Terms of Service

Effective Date: April 30, 2026 Last Updated: April 30, 2026

Welcome to Crates Audio. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website located at www.cratesaudio.com (the "Site") and the audio engineering, podcast production, mixing, mastering, sound design, and related creative services (collectively, the "Services") provided by MixedByCrates LLC ("Crates Audio," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing the Site, contacting us, or engaging our Services, you ("Client" or "you") agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site or our Services.

1. About Us

Crates Audio is a creative services company operated by MixedByCrates LLC, a California limited liability company located at 1675 Meadow Lark Lane, Tracy, CA 95376. You can reach us at Robert@cratesaudio.com or +1 (628) 277-4468.

2. Services Overview

We provide creative production services to independent artists, podcasters, and businesses, including but not limited to mixing, mastering, podcast editing, production, sound design, distribution support, and related strategy and consulting services. The specific scope, deliverables, timeline, revisions, and pricing for any engagement will be set out in a separate proposal, statement of work, invoice, or written agreement (an "Engagement Agreement"). In the event of a conflict between these Terms and an Engagement Agreement signed by both parties, the Engagement Agreement will control with respect to that project.

3. Bookings, Payment, and Refunds

Project bookings are confirmed once we have received your signed Engagement Agreement (where applicable) and any required deposit or payment. Unless your Engagement Agreement states otherwise, deposits are non-refundable and are applied to the total project cost. Final deliverables (such as final mixed or mastered files, edited podcast episodes, or completed assets) will be released to you only after full payment has been received and cleared. Late payments may result in paused work, delayed delivery, or additional fees. If you cancel a project after work has begun, you remain responsible for payment for work completed up to the date of cancellation.

4. Revisions and Approval

Revision rounds, turnaround times, and approval procedures will be specified in your Engagement Agreement. Revisions outside of the agreed scope may be subject to additional fees. Once you provide written approval of a deliverable, that deliverable is considered final and any further changes may be billed as new work.

5. Client Materials and Responsibilities

You agree to provide source files, recordings, stems, scripts, artwork, branding assets, and any other materials required to perform the Services in a timely manner and in the technical formats we reasonably request. You represent and warrant that you own or have all necessary rights, licenses, releases, and permissions to use any materials you submit to us, including any musical compositions, sound recordings, samples, voices, names, likenesses, logos, or third-party content. You agree to indemnify and hold MixedByCrates LLC harmless from any claims, damages, or losses arising out of materials you provide that infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

6. Ownership and Licensing of Deliverables

Subject to full payment of all fees due, you will own the final deliverables produced specifically for you (such as your final mixed song, mastered track, or edited podcast episode), other than any pre-existing or third-party materials embedded within them. We retain all rights in our underlying tools, methods, project templates, plugin chains, presets, session files, stems we have created, know-how, and any pre-existing materials we owned before the engagement. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, raw session files, multi-tracks, and project files are not included in the deliverables.

We reserve the right to use a non-confidential description of the work, your name, logo, and a sample of the finished deliverables in our portfolio, website, social media, case studies, and marketing materials, unless you specifically request otherwise in writing.

7. Acceptable Use of the Site

When using the Site, you agree not to: (a) use the Site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law; (b) attempt to interfere with, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to the Site or any related systems; (c) upload or transmit viruses, malicious code, or harmful content; (d) scrape, harvest, or copy content from the Site for commercial use without our written permission; or (e) use the Site to harass, threaten, or harm any person.

8. Intellectual Property in the Site

All content on the Site, including text, graphics, logos, images, audio samples, and the Crates Audio name and logo, is the property of MixedByCrates LLC or its licensors and is protected by U.S. and international intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from Site content without our prior written consent.

9. Communications and Chat Widget Consent

If you contact us through the chat widget on the Site, by phone, by SMS, or by email, you consent to receiving responsive communications from us through those channels. The Site's chat widget may offer separate, optional opt-ins for (a) customer care messages (such as responses to support requests, ticket updates, appointment coordination, and follow-up communications) and (b) promotional messages (such as special offers, discounts, event promotions, and service announcements). These consents are collected through independent checkboxes and are not bundled together. You may opt out of promotional messages at any time by replying STOP to a text message, clicking the unsubscribe link in an email, or emailing us at Robert@cratesaudio.com. Message and data rates may apply.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

The Site may contain links to third-party websites or services, including platforms such as EngineEars, Google, Squarespace, and others. We do not control these third parties and are not responsible for their content, terms, or privacy practices. Your use of any third-party site or service is at your own risk and subject to the terms of that third party.

11. Disclaimers

The Site and Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade. We do not guarantee any specific creative, commercial, streaming, audience, or revenue outcomes from our Services.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, MixedByCrates LLC, its members, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities, arising out of or related to your use of the Site or Services. Our total aggregate liability for any claim related to a particular project or engagement will not exceed the total fees you actually paid us for that project in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

13. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MixedByCrates LLC and its members, employees, and contractors from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from (a) your breach of these Terms or any Engagement Agreement, (b) your misuse of the Site or Services, or (c) any materials you provide to us.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The parties agree that any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Services will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in San Joaquin County, California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts. Before filing any formal legal action, you agree to first contact us in writing and attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith for at least thirty (30) days.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Last Updated" date above will indicate when changes were made. Continued use of the Site or Services after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

16. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us:

MixedByCrates LLC 1675 Meadow Lark Lane Tracy, CA 95376 Email: Robert@cratesaudio.com Phone: +1 (628) 277-4468