $1 per vote. Pro membership renews automatically each month until cancelled.

4.3 Industry Plan

Industry membership is available for $35 per month billed monthly. Industry members receive all Pro features plus featured placement, 25 votes per week in the Weekly Challenge, 3 free event flyer posts per week with additional posts at $15 each, up to 5 track uploads, homepage spotlight placement, monthly newsletter feature, and direct DM inbox. After weekly vote allocation is used Industry members may purchase additional votes at $1 per vote. Industry membership renews automatically each month until cancelled.

4.4 Cancellation

You may cancel your paid membership at any time from your dashboard. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. No refunds are issued for partial months. After cancellation your account reverts to the Free plan and you retain access to your profile and basic features.

4.5 Price Changes

Lakou Music reserves the right to change membership pricing at any time. Existing subscribers will be notified at least 30 days before any price change takes effect.

4.6 Prizes and Free Membership Awards

Lakou Music automatically awards free Pro or Industry membership as prizes through the Weekly Challenge. Free membership awarded as a prize is subject to the same features and limitations as paid membership of the same tier. Free prize memberships have a fixed expiry date and do not automatically convert to paid memberships. Members will be notified 7 days before their prize membership expires and given the option to upgrade to a paid plan. Lakou Music reserves the right to modify or discontinue prize programs at any time.

5.1 Posting Fees

Free members pay $50 per event flyer post. Pro members receive 1 free post per week with additional posts at $25 each. Industry members receive 3 free posts per week with additional posts at $15 each. Weekly free posts reset every Monday at midnight automatically.

5.2 Content Standards

All event flyers must be for real events. You may not post misleading, fraudulent, or offensive event content. Lakou Music reviews all submissions before they go live. We reserve the right to reject any event posting without refund if it violates our content standards.

5.3 External Ticketing

Lakou Music does not process ticket sales. Any external ticketing links you provide are your sole responsibility. Lakou Music is not liable for any issues arising from external ticket sales or event cancellations.

5.4 Refunds on Event Posts

Event posting fees are non-refundable once your event has been approved and published. If your submission is rejected you will receive a full refund of the posting fee within 5 to 7 business days.

6.1 Snippet Submissions

Artists and Songwriters may submit one 30 second audio snippet for the Discovery section. Snippets must be between 15 and 30 seconds in length in MP3 format and maximum 5MB. Snippets are subject to admin review before going live. A snippet is automatically removed when it has been active for more than 14 days without reaching the top 3, or when it drops out of the top 3 for 7 consecutive days after previously being in top 3, or when the artist removes it manually, or when admin removes it. A snippet that achieves Full Champion status by remaining in the top 3 for 30 consecutive days becomes permanent and is never automatically deleted.

6.2 Track Uploads

Pro members may upload 1 full track. Industry members may upload up to 5 full tracks. By uploading music to Lakou Music you confirm that you own all rights to the content and grant Lakou Music a non-exclusive license to stream it on the platform for promotional purposes only. You retain full ownership of your music at all times. You may request removal of your music at any time by contacting contact@lakoumusic.com.

6.3 Prohibited Content

You may not upload music that contains content that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, or that infringes the intellectual property rights of any third party. Lakou Music reserves the right to remove any music content that violates these standards without notice.

6.4 Copyright Responsibility

You are solely responsible for ensuring that any music you upload does not infringe the copyright of any third party. Lakou Music is not liable for any copyright infringement arising from member uploaded content. If you believe your copyright has been infringed contact us at contact@lakoumusic.com with details of the infringement.

7.1 How the Weekly Challenge Works

The Lakou Music Weekly Challenge is an ongoing competition on the Discovery page. Artists submit 30 second audio snippets. The community plays and votes for artists. Each artist accumulates a Survival Score calculated as total plays multiplied by 1 plus total votes multiplied by 3. The platform tracks how many consecutive days each artist remains in the top 3 by Survival Score. Votes reset every Monday at midnight but streaks continue across multiple weeks independently of weekly vote resets.

7.2 Weekly Vote Allocation

Free members receive 3 votes per week. Pro members receive 10 votes per week. Industry members receive 25 votes per week. Votes reset every Monday at midnight automatically. Unused free weekly votes do not carry over to the following week.

7.3 Extra Vote Purchases

After using their weekly vote allocation members may purchase additional votes at $1 per vote through Stripe. Bulk vote packages are available: 5 votes for $4 and 10 votes for $8. Purchased votes that are unused at the end of the week carry over to the following week and are stored in the member's vote wallet. All vote purchases are final and non-refundable.

7.4 Milestone Prizes

Milestone 1 — 14 Consecutive Days in Top 3: The artist automatically receives a permanent verified badge on their profile and a 14 day profile boost placing them at the top of the Network directory. These prizes are delivered automatically by the platform with no manual action required.

Milestone 2 — 30 Consecutive Days in Top 3: The artist automatically receives free Industry membership for 90 days, homepage featured artist placement for 7 days, profile boost extended to 30 days, an invitation to record a Lakou Academy interview, permanent Hall of Fame entry at lakoumusic.com/champions, permanent snippet placement on the Discovery page, and a full feature in the Lakou Music weekly newsletter. These prizes are delivered automatically by the platform with no manual action required.

7.5 Prize Conditions

All prizes are delivered automatically by the platform based on verified performance data. Lakou Music reserves the right to withhold or revoke prizes if vote manipulation or any form of abuse is detected. Prize memberships expire on their stated expiry date and do not automatically renew. The verified badge awarded as a prize is permanent and does not expire. Lakou Music reserves the right to modify the prize structure at any time with 7 days notice to active participants.

7.6 Streak Rules

A streak is defined as consecutive calendar days in the top 3 by Survival Score. A streak is broken if an artist falls out of the top 3 for even one day. A broken streak resets to zero and the artist must begin again. Weekly vote resets do not break a streak. The platform determines all streak counts and these determinations are final.

7.7 Vote Integrity

Vote manipulation of any kind is strictly prohibited. This includes creating multiple accounts to accumulate votes, coordinating paid vote purchases to artificially inflate results, using automated tools or bots to cast votes, and any other method designed to unfairly influence results. Lakou Music monitors voting patterns and reserves the right to disqualify any artist or member found engaging in vote manipulation without notice and without refund.

7.8 No Guarantee of Results

Lakou Music does not guarantee any specific outcome from participation in the Weekly Challenge. Participation in the Weekly Challenge does not guarantee any professional outcome, booking, deal, or career advancement.

Academy content including interviews and video episodes is for informational and educational purposes only. Full episode access requires a Pro or Industry membership. Free members may access preview content only. Lakou Music does not guarantee any specific career outcome from watching Academy content. All interview guests share their personal experiences and opinions and their views do not represent the views of Lakou Music. Artists who win a Full Champion prize and are invited to record an Academy interview grant Lakou Music a non-exclusive license to publish and stream that interview on the platform indefinitely.

Producers listing beats on the Lakou Music Marketplace retain full ownership of their beats until a sale is completed. Lakou Music takes a 15% commission on all beat sales. You keep 85% of the sale price. Beat sellers are responsible for ensuring they own all rights to the beats they list. Buyers receive the license agreed upon at the time of purchase. Lakou Music is not responsible for disputes between buyers and sellers regarding beat licenses.

Lakou Music partners with third party distribution services to offer members access to music distribution. By clicking distribution links on Lakou Music you will be directed to a third party platform governed by their own terms of service and privacy policy. Lakou Music is not responsible for the services provided by distribution partners. Lakou Music may receive a referral commission when members sign up for distribution services through our affiliate links. Member rates and discounts are subject to change based on our partnership agreements.

The Lakou Music platform includes a music player that may stream content from YouTube, SoundCloud, or other third party platforms via their official embed APIs. This content is subject to the terms of service of those third party platforms. Lakou Music does not host or own this third party content. Member uploaded tracks and snippets played through the Lakou Music player are streamed under the permissions granted in Section 6 of these Terms. Lakou Music does not collect royalties on member uploaded music and does not distribute or sell this music to third parties.

Lakou Music operates in both English and Haitian Kreyòl. Members may switch between languages at any time. These Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are the governing legal documents in their English version. In the event of any discrepancy between the English and Haitian Kreyòl versions of any platform content or legal document the English version shall prevail.

The Lakou Music Hall of Fame at lakoumusic.com/champions is a permanent public record of artists who have achieved Milestone 1 or Milestone 2 in the Weekly Challenge. Hall of Fame entries are permanent and are not removed except at the specific written request of the artist or in cases where the entry was achieved through vote manipulation. Artists featured in the Hall of Fame grant Lakou Music permission to display their name, photo, genre, location, and performance stats on the public Hall of Fame page indefinitely.

Lakou Music uses automated systems to manage the Weekly Challenge including daily streak tracking, prize delivery, email notifications, snippet lifespan management, and leaderboard updates. These systems run automatically without human review of each individual action. Lakou Music makes every effort to ensure these systems operate correctly but does not guarantee error-free operation. If you believe an automated system has made an error affecting your account contact contact@lakoumusic.com within 7 days of the error occurring and we will investigate. Lakou Music's determination of any automated system error is final.

You may not use Lakou Music to harass, threaten, or intimidate other members. You may not post spam, unsolicited commercial messages, or false information. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the platform. You may not use the platform for any illegal purpose. You may not scrape, copy, or reproduce platform content without written permission from Lakou Music. Violations may result in immediate account termination.

All original content on Lakou Music including the platform design, logo, branding, written content, and proprietary features is the intellectual property of Lakou Music and may not be reproduced without written permission. Member uploaded content remains the intellectual property of the respective member.

Lakou Music is provided on an as-is and as-available basis. We do not guarantee that the platform will be uninterrupted or error-free. We do not guarantee that using the platform will result in any specific professional outcome, booking, deal, or career advancement.

To the maximum extent permitted by law Lakou Music shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform. Our total liability to you for any claim arising from these terms shall not exceed the amount you paid to Lakou Music in the 12 months preceding the claim.

These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, United States of America. Any disputes arising from these terms shall be resolved in the courts of Broward County, Florida.

Lakou Music reserves the right to update these Terms of Service at any time. We will notify registered members of significant changes via email. Continued use of the platform after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

For any questions about these Terms of Service contact us at:

Email: contact@lakoumusic.com
Website: lakoumusic.com