Terms of Service

Hi, I'm Arnout, and ArnieWaves is my one-person audio-software workshop. These Terms are the agreement between you and ArnieWaves for using my plug-ins, your ArnieWaves account, and the streaming service that lets you send audio to listeners. I've written them in plain language, without dark patterns or fine-print games. If anything here is unclear, email me at arniewavesaudio@gmail.com and I'll explain.

1. Who we are and accepting these Terms

"ArnieWaves", "we", "us", "I" and "me" refer to the audio-software business operated by Arnout Van Nieuwenhove, based in the European Union. The legal details are: Studio Arnout (company number 1028683812, VAT BE1028683812), Doornzelestraat 28, 9000 Gent, Belgium.

"You" means the person using the plug-in, the account, or the service. By creating an ArnieWaves account, installing or using a plug-in, or using the streaming service, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the account, plug-ins, or service.

Note that listeners (people who open a stream link and listen in their web browser) don't need an account and don't install anything. If you're only listening to a stream someone else started, most of these Terms (the account and licence sections) don't apply to you; the acceptable-use and "as is" sections still do.

2. Your account

To use a plug-in beyond simply listening, you create an ArnieWaves account and sign in inside the plug-in.

• Eligibility. You must be able to form a binding contract to hold an account. If you're using ArnieWaves on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you're allowed to accept these Terms for it.
• Accurate details. Your account uses an email address and a display name, and optionally your country. Please keep these accurate.
• Security. You're responsible for keeping your login details safe and for activity under your account. Don't share your credentials. If you think someone else has access to your account, change your password and email me.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA). You can optionally enable two-factor authentication using a TOTP authenticator app for extra protection. I recommend it.
• Sign-in and passwords. Authentication is handled through Firebase Authentication (a Google service) using your email and password. You can reset your password with an email link at any time.

3. The plug-in licence

When you use an ArnieWaves plug-in (for example AudioTeleporter, available as VST3 on macOS and Windows, and as AU and AAX on macOS), I grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use the plug-in for making and streaming your own music, in line with these Terms and your plan.

This licence does not transfer ownership. ArnieWaves keeps all intellectual property rights in the plug-ins, the service, and the software, including the code, design, name, and branding. You may not:

• copy, resell, rent, sub-license or redistribute the plug-in;
• reverse-engineer, decompile or disassemble it, except where the law expressly allows that despite this restriction; or
• remove or alter any copyright or ownership notices.

The plug-in needs an internet connection and a supported DAW and operating system to work.

Perpetual licences. If you buy a perpetual licence, the licence above is granted for the lifetime of the AudioTeleporter service rather than for a billing period, at the plan limits you bought (see section 4). "Perpetual" describes the absence of a renewal, not a guarantee that the streaming service will run forever: it is provided for as long as ArnieWaves operates AudioTeleporter, and section 8 (changes to the service) and section 9 (termination) apply to it as they do to subscriptions. Updates to the plug-in are included at no extra charge. The licence remains tied to your account and cannot be transferred or resold, and like every plan it is subject to the acceptable-use and fair-use rules in section 6.

4. The streaming service and plan limits

AudioTeleporter lets you (the "host") run the plug-in in your DAW and start a stream. Listeners open a link and listen in their web browser, with no install and no account required for them. Streaming is real-time and low-latency, routed through relay servers.

Your plan sets how many listeners can join and the audio quality:

• Free (€0): 1 listener, Opus 64 kbps. No credit card required.
• Basic (€3.99/month or €39.90/year): 5 listeners, Opus 256 kbps.
• Pro (€5.99/month or €59.90/year): 20 listeners, lossless FLAC, and priority email support.

The same limits are available as one-time perpetual licences: Basic with 5 listeners (€99), Pro with 10 listeners (€199), and Pro with 20 listeners (€299). A perpetual licence gives the listener count and audio quality stated at purchase; it can be upgraded to a wider licence for the difference in list price.

Streaming quality depends on the network. Real-time audio travels over the internet through relay servers and depends on your connection, your listeners' connections, and third-party services along the way. I can't guarantee streaming that is always uninterrupted or glitch-free.

Your audio isn't recorded or stored. Relay sessions live only in server memory for the duration of a stream, and are gone afterwards. ArnieWaves does not record, store, or persist the audio you stream.

5. Subscriptions and billing

Basic and Pro are available as recurring subscriptions, billed monthly or yearly, or as one-time perpetual licences. The Free tier is how you evaluate ArnieWaves at no cost. There is no free trial.

Perpetual licences are charged once and do not renew. If you buy a perpetual licence while you have a subscription, that subscription is ended immediately so you are not billed twice; the unused, already-paid part of its current period is deducted from the licence price and shown as a separate line on the checkout page before you pay. This also applies to a licence that gives less than your subscription (for example Basic while you subscribe to Pro): from the moment of purchase, you have what the licence gives, and the account page shows what changes before you pay.

Payments go through Polar. Payments are handled by Polar (polar.sh), acting as our Merchant of Record. This means Polar, not ArnieWaves, is the seller of record for your transaction. Polar runs the checkout, processes your payment, charges any applicable tax or VAT, issues your invoice or receipt, and provides a self-serve customer portal where you can manage or cancel your subscription and download invoices.

ArnieWaves never sees or stores your full payment-card details. For your account, we store only a Polar customer id and your subscription status and tier.

• Renewals. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period (monthly or yearly) until you cancel, at the price for your plan and interval.
• Cancel anytime. You can cancel at any time through the Polar customer portal. When you cancel, you won't be charged again, and your paid access continues until the end of the period you've already paid for. After that, your account moves to the Free tier.
• Refunds. Because Polar is the Merchant of Record, refunds are requested from and processed through Polar. Please see our separate Refund Policy for how that works and your rights.

6. Acceptable use and your responsibilities

Using ArnieWaves comes with a few fair, common-sense rules:

• You own the rights to what you stream. You're responsible for the audio you stream and must have the rights to it. Don't use the service to infringe copyright or to stream unlawful content.
• Don't abuse the service. Don't attack, disrupt, or attempt to break the service or the relay servers, and don't probe or interfere with its security.
• Play within your plan. Don't try to exceed your plan's listener limits by circumvention or technical tricks.
• Keep your account yours. Don't share your account credentials or let others use your account to get around plan limits.
• Use it hard, but use it as a tool. AudioTeleporter is built for intense, professional use: long sessions, lossless audio to a full room of listeners, several sessions a day, week after week. That is what the plans and the perpetual licences price in. What they do not price in is running it as always-on infrastructure. Streaming around the clock every day of the week for weeks on end, leaving unattended or automated streams running, or putting what is clearly several people's work through one account is not fair use of a shared relay, and it puts everyone else's sessions at risk.

Fair use. I don't publish a hard cap on hours, because the whole point is that you can work without counting. If an account's usage looks like infrastructure rather than sessions, I'll normally get in touch first to understand what you're doing and, where it fits, suggest a plan or an arrangement that covers it. Where that isn't possible, or the usage continues, I reserve the right to limit, suspend or disable the account, including an account holding a perpetual licence (see Termination below).

If you seriously or repeatedly break these rules, I may suspend or limit your access (see Termination below).

7. Provided "as is", and limitation of liability

ArnieWaves is a small workshop, and the plug-ins and service are provided "as is" and "as available". To the extent allowed by law, I don't make warranties that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or perfectly compatible with every setup. Streaming in particular depends on your network and on third-party services outside my control.

To the extent allowed by law, ArnieWaves is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses arising from your use of the plug-ins or service.

None of this limits your mandatory rights. If you're a consumer in the EU, you have statutory consumer-protection rights that can't be signed away, and nothing in these Terms reduces or removes those rights. Where mandatory law gives you more protection than this section, that law wins.

8. Changes to the service and these Terms

ArnieWaves is actively developed, so the plug-ins, service, plans, and these Terms may change over time, for example to add features, fix problems, or reflect legal requirements. If I make a material change to these Terms, I'll update this page (it shows when it was last updated). For significant changes that affect you, I'll aim to give reasonable notice where I can. If you keep using ArnieWaves after a change takes effect, that counts as accepting the updated Terms. If you don't agree with a change, you can stop using the service and cancel your subscription.

9. Termination and account deletion

You can leave anytime. You can stop using ArnieWaves whenever you like, cancel your subscription through the Polar customer portal, and permanently delete your account from your account settings. Deleting your account removes your account data. If you delete your account while on a paid plan, remember to cancel your subscription in Polar too, so it doesn't keep renewing.

When we might suspend or end access. I may suspend or terminate your access if you seriously or repeatedly break these Terms, for example by streaming unlawful content, infringing others' rights, attacking the service, or using it well outside fair use (section 6). Where it's reasonable and appropriate, I'll try to warn you first.

Sections that by their nature should survive (such as intellectual-property ownership, acceptable use, the "as is" and liability terms, and anything about payments already made) continue to apply after your account or these Terms end.

10. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Belgium, without affecting the mandatory consumer-protection rights you have under the law of your own country of residence in the EU.

11. Contact

There's one way to reach me for support, questions about these Terms, privacy requests, and refunds: arniewavesaudio@gmail.com. You're emailing me directly. There's no phone line and no other channel.