Apple Podcast Connect's terms of service, January 25, 2024

Below are the terms of service for Apple Podcasts Connect.

We’re reproducing it here because we’re reporting on it today, and these terms of service are not visible without an Apple ID.

Here are March 2022's terms, and below we’ve highlighted the major additions.

Apple Podcasts Connect TERMS OF SERVICE

THESE TERMS OF SERVICE (“TERMS OF SERVICE”) CONSTITUTE A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND APPLE INC. (“APPLE”) STATING THE TERMS THAT GOVERN YOUR USE OF APPLE PODCASTS CONNECT, INCLUDING THROUGH YOUR USE OF AN API INTEGRATION, AND THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH IT (COLLECTIVELY, “PODCASTS CONNECT”). TO AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, CLICK “AGREE.” IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, DO NOT CLICK “AGREE,” AND DO NOT USE PODCASTS CONNECT. YOU MUST ACCEPT AND ABIDE BY THESE TERMS OF SERVICE AS PRESENTED TO YOU; CHANGES, ADDITIONS, OR DELETIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND APPLE MAY REFUSE ACCESS TO PODCASTS CONNECT FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ANY PART OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.

1. Access. Access to Podcasts Connect is provided solely as an accommodation and at Apple’s sole discretion and is available to you to the extent you are, or are an authorized representative of, the person or an entity (a “Content Provider”) that has submitted one or more valid podcasts and any related audio, text, photos, images, graphics, comments, data, metadata and other materials (collectively, or individually, as context requires, “Content”) to Apple or Apple affiliates for distribution on Apple’s digital podcast distribution service (“Apple Podcasts”) regardless of the device or platform on which Apple Podcasts is made available. Your access to particular Podcasts Connect services may be further limited by the Podcasts Connect administrative user(s) for the Content Provider with which you are associated. As a condition to your access to Podcasts Connect and the distribution of your Content on Apple Podcasts, you must comply with Apple’s technical documentation, requirements, and content guidelines (collectively, “Apple Requirements”) that govern the use of Podcasts Connect and the Content, including without limitation, you shall not engage in any unlawful, unfair, misleading, fraudulent, improper, or dishonest acts or business practices relating to the Content or use of Podcasts Connect. Accordingly, subject to applicable law, Apple reserves the right to label or remove your Content and suspend your access to Podcasts Connect if you violate the Apple Requirements. The Apple Requirements may be updated from time to time and made available to you by Apple (e.g., on the Apple Podcasts for Creators website or by other digital means).

2. System Requirements. To use Podcasts Connect you need compatible hardware, software (latest version recommended or required), and Internet access (fees may apply). The performance of Podcasts Connect may be affected by these factors. You acknowledge and agree that such system requirements, which may be changed from time to time, are your responsibility.

3. Agreement. Your use of Podcasts Connect is, if applicable, subject to the terms of any agreement between yourself and Apple with regard to your Content (“Agreement”), including, without limitation, its confidentiality provisions. In the event of a direct conflict between these Terms of Service or any information provided on Podcasts Connect, on the one hand, and any applicable Agreement, on the other hand, the terms of such Agreement shall govern with respect to such conflict.

4. Confidentiality. You acknowledge that, in the course of your use of Podcasts Connect, you may have access to certain information and materials that are confidential and are of substantial value to Apple, including, but not limited to, any proposed Agreement you download from Podcasts Connect or you otherwise receive from Apple, which value would be impaired if such information were disclosed to third parties or used for purposes other than expressly permitted by such Agreement, or as set forth herein (“Apple Confidential Information”). You agree to maintain any Apple Confidential Information in confidence, and not disclose or otherwise make available Apple Confidential Information to any third party without the prior written consent of Apple. In the event either party chooses not to enter into an Agreement, you agree to destroy all copies of any Apple Confidential Information in your possession, including any proposed Agreement(s).

5. Your Information. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information required to register with Podcasts Connect and at other points as may be required in the course of using Podcasts Connect (“Podcaster Data”). You hereby confirm that any Podcaster Data you provide and already have provided to Apple (including, without limitation, in the Apple Podcasts application process or through prior use of Podcasts Connect) is accurate, current, and complete. You further agree to maintain and update your Podcaster Data as required to keep it accurate, current, and complete.

6. Account and Password. As a registered user of Podcasts Connect, you must establish an account (“Account”). You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your Account. You may not reveal your Account information to anyone else, allow anyone else to use your Account, or use anyone else’s Account. You are entirely responsible for all activities that occur on or through your Account, and you agree to immediately notify Apple of any unauthorized use of your Account or any other breach of security. Apple shall not be responsible for any losses arising out of the unauthorized or other improper use of your Account.

7. No Programmatic Access. You may not use any data mining, robots, scripting, or similar data gathering and extraction tools to access Podcasts Connect, including, without limitation, the Podcasts Analytics Service, and you shall not exploit Podcasts Connect, or any data therein, in any manner not expressly authorized by Apple.

8. License.

(a) As necessary to provide and enhance the end user experience on Apple Podcasts (e.g., accessibility, search and recommendations), you grant Apple a non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid up, worldwide license to use, download, store, reproduce, publicly display and perform, and distribute your Content on Apple Podcasts. You further grant Apple a non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid up, worldwide license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of (but solely for formatting and sizing), and publicly display and perform in any media your Content Images (defined below), other promotional materials you provide to Apple, and derivatives thereof for the purposes of promoting Apple Podcasts and your Content (e.g., promotion on Apple Podcasts, on social media and through directed marketing emails to end users). Apple may use the name and authorized likenesses of hosts and guests of your podcasts in furtherance of promoting your Content, although Apple shall obtain further written approval from you if any such host or guest name, likeness, or identifying material is otherwise used as an endorsement of Apple, Apple Podcasts, or other Apple products or services.

(b) You grant Apple the right to create transcripts of your Content (“Transcripts”) and to display such Transcripts on Apple Podcasts, provided that Apple shall provide you with the ability, within Podcasts Connect or by other digital means, to opt out of the public display of such Transcripts on Apple Podcasts, except where the display of such Transcripts is required by applicable law.

(c) You grant Apple a nonexclusive, worldwide, and royalty-free license to use your Content for internal research and development to improve Apple’s products and services.

9. Content Images.

(a) Podcasts Connect may permit you to upload certain images or other artwork related to particular podcast content (“Content Images”) for worldwide use by Apple and its affiliates to display Content Images on Apple branded websites (e.g., www.apple.com), on the iTunes Store, or on Apple Podcasts and in related promotional materials, and/or deliver Content Images for display on end users’ devices where content featuring the Content is present, including (in any case) as an image associated with an episode, a podcast, channel, or a collection of podcasts. (b) Apple may edit, resize or crop Content Images to fit the design and layout of Apple Podcasts or the space allotted in promotional materials, or modify the Content to make it consistent with technical and formatting requirements in the Apple Requirements, which for clarity includes the right to modify metadata as reasonably necessary to correct errors therein. Apple may in its sole discretion use all or some of the metadata you provide hereunder, or supplement or replace such metadata.

10. Rights Clearances and Royalties.

With respect to the Content (including Content Images), you represent and warrant that:

(a) you own or have otherwise obtained all rights, licenses, releases, and permissions to submit and make your Content available on Apple Podcasts and to grant the rights granted to Apple and its affiliates in these Terms of Service, including without limitation, applicable licenses respecting all sound recordings and musical compositions contained in any Content made available on Apple Podcasts; (b) your Content and its submission and use as authorized in these Terms of Service will not violate (1) any applicable law, (2) any third-party intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights, or (3) any agreements with, or policies of, a third party related to use of the Content as permitted in these Terms of Service; (c) you are responsible for making full and timely payments of all royalties, residuals, equitable remuneration, participation payments and/or other sums payable for any rights and/or waivers obtained pursuant to (i) above, and all payments that may be required under any collective bargaining, union or guild agreements related to the Content or its exploitation or other use hereunder, including any similar payments which are not now but hereafter become payable; (d) you have the authority to make the foregoing representations and warranties on behalf of yourself and any entity on behalf of which you are making available the Content on Apple Podcasts.

11. Analytics. To the extent that Apple provides an analytics service through Podcasts Connect for content distributed on Apple Podcasts excluding any applications or associated information distributed on the App Store (“Podcasts Analytics Service”), you acknowledge that the Podcasts Analytics Service is provided solely as a convenience to you and agree, unless otherwise authorized in writing by Apple, to use any data provided through such Podcasts Analytics Service solely for purposes of internal business analytics, including promotion and marketing purposes, and making data available to advertisers solely as necessary to monetize Content, and subject to the following conditions and restrictions:

(a) You agree not to provide such information to any third parties or allow third parties to access your account in Podcasts Connect. (b) You must not aggregate (or permit any third party to aggregate) analytics information provided to you by Apple as part of the Podcasts Analytics Service with other content providers’ analytics information, or contribute such information to a repository for cross-content provider analytics. (c) You must not use the Podcasts Analytics Service or any analytics data to attempt to identify or derive information about any particular end-user or device. (d) If you are receiving analytics data from an analytics service offered by the App Store for your applications (if any), this Section 11(d) does not apply to any such analytics data received from such analytics service and your use thereof shall be guided by any applicable Apple Developer Program License Agreement that governs your distribution of any such applications. (e) You agree that Apple may share anonymized aggregated listening data collected via referral links with certain third-party services who provide such links for the purposes of promoting your content on Apple Podcasts.

12. Intellectual Property.

(a) Acknowledgement of Ownership. You agree that Podcasts Connect contains proprietary information and material that is owned by Apple and/or its licensors, and is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws, including but not limited to copyright, and that you will not use such proprietary information or materials in any way whatsoever except for use of Podcasts Connect in compliance with these Terms of Service. No portion of Podcasts Connect may be reproduced in any form or by any means.

(b) Copyrights. All copyrights in and to Podcasts Connect are owned by Apple and/or its licensors.

(c) Trademarks. Apple, the Apple logo, iTunes, Podcasts Connect and other Apple trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with Podcasts Connect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. You are granted no right or license with respect to any of the aforesaid trademarks and any use of such trademarks.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties; Liability Limitations.

To the extent permitted by applicable law:

(a) APPLE DOES NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF PODCASTS CONNECT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND YOU AGREE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME APPLE MAY REMOVE PODCASTS CONNECT (OR PARTICULAR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES THEREIN) FOR INDEFINITE PERIODS OF TIME, OR CEASE TO OFFER PODCASTS CONNECT IN ITS ENTIRETY, AT ANY TIME, WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU.

(b) YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, PODCASTS CONNECT IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. PODCASTS CONNECT AND ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES DELIVERED TO YOU THROUGH PODCASTS CONNECT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” FOR YOUR USE, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

(c) IN NO CASE SHALL APPLE, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF PODCASTS CONNECT OR FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF PODCASTS CONNECT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE, OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE, POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA PODCASTS CONNECT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY.

(d) APPLE DOES NOT REPRESENT OR GUARANTEE THAT PODCASTS CONNECT WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS, CORRUPTION, ATTACK, VIRUSES, INTERFERENCE, HACKING, OR OTHER SECURITY INTRUSION, AND APPLE DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY RELATING THERETO.

(e) Nothing contained in this Section 13 is intended to exclude, restrict, or modify any rights held in Australia under the consumer guarantee provisions of the Australian Consumer Law (being Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010) if you are a 'consumer’ (within the meaning of the Australian Consumer Law). If Apple is liable to you under that legislation, to the extent to which Apple is entitled to do so, Apple limits its liability in respect of any claim under those provisions to, at Apple’s option, the supplying of the services again or the payment of the cost of having the services supplied again.

14. Indemnity. BY USING THE PODCASTS CONNECT SERVICE, YOU AGREE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD APPLE, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS HARMLESS WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF YOUR BREACH OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES MADE BY YOU HEREIN, OR YOUR OTHER IMPROPER, UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLAWFUL USE OF PODCASTS CONNECT.

15. Notices. Apple may send you notice with respect to Podcasts Connect by sending an email message to the email address listed in your Account contact information, by sending a letter via postal mail to the contact address listed in your Account contact information, or by a posting on Podcasts Connect. Notices shall become effective immediately.

16. Governing Law. You expressly agree that the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflicts of law rules, govern these Terms of Service and your use of Podcasts Connect and the distribution of your Content on Apple Podcasts, and that the exclusive jurisdiction for any proceeding relating in any way to your use of Podcasts Connect will be the Northern District of California. You hereby waive the right to object to the foregoing choice of law, personal jurisdiction or venue.

17. Termination. You agree to comply with the above at all times during your use of Podcasts Connect, and acknowledge and agree that subject to applicable law, Apple has the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your account or take such other action as it sees fit if you breach any of the terms of these Terms of Service.

18. Miscellaneous. Subject to Section 3 above, these Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between you and Apple and govern your use of Podcasts Connect, superseding any prior agreements between you and Apple. If any part of these Terms of Service is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. Apple’s failure to enforce any right or provisions in these Terms of Service will not constitute a waiver of such provision, or any other provision of these Terms of Service. Apple will not be responsible for failures to fulfill any obligations due to causes beyond its control.

Last updated: January 25, 2024

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