VinylStack Legal Documentation

Document ID: VS-LGL-000 Version: 1.0 Status: Working Draft Effective Date: Not applicable Last Updated: 16 August 2026 Document Owner: VinylStack Publication Classification: Public governance draft Cross References: VS-LGL-001, VS-LGL-002, VS-LGL-003, VS-LGL-004, VS-LGL-005

Important status notice

This repository is VinylStack's controlled authoring source for legal, commercial and governance documents. The foundation documents published here are drafts for transparency and structured review. They are not contracts, do not constitute legal advice and do not enable Artist Release sales, protected playback or artist payouts.

Only a document carrying the status Approved for Publication, published as an immutable version and activated through the corresponding product control may be relied upon operationally. A solicitor or other adviser reviews and advises; VinylStack remains responsible for its commercial decisions and for approving a document for publication.

Purpose

VinylStack combines collector-managed music libraries, Artist Studios, protected artist-owned music, Digital Vinyl presentation, Record Tokens, AI-assisted creative tools and potential future physical pressings. This repository exists to keep the rights, commercial rules, technical claims and product language governing those features aligned.

Its objectives are to:

• define the relationships between VinylStack, Artists, Rights Holders, Artist Managers, Listeners and Collectors;
• preserve artist ownership and distinguish ownership from the licences required to operate the service;
• explain exactly what a listener receives when acquiring Digital Vinyl;
• separate Record Tokens from Artist Earnings Ledger entries;
• provide a controlled path from commercial decision to solicitor review, technical implementation and publication;
• prevent later documents or operational changes from silently altering an accepted agreement; and
• retain immutable evidence of the exact terms accepted where acceptance is required.

Authority and operative documents

This repository is authoritative for drafting and document governance. It is not, by itself, the operative contract with an Artist or Listener.

An operative agreement is the exact immutable document accepted by the relevant party, together with its attached Schedules and only those external documents incorporated by an exact version. The order of precedence is defined in VS-LGL-005 — Document Hierarchy & Precedence.

No edit to a Markdown source file changes an agreement already accepted. Any change to the bytes of a published accepted document requires a new version, a new SHA-256 digest and fresh acceptance.

About VinylStack

VinylStack is a collector-focused music platform built around the idea that albums should be experienced with their context intact.

A Digital Vinyl presentation may include authorised recordings, sleeve artwork, labels, lyrics, credits, artist stories, photography, spoken introductions, collector metadata, pressing information and other approved release materials. Digital Vinyl is not a downloadable master recording and does not transfer copyright or ownership of the underlying creative work.

Except where expressly agreed in writing, VinylStack does not acquire ownership of master recordings, compositions, publishing rights, artwork, lyrics or other artist-owned material. VinylStack operates under the licences granted by the relevant Rights Holders.

Repository structure

docs/legal/
├── README.md                                  VS-LGL-000
├── glossary.md                                VS-LGL-001
├── product-principles.md                      VS-LGL-002
├── document-standards.md                      VS-LGL-003
├── commercial-decisions-register.md           VS-LGL-004
├── document-hierarchy-precedence.md            VS-LGL-005
├── artist-release-agreement-v1.0.md            VS-LGL-010 (Working Draft; controlled, not public)
├── artist-release-schedule-v1.0.md             VS-LGL-011 (Working Draft; controlled, not public)
├── listener-protected-playback-terms-v1.0.md   VS-LGL-020 (Working Draft; controlled, not public)
├── record-token-terms-v1.0.md                  VS-LGL-030 (Working Draft; controlled, not public)
├── controlled-test-commerce-protocol.md         VS-LGL-090 (internal Working Draft; not contractual)
├── digital-content-refunds-v1.0.md             planned
├── vinylstack-terms-of-service-v1.0.md         planned
├── privacy-policy-v2.0.md                      planned
├── copyright-policy.md                         planned
├── content-moderation-policy.md                 planned
├── artist-payout-agreement.md                  future release
├── security-incident-policy.md                  planned internal policy
└── solicitor-review-register.md                 planned internal register

The security, handbooks and other operational directories may be referenced for factual implementation detail. They do not create or redefine legal rights.

Canonical document states

The approval register must identify who approved the document, the scope and territories reviewed, the approved file digest, the approval date and any review condition or expiry.

Immutable publication and acceptance

Every accepted commercial document must be published as an immutable PDF or another explicitly approved durable artifact. Its publication record must include:

• Document ID and title;
• version;
• effective date;
• credential-free HTTPS publication URL;
• SHA-256 digest of the exact published bytes; and
• publication timestamp.

Published bytes are never replaced in place. If any byte changes, a new version and digest are issued. Where the document requires acceptance, fresh acceptance is required without exception.

Documents currently in preparation

The first controlled Artist and Listener contract drafts now exist:

1. VS-LGL-010 — Artist Release Agreement: the intended VinylStack–Artist relationship, ownership boundary, limited platform licence, rights process and release-commerce framework.

2. VS-LGL-011 — Artist Release Schedule and Rights Declaration: the release-specific identity, programme, masters, compositions, lyrics, contributors, samples, visual assets, permissions, territories, evidence and Release Manifest.

3. VS-LGL-020 — Listener Protected Playback Terms: the account-bound playback licence acquired by a Listener.

4. VS-LGL-030 — Record Token Terms: the rules governing listener-held Record Tokens.

All four remain controlled Working Drafts. They are deliberately excluded from the public Legal Library and all production acceptance registries until management decisions, solicitor review and every required approval step are complete.

VS-LGL-090 — Controlled Artist Commerce Test Protocol defines how those drafts, sandbox Record Tokens, synthetic or separately authorised releases and non-operative acknowledgements may be exercised without creating operative acceptance. Its checkout runs in local/testing or in an explicitly declared invite_only_beta deployment even when Laravel uses its production runtime. That beta declaration must be removed before public launch and cannot satisfy an operative production-acceptance query. The protocol is internal and is not a contract.

No document is approved merely because its identifier or draft source appears in this repository.

Review disciplines

The Commercial Decisions Register distinguishes decisions belonging to VinylStack management from questions requiring solicitor, accountant, privacy, platform-policy or technical review. Advisers do not silently make VinylStack's commercial choices, and VinylStack does not use commercial copy to decide unresolved law.

Documentation must remain aligned with actual product behaviour. It must not promise unavailable payouts, unverified watermarking, absolute copy prevention, perpetual service, undisclosed listener information or rights the Artist has not granted.

Contacts

• Product and account help: support@vinylstack.org
• Privacy enquiries: privacy@vinylstack.org
• Copyright concerns: copyright_concerns@vinylstack.org
• Suggestions: suggestions@vinylstack.org

Revision history

© 2026 VinylStack. All rights reserved.