Terms of Service

These terms govern your use of richertzstudios.com and any mastering work you order from Ric Hertz (“Ric Hertz”, “we”, “us”). By placing an order or creating an account you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't use the service.

The service

Ric Hertz is a boutique mixing and mastering studio. We offer four per-track services — mastering, mixing, mix + master, and stem mastering. Full music production is available separately on a quote basis. We may decline or cancel any order at our discretion (for example, if the source material is unsuitable or the request falls outside what we offer); where we do, any payment for work not yet started is refunded.

Accounts

You need an account to manage an order. You must give an accurate email address and display name and keep your login secure. You're responsible for activity under your account. We may suspend accounts used for abuse, fraud, or anything unlawful.

Orders and payment

• The order total is the price of the chosen service multiplied by the number of tracks. There are no add-ons, no tiers and no volume discount — the price on the menu is the price. Prices are in pounds sterling and are final: we are not VAT-registered, so no VAT is added. Payment is due in full before work begins.
• Orders of five tracks or more are not checked out on the site. They become a quote request: we price the work, send you a quote, and you accept and pay from your account.
• You pay by card. Card payments are processed by Stripe, which never gives us your card details, and we never see or store them. We record only the payment method and Stripe's reference against your order.
• An order that is quoted or awaiting payment expires 14 days after it reaches that state, and is cancelled automatically. Nothing is charged; you are free to order again.
• You confirm you own or have cleared all rights in the audio you submit and that our work on it won't infringe anyone else's rights.

Files you upload

Accepted formats are WAV, AIFF, and ZIP archives of those, up to 300 MB per file. You're responsible for keeping your own copies of anything you send us. After you upload, we review the files and either accept them or, if they aren't suitable for mastering, return them to you with notes.

Turnaround

The turnaround clock starts when we accept your uploaded files — not when you pay or upload. Standard turnaround depends on the service (roughly three to five working days for mastering, longer for mixing and mix + master). A revision puts the track back in progress and we'll give you a fresh estimate. Large orders (roughly twelve tracks or more) may take longer and we'll tell you if so.

Revisions and approval

Revisions are free until you're happy — within 30 days of delivery, sent as one consolidated set of notes, covering in-scope adjustments to the delivered work against your original brief (levels, EQ, balance, fades, tone). There is no limit on how many you ask for. New stems, an arrangement change, a new creative direction, or a new reference track is a new job, quoted separately. Each track is yours to approve or send back: nothing is approved on your behalf, and we never close a track you have not approved. An order closes by itself only once every track on it has been approved or cancelled — that is bookkeeping, and it happens after your last approval, not instead of one.

Use of your audio — marketing

If you submit audio to us for a free sample or trial — for example the demo clip you can attach to the contact form — you grant Ric Hertz a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use short excerpts of that material in marketing, including before/after demonstrations. We will never use a paid master, or any audio from a paid project, in marketing or any public-facing material without your explicit written permission. You keep all rights in your music; we claim no ownership of your tracks or masters.

Messaging

Each order has an in-portal message thread for plain-text messages between you and us, and a message can be tagged to one track on the order. Don't use it for anything unlawful or abusive. New messages may trigger an email notification to the other party containing the message text.

Cancellations and refunds

Cancellations and refunds are covered by our Refund Policy, which forms part of these terms.

Liability

We provide the service with reasonable care and skill, but we don't guarantee a particular commercial or creative outcome. To the extent the law allows, our total liability for any claim connected to an order is limited to the amount you paid for that order, and we're not liable for indirect or consequential loss, lost profits, or loss of data or recordings you didn't keep your own copies of. Nothing here limits liability that can't be limited by law.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time; the “last updated” date above will change. Material changes won't apply retroactively to orders already in progress.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Email hello@richertzstudios.com.