License / Rights Policy
Effective Date: 12/03/24
Last Updated: 18/03/26
1. Purpose
This Policy explains how rights, ownership, usage permissions, and credits work for custom creative services provided under the Symeon Shawn brand.
This page is a general policy summary. If a signed client agreement, proposal, or invoice states something different, that written agreement controls.
2. No Rights Transfer Before Full Payment
No license, ownership transfer, exploitation right, or commercial use right is granted until all invoices for the relevant project have been paid in full.
Until then, all drafts, work-in-progress files, previews, exports, and materials remain our property and may not be commercially released, distributed, exploited, or publicly used.
3. What the Client Typically Receives
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, upon full payment the client receives a license to use the final approved deliverables for the specific project and uses described in the agreement.
This may include the right to:
- release the final master or approved final file;
- distribute and stream the final release;
- use the final release in promotional content related to that project;
- perform the released work publicly, subject to any applicable rights administration.
4. What Is Not Included Unless Agreed in Writing
Unless expressly included in writing, the client does not automatically receive:
- ownership of underlying production assets, templates, session files, or reusable tools;
- raw project files;
- editable DAW sessions;
- unused ideas or alternate concepts;
- stems;
- instrument-by-instrument source assets;
- unrestricted work-for-hire treatment;
- transfer of publishing or songwriting share;
- transfer of moral rights where non-waivable;
- exclusivity beyond the specific project.
5. Songwriting, Composition, and Publishing
If we contribute to melody, lyrics, topline, harmonic material, composition, or other copyrightable writing elements, that contribution may create authorship, publishing, and/or writer-share rights unless a separate written agreement states otherwise.
Any songwriting splits, publishing percentages, collection society registration, cue sheet handling, neighboring rights, or royalty participation must be agreed in writing.
6. Producer Credit
Where appropriate and customary, the client agrees to provide accurate credit such as:
Produced by Symeon Shawn
and any additional agreed credit language.
Failure to credit does not void the client’s license, but we reserve the right to request correction wherever reasonably possible.
7. Portfolio and Promotional Use
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we may display reasonable excerpts or credits from completed work for portfolio, website, social media, pitch, case-study, and promotional purposes after public release or after delivery if the project is not confidential.
If a project is confidential, embargoed, ghost-produced, or requires delayed disclosure, that must be agreed in writing before work begins.
8. Unauthorized Use
The client may not:
- use unpaid drafts commercially;
- remove tags, notices, or metadata where applicable;
- resell, sublicense, or redistribute deliverables beyond the agreed license;
- claim authorship or ownership of contributions they did not create;
- use the work in unlawful, defamatory, infringing, hateful, or deceptive contexts.
9. Stems, Sessions, and Buyouts
If stems, multitracks, session files, source assets, exclusive rights, or buyout terms are requested, they must be quoted and agreed separately in writing.
Any buyout must state exactly:
- what rights are transferred;
- what rights are retained;
- whether credit is still required;
- whether royalties, publishing, or backend participation remain;
- whether the transfer is exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, and/or media-specific.
10. Samples and Third-Party Material
If a project contains third-party samples, loops, libraries, guest performances, or other licensed content, the final rights granted are subject to the terms that apply to those materials.
The client is responsible for any third-party clearances that are not expressly included in our scope.
11. Breach
If a client uses deliverables beyond the granted rights, before full payment, or outside agreed scope, the license automatically terminates until the breach is cured, without prejudice to any other legal remedies.
12. Contact
For rights, licensing, buyouts, or split questions, contact symeon@symeonshawn.com.
