Terms and conditions

01Preamble

These terms and conditions ("Terms") apply to the services of the recording studio operated by:

• Company name: Benchmaven SAS
• Legal form: simplified joint-stock company (SAS) with a share capital of €12,000
• Registered office: 22 Rue de Rathsamhausen, 67100 Strasbourg, France
• Registration: RCS Strasbourg 976 348 607 (register kept by the registry of the Strasbourg judicial court)
• SIREN: 976 348 607 — SIRET: 976 348 607 00012
• EU VAT number: FR77 976348607
• APE code: 59.20Z (sound recording and music publishing)
• Phone: +33 (0)3 88 27 54 16 — Email: [email protected]

Please read them before accepting a quote. The contract is concluded when you accept a written quote (signature, or an email reply "agreed") and pay the deposit. Simply visiting the website or sending the contact form does not bind you.

The contract consists, in order of priority, of: the specific conditions of the accepted quote, these Terms and, for business clients who entrust us with third parties' personal data, the data processing agreement, which prevails over any other document regarding that data. Our privacy policy is provided for your information; it does not modify the contract. If you do not accept these Terms, do not accept the quote.

02Definitions

03Pre-contractual information

Before any commitment, the website and the quote give you the essential characteristics of the service, its price, the date of performance, our identity and contact details, the legal guarantees, the right of withdrawal where applicable and the option of using a mediator, in accordance with Articles L.111-1 and L.221-5 of the French Consumer Code. Each service page describes the process, what is included and the rates.

04Quotes and booking

Your request, by form, phone or email, leads to a written quote sent within one working day. The quote is valid for 30 days. The slot is only reserved once we receive your acceptance of the quote and the deposit; until then it may be given to another client.

For a distance contract, we confirm the booking on a durable medium (email) containing the information in the quote, in accordance with Article L.221-13 of the French Consumer Code. We may decline a request for a legitimate reason, for example a project incompatible with our equipment or safety conditions.

05Prices

Prices shown on the website and in the quote are in euros including all taxes, with French VAT at 20% included, in accordance with Article L.112-1 of the French Consumer Code. Amounts excluding VAT are shown for businesses. The applicable price is that of the accepted quote.

Extra time beyond the booked slot is only charged if you asked for it, per half hour started, at the service rate. Options (DDP, vinyl pre-master, stems, cut-downs) are charged only if they appear in the quote or you request them in writing.

06Deposit and payment

By express stipulation within the meaning of Article L.214-1 of the French Consumer Code, the sum of 30% of the price including VAT paid on booking is a deposit (acompte) and not a forfeitable down payment (arrhes). It is deducted from the balance. In accordance with Article L.214-2, sums paid in advance bear interest at the statutory rate after three months from payment until the service is performed or the sums are refunded.

Payment methods: bank transfer, and card payment at the studio. Consumers pay the balance on the day of the session. For services delivered remotely (mixing, mastering, composition), it is paid on delivery of the final version.

Businesses pay within 30 days of the invoice date. Any delay automatically incurs penalties at the rate applied by the European Central Bank to its most recent refinancing operation plus 10 percentage points (Article L.441-10 of the French Commercial Code) and a fixed recovery fee of €40 (Article D.441-5), without prejudice to additional compensation on proof.

Until the service is paid in full, we may retain the final files; working files remain archived under the "Files, delivery and archiving" section.

07Rescheduling and cancellation by the client

Requests to reschedule or cancel are made by email or phone and confirmed in writing. Arriving late on the day shortens the session accordingly, without extension if the next slot is booked. These rules add to the consumer's right of withdrawal and do not limit it.

08Right of withdrawal

When the contract is concluded at a distance (by email, phone or form) or off-premises, the consumer has 14 days from the conclusion of the contract to withdraw, without giving reasons or bearing costs other than those set out below (Articles L.221-18 et seq. of the French Consumer Code). This right does not apply to a contract signed at the studio.

If you want the session or service to start before the end of this period, you must expressly request it. If you then withdraw, you pay an amount proportionate to what has been provided until you inform us of your decision (Article L.221-25). The right of withdrawal can no longer be exercised for a service fully performed before the end of the period, where performance began after your prior express consent and express waiver of this right (Article L.221-28, 1°). It is also excluded for music composed to your specifications or clearly personalised (Article L.221-28, 3°).

To withdraw, send us an unequivocal statement by email to [email protected] or by post to 22 Rue de Rathsamhausen, 67100 Strasbourg, France, for example using the form below. We refund you no later than 14 days after receiving your decision, using the same means of payment unless agreed otherwise (Article L.221-24).

09Cancellation or changes by the studio

If we have to cancel a session (equipment failure, engineer unavailable, incident on the premises), we let you know as soon as possible and offer a new date. If it does not suit you, we refund all sums paid within 14 days. We do not replace the scheduled engineer without your consent.

10Sessions

The studio is open Monday to Saturday by appointment and closed on Alsace-Moselle public holidays. The live room holds at most 6 musicians at the same time. Minors are welcome from the age of 14 with written consent from their legal guardian, who books and pays; until the age of 16, a responsible adult is present for the whole session.

You agree to use the premises and equipment with care and follow the engineer's instructions. Smoking and vaping are prohibited on the premises. We may stop a session if the safety of people or equipment is at risk, particularly in the event of dangerous behaviour; the session then remains payable. Damage to studio equipment caused by fault or negligence is charged to the client. Equipment you bring remains in your custody: we advise you to insure it.

To protect your hearing, we work at moderate listening levels, suggest breaks and provide earplugs.

11Files, delivery and archiving

Unless the quote states otherwise, files are delivered as 24-bit WAV, by download link or on the medium you provide. Delivery times for mixing and mastering run from receipt of complete, usable files and are expressed in working days.

We keep a copy of the sessions for 6 months after the last session, then delete it. It is your responsibility to collect and back up your files during that period. Longer retention can be agreed in writing.

12Revisions

Mixing includes 2 rounds of revisions and mastering 1 round, as described on the service pages. A round is one list of notes handled in one go. Additional rounds, or a new artistic direction requested after approval, are quoted in advance.

13Intellectual property

Your works. The works you record remain your property or that of their authors. You warrant that you hold the necessary rights in the works, lyrics, samples and covers used, and you handle registrations with collective management organisations. The studio claims no copyright in your works.

Recordings. The producer of a phonogram is the person who takes the initiative and responsibility for the first fixation of a sequence of sounds (Article L.213-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). When you commission and finance the recording, that status is yours. Should the studio be able to claim any rights in the recordings made for you, it assigns them to you from full payment of the service.

Commissioned works. For music composed by the studio, the composer remains the author. Exploitation rights are assigned by a separate written document that mentions each right assigned separately and defines its scope, purpose, place and duration (Article L.131-3). Remuneration is proportional or, in the cases provided for by law, a flat fee (Article L.131-4). For a work commissioned for advertising, the contract specifies the separate remuneration due for each mode of exploitation (Article L.132-31). When the composer is a SACEM member, public performance and mechanical reproduction rights are managed by SACEM. The author's moral right is inalienable.

Performers. Fixing and exploiting a performer's performance requires their written authorisation (Article L.212-3). The client must obtain it from the musicians, singers and voice actors they bring in. For an audiobook, the contract between the publisher and the narrator governs these rights; the studio carries out the technical work and acquires no rights in the work or the performance.

Voice and artificial intelligence. The studio does not use your recordings to train artificial intelligence systems and clones no voice without the specific written authorisation of the person concerned.

References. We only mention your name or project as a reference with your written consent.

14Liability

The studio uses all necessary means to carry out the service in line with professional standards; the artistic result also depends on your preparation and choices and cannot be guaranteed. We are only liable for proven fault, for direct damage foreseeable when the contract was concluded (Article 1231-3 of the French Civil Code).

These limits do not apply in the event of gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or to personal injury, and do not deprive consumers of their statutory rights. For businesses, except in cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct, our total liability for a service is limited to the price including VAT of the relevant quote; indirect losses, such as loss of business or loss of opportunity, are excluded.

15Legal guarantees

Where the service includes supplying audio files to a consumer, the consumer benefits from the legal guarantee of conformity for digital content under Articles L.224-25-12 et seq. of the French Consumer Code. If a delivered file is defective or does not match the quote (format, length, version), let us know: we correct it or deliver it again free of charge.

16Force majeure

Neither party is liable for a failure caused by force majeure within the meaning of Article 1218 of the French Civil Code. The affected party informs the other as soon as possible. The session is moved to a date agreed together; if the impediment lasts more than 28 days or no date suits, either party may terminate the contract and sums paid for services not performed are refunded.

17Personal data

We process your data in accordance with our privacy policy. If you are a business and entrust us with third parties' data (narrators, guests, musicians), our data processing agreement applies.

18Telephone canvassing

If you do not wish to receive telephone marketing, you can register free of charge on the Bloctel opt-out list (www.bloctel.gouv.fr), in accordance with Article L.223-2 of the French Consumer Code. The studio does not carry out telephone canvassing.

19Complaints and mediation

Complaints should be sent in writing to [email protected] or to our postal address. We reply within 10 working days.

If the dispute is not resolved, consumers may refer it free of charge to the consumer mediator we belong to (Articles L.612-1 and L.616-1 of the French Consumer Code):

CM2C — Centre de la médiation de la consommation de conciliateurs de justice
49 Rue de Ponthieu, 75008 Paris
www.cm2c.net

A mediation request is only admissible after a prior written complaint to the studio, and must be filed within one year of that complaint (Article L.612-2).

20Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by French law. Consumers may bring proceedings, at their choice, before the court of the place where they lived when the contract was concluded or when the harmful event occurred, or any other court with jurisdiction under the French Code of Civil Procedure (Article R.631-3 of the French Consumer Code).

For disputes between businesses, jurisdiction lies with the commercial chamber of the Strasbourg judicial court. In Alsace-Moselle there are no commercial courts: commercial cases are heard by the commercial chambers of the judicial courts (Articles L.731-1 to L.731-4 of the French Commercial Code).

21Miscellaneous

If a clause is declared void, the others remain in force and the clause is replaced by the valid provision closest to its intent. Failure to rely on a clause does not constitute a waiver. We may amend these Terms; the applicable version is the one in force on the date the quote is accepted. This English text is a translation: the French version prevails.