Legal, Licensing & Privacy
Plain-language policy overview. Every commissioned project will have written project terms describing the specific deliverables, usage rights, production level, payment terms and any special confidentiality arrangements before work begins.
Your story and privacy
Personal stories, interviews, photographs, recordings and private details shared for a commission are treated as project material. Sharing them with SongSmithing does not automatically give permission to publish them. Identifiable client stories, testimonials, samples or finished songs are not used publicly without permission. Confidential-project or NDA arrangements can be discussed when a project requires additional privacy.
Client-supplied material
Clients should only provide photographs, recordings, text or other material they own or have permission to use. SongSmithing may ask for clarification when ownership or permission is uncertain.
Copyright, recordings and licensing
A song composition and a finished sound recording can involve different rights. The rights granted with a commission will be stated in the project agreement so the client knows what they may keep, share, post, perform or otherwise use. Third-party software, samples, plugins and production tools remain subject to their own licenses and are not transferred to the client as standalone assets.
Modern production tools
Depending on the project, SongSmithing may use digital audio workstations, software instruments, audio-processing tools, licensed samples, generative or AI-assisted systems, and human musicians or vocalists. The production approach and any material limitations will be explained when they matter to the commissioned work.
Promotional use
SongSmithing does not assume that commissioning a song gives permission to turn a private story into advertising. Public portfolio use, testimonials, photographs, videos or identifiable client stories require permission. Where appropriate, a client may instead approve a private demonstration or a sanitized version with identifying details removed.
Commissioned Song Delivery, Access & Retention
Default delivery: encrypted ZIP from the start
Unless a different delivery method is expressly agreed in the project terms, SongSmithing provides the digital items included in a commission together in one password-protected, strongly encrypted ZIP file from the original handoff. This may include an MP3 or WAV recording, lyrics PDF, photographs, sheet music or other files, but only when included in the chosen commission plan. The commissioner receives a unique, unlisted SongSmithing download-page URL (which may also be presented as a QR code), an archive password, and instructions for extracting and saving the files. Printed presentation cards or other physical keepsakes, when provided, are separate from the digital archive.
Unlisted links, encryption, passwords and sharing
An unlisted webpage address or QR code is not, by itself, password authentication. The ZIP uses strong encryption and requires the unique extraction password supplied to the commissioner. The link and password may be delivered together in a presentation card, or the password may be provided separately for added privacy. Anybody who obtains both the encrypted file and the password can extract its contents. Encryption helps protect against casual unauthorized discovery but cannot guarantee absolute security, prevent onward sharing after extraction, or recall copies already obtained. Some devices require a compatible free archive-extraction program, and SongSmithing can provide basic instructions or assistance.
Optional temporary online listening
Only if explicitly arranged with the commissioner, SongSmithing may temporarily provide browser playback of an unencrypted MP3 using the same unique delivery-page address, ordinarily for no more than the first 30 days. That option carries a higher privacy risk: anyone who discovers or receives the listening address may be able to listen to or save the MP3. At the agreed end of the listening period, SongSmithing manually removes the hosted streaming MP3, clears caches it controls where feasible, and makes the encrypted ZIP the download offered at that same delivery-page URL. Previously obtained copies cannot be recalled. Encrypted ZIP delivery remains the normal method from Day 1.
One-year download guarantee and file retention
For commissions that include a downloadable song package, SongSmithing guarantees that the encrypted ZIP will remain available online for one full year (12 months) from the original handoff date. After the first year, the ZIP might remain available at the same address, or SongSmithing may remove it or retire the address at its discretion, including for privacy, security, storage or operational reasons. Availability after the guaranteed year is not promised, and files will not necessarily be removed on the one-year anniversary.
Please preserve your files and password
During the first year, download the complete package, keep a safe backup of its contents, and securely record the extraction password. SongSmithing cannot guarantee the availability of the online delivery page, any particular password, or offline archive retrieval forever.
Later recovery, reissue and potential fees
If a ZIP is no longer online, a downloaded archive is lost, or its password has been misplaced, contact SongSmithing to request an archival search or reissue. Retrieval or re-encryption depends on what is still available in Rio’s offline archives and is not guaranteed. Reasonable additional retrieval/restoration charges may apply; any proposed fee will be explained before chargeable work proceeds.
Publicity and sharing are separate choices
Commissioning a song does not grant SongSmithing permission to publicly advertise with an identifiable client story, recording, photograph or reaction. Any portfolio or promotional use requires separate permission. A commissioner or recipient may independently choose to share a delivered link, password or files with others; the security of copies outside SongSmithing’s control cannot be guaranteed.
Questions
Questions about licensing, privacy or a particular commission can be sent to riowilsonmusic@songsmithing.com. Project-specific written terms control if they differ from this general website summary.