Legal & policies

1. Who we are

Mpabeat is a Ugandan digital music service that lets people discover Ugandan music, stream records, buy and keep downloads, read editorial stories and support creators. In these terms, "Mpabeat", "we", "us" and "our" mean the Mpabeat service operated from Nandee Towers, Plot 12 Wilson Road, Kampala, Uganda.

You can reach us at support@mpabeat.com or on WhatsApp at +256 757 566 144. Our support hours are Monday to Friday, 09:00–18:00 East Africa Time.

2. Accepting these terms

By creating an account, using the player, buying a download or uploading a record, you agree to these terms, our Privacy Policy, our Cookie Policy, our Copyright and Takedown Policy, our Refund Policy and, if you publish music, our Creator Agreement.

If you do not agree, do not use the service. If you use Mpabeat for an organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation.

These terms are effective when you accept them and continue for as long as you use Mpabeat. Electronic acceptance is intended to satisfy the writing and signature requirements recognised by the Electronic Transactions Act, 2011.

3. Eligibility and your account

• You must be at least 18 years old to hold an account or make a purchase. If you are under 18, you may only use Mpabeat with the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian.
• Give accurate registration details, keep your password confidential and tell us promptly if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.
• You are responsible for activity carried out through your account, but not for activity that happens after you have told us about unauthorised access and we have had a reasonable opportunity to act.
• We may suspend or close an account for serious or repeated breaches of these terms, fraud, copyright infringement or behaviour that endangers other users or creators.

4. The catalogue and your listening licence

Mpabeat grants you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable licence to stream records through the player and to download records you have bought or that an artist has made free, for personal, non-commercial listening.

This licence does not transfer ownership of the recording, composition, artwork or metadata. You may not re-upload, redistribute, sell, sublicense, publicly perform for commercial gain, extract stems, or use catalogue content in advertising, film, games or other productions without the rights holder's written permission.

A download is a copy for your personal collection. It is not a master, a synchronisation licence, a broadcast licence or a permission to make the recording available to others.

5. Free and paid downloads

Artists choose whether a record is free to download or paid. A price of zero means the download is free. A price above zero is shown in Ugandan shillings before checkout.

The default paid download price is UGX 500, but the artist may set a different price. The price displayed at the moment you confirm payment is the price that applies.

A paid download is unlocked only after the mobile money provider confirms the payment and our system records the entitlement. A failed, cancelled or reversed payment does not create an entitlement.

A free download requires no payment. It is still subject to availability, the artist's download setting and these terms.

6. Payments, taxes and receipts

• Payments are processed through MTN MoMo or Airtel Money. You authorise the provider to charge the phone number you enter and to share the transaction result with us.
• Prices are stated in Ugandan shillings. Any taxes that apply are included or shown as required by Ugandan law.
• You are responsible for using a phone number you are authorised to use. Do not use another person's mobile money account without permission.
• We do not store your mobile money PIN. The provider handles authentication on your handset.
• If a payment is duplicated, reversed or settled in error, contact support@mpabeat.com. Refunds are handled under the Refund Policy.

7. Creator content

Creators keep ownership of their masters and compositions. By uploading, a creator grants Mpabeat the licence described in the Creator Agreement so that we can host, stream, sell and promote the record.

Creators are responsible for clearing all samples, features, cover art and other rights before publishing. Uploading content you do not have the right to use is a breach of these terms and may be reported to the relevant authorities.

We review uploads before publication and may remove, restrict or take down content that breaches our rules, infringes rights or creates a legal or safety risk.

8. What you must not do

• Do not infringe copyright, neighbouring rights, trade marks, privacy or other rights.
• Do not upload malware, attempt to break authentication, scrape the catalogue at scale, bypass payment or download controls, or interfere with the service.
• Do not use Mpabeat to harass, threaten, defraud, impersonate or distribute unlawful, hateful or sexually exploitative material.
• Do not resell downloads, share account access commercially, or present Mpabeat content as your own.
• Do not use automated tools to create accounts, inflate plays or downloads, or manipulate discovery.

9. Our intellectual property

The Mpabeat name, logo, interface and editorial material are protected by copyright, trade mark and other laws. You may not copy, modify or redistribute them without permission, except for fair dealing or another exception permitted by law.

Artist names, cover art, recordings and compositions remain the property of their respective owners. Nothing in these terms gives you rights in them beyond the limited licence above.

10. Availability and changes

We work to keep Mpabeat available, but the service is provided on an "as available" basis. Maintenance, network failures, mobile money outages, device limitations and events beyond our control may interrupt playback, downloads or payments.

We may add, change or retire features, and may remove a record when an artist takes it down, a licence ends or a legal complaint is upheld. Where a paid download is affected, we handle it under the Refund Policy.

We will give reasonable notice of material changes to these terms. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated terms.

11. Disclaimers and liability

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under Ugandan law, including liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or your statutory consumer rights.

Subject to that, Mpabeat is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity or loss of data arising from your use of the service, and our total liability for a claim is limited to the amount you paid to Mpabeat in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim.

We do not warrant that every record will always be available, that a device will support every format, or that the service will be free from interruption.

12. Suspension and termination

You may stop using Mpabeat at any time. You may ask us to close your account through support@mpabeat.com.

We may suspend or terminate access immediately where necessary to prevent fraud, protect users, comply with law or stop a serious breach. Where practical, we will explain the reason and give you a chance to respond.

Paid entitlements remain subject to the Refund Policy. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination, including intellectual property, liability and dispute provisions, will survive.

13. Governing law and complaints

These terms are governed by the laws of Uganda. The courts of Uganda have jurisdiction, without taking away any right you have to complain to a regulator or to pursue a statutory consumer remedy.

Please contact support@mpabeat.com first so we can try to resolve the issue. We aim to respond within two business days and to resolve complaints within 14 days.

Nothing in these terms prevents you from contacting the Personal Data Protection Office for a data protection complaint, the Uganda Registration Services Bureau or the Uganda Performing Right Society for copyright and collective management questions, or the Uganda Police for suspected fraud.

14. Contact

Mpabeat, Nandee Towers, Plot 12 Wilson Road, Kampala, Uganda.

Email: support@mpabeat.com. WhatsApp: +256 757 566 144. Support hours: Monday–Friday, 09:00–18:00 EAT.