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Music License Agreement

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This Music License Agreement (the "Agreement") is a legal agreement between you (the "Licensee") and the musician Hans Johnson ("Licensor"). This license is granted automatically upon downloading the audio track(s) (the "Music"), subject to payment confirmation, and does not require a physical signature.

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1. Ownership & Intellectual Property Rights

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Hans Johnson is the sole owner of the Music. The Licensor retains all rights, title, and interest in and to the Music, including but not limited to:

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• All copyrights and ownership of the master recordings. 

• All publishing and composition rights. 

• The sole and exclusive right to collect public performance royalties through his Performance Rights Organization (PRO). 

 

This Agreement is a license to use the Music under specific conditions; it is not a sale of the Music or its underlying copyrights.

 

2. The End Beneficiary Rule

 

The eligibility criteria and usage limits below are dictated strictly by the End Beneficiary (the individual, brand, company, school, institutional entity, or non-profit organization whose brand, logo, cause, products, or channel are being promoted), regardless of whether the video is produced by an in-house editor, an employee, or an external freelance videographer.

 

If an independent freelancer or agency creates a video for a third party, the video must be covered by a license tier that fits that specific client's (the End Beneficiary's) organizational size and purpose.

 

3. License Tiers and Usage Outlines

 

Licensee must select and pay for the specific tier that matches the End Beneficiary’s entity size and intended use. Misrepresentation of entity size or usage outside of the selected tier voids this license.

 

Tier 1: Creator & Micro-Org

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• Eligibility: Independent content creators, audio podcasters, micro-businesses, and micro-non-profits with fewer than 5 full-time employees (FTEs) AND less than $500,000 (USD) in annual gross revenue or annual operating budget. 

• Allowed Channels: Owned personal or brand digital video/audio platforms: YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. 

• Restrictions: Strictly limited to self-distribution. No third-party client work, standalone independent films, paid digital advertising, or boosted media campaigns. 

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Tier 2: Small Business & Mid-Size Non-Profit

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• Eligibility: Commercial businesses, registered non-profits, boutique production companies/freelancers licensing on behalf of a client, and local K-12 schools with fewer than 50 employees OR less than $5,000,000 (USD) in annual gross revenue or annual operating budget.

• Allowed Channels: Distribution strictly on the organization’s (or the specific client’s) official website and organic social media channels (YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook). Freelancers may also display the project within their own professional portfolios. 

• Restrictions: No paid digital advertising, paid distribution, or boosted media campaigns.

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Tier 3: Mid-Market & Institutional

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• Eligibility: Mid-sized corporations, large non-profits, standard colleges/universities, and regional hospitals/healthcare facilities with between 50 and 250 employees OR between $5,000,000 (USD) and $25,000,000 (USD) in annual gross revenue or annual operating budget.

• Allowed Channels: Distribution strictly on the organization’s (or the specific client’s) official website and organic social media channels (YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook). 

• Restrictions: Distribution is strictly limited to organic media. No paid digital advertising, paid social media campaigns, or boosted media campaigns.

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Tier 4: Enterprise

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• Eligibility: Larger corporations, university systems, healthcare networks, and large regional NGOs with between 250 and 2,000 employees OR between $25,000,000 (USD) and $250,000,000 (USD) in annual gross revenue or annual operating budget.

• Allowed Channels: Distribution strictly on the organization’s official website and organic social media channels (YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook). 

• Restrictions: Distribution is strictly limited to organic media. Any paid digital advertising, boosted social media campaigns, or use outside of organic platforms requires an upgrade to a Custom License.

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Custom / Mega-Corp Tier

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• Eligibility: Any entity exceeding 2,000 employees OR exceeding $250,000,000 (USD) in annual gross revenue/operating budget (e.g., multinational conglomerates, major tech firms, global NGOs).

• Terms: Standard off-the-shelf licensing does not apply. Requires a custom commercial contract and custom rider approved directly by the Licensor.

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4. Banned Channels (All Standard Tiers)

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Unless explicitly upgraded via a custom commercial rider, use of the Music is strictly prohibited for Tiers 1 through 4 on the following distribution channels:

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• Paid digital advertising or boosted media campaigns (e.g., Meta Ads, YouTube Ads, Google Display Network).

• Traditional Television (including broadcast, cable, and satellite). 

• Terrestrial and Satellite Radio. 

• Theatrical or Cinema releases. 

• Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platforms (e.g., Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+). 

• Video Games (including integration into gameplay, background music, menus, or interactive software). 

• Television, OTT, Theatrical, or Video Game Promotional Material (including broadcast commercials, film trailers, streaming series teasers, and promotional gameplay showcases). 

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5. Strict Usage Restrictions

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• Audience Exposure & View Count Cap: Standard Tiers 1, 2, 3, and 4 are subject to a maximum cap of 1,000,000 combined views per individual video project utilizing the Music track across all platforms. Content that exceeds 1,000,000 views is considered viral/high-exposure and requires negotiation of a commercial upgrade fee to maintain valid licensing rights.

• No Unauthorized Third-Party Distribution: This license cannot be used by agencies or freelancers to produce work for a third-party client unless the selected tier matches that client's total entity profile. 

• Content Restrictions: This license does not grant permission for, and strictly prohibits, the use of the Music in connection with content that is defamatory, libelous, discriminatory (based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc.), excessively violent, sexually explicit, pornographic, or illegal. 

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6. Term and Perpetuity

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• In Perpetuity for Published Content: Once a track is synchronized into a specific, individual video or audio project and published to an Allowed Channel in compliance with the selected tier, that specific piece of content is covered in perpetuity. You are not required to take down the content or pay additional fees in the future for that specific project (subject to the view count cap outlined in Section 5). 

• Future Threshold Excursions: Financial and organizational thresholds apply to the exact date the content is published. If the Licensee or End Beneficiary exceeds these growth thresholds in the future, this license remains valid for previously published videos, but does not cover new projects. New projects will require a new license matching the updated tier criteria. 

 

7. Termination

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Any violation of the terms, restrictions, or tier-specific criteria outlined in this Agreement will result in the immediate and automatic termination of this license. Upon termination, Licensee must immediately cease distribution of and remove any content utilizing the Music from all platforms.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: BY DOWNLOADING, COPYING, OR USING THE MUSIC ARCHIVE/TRACKS PROVIDED BY HANS JOHNSON, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT DOWNLOAD OR USE THE MUSIC. THE LICENSE GRANTED HEREIN IS STRICTLY CONDITIONAL UPON YOUR SELECTION OF AND ADHERENCE TO THE APPROPRIATE LICENSE TIER AND THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE CORRESPONDING LICENSE FEE PAYMENT. ALL PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE ONCE MADE.

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(Updated June 2026)