Terms of Service

'You' meaning any person who: uses our website / enters the Studio Premises at Level 1, Suite 19, 330 Wattle Street, Ultimo NSW 2007 / engages the services offered by Safe House Studios.

You acknowledge and agree to these Terms of Service, which are in compliance with Australian Consumer Law.

0. ACCESS

0.1 BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

The studio premises is not a 'public building', access is by appointment only. We reserve the right to refuse entry to any person at our discretion.

0.2 UNWELCOME VISITORS

Unwelcome visitors may include gang members and affiliates, people who attend others' studio sessions to waste time, excessively large groups that cannot comfortably inhabit their designated studio and rely on the common/shared areas to accommodate them. We reserve the right to remove any person at our discretion.

1. PAYMENT

1.1 PAYMENT IN FULL

Unless otherwise personally negotiated with us, full payment is required online at the time of booking to secure your session.

1.2 NEGOTIATED DEPOSITS

Where we have personally negotiated a deposit arrangement with you instead of full payment, the agreed deposit amount will be deducted from your total bill, and we may ask for a greater deposit at our discretion. Audiobook production bookings follow a separate deposit structure, see Section 14.

1.3 FEES

By instructing us to undertake a piece of work, you are committing to our fees. We can provide you with a fixed quote for work upon request. Our flat-rate fees are an estimate based on an average number of hours it takes to complete a piece of work. If a piece of flat-rate work exceeds our time estimate we reserve the right to ask you for remuneration for the number of additional hours work undertaken by us, charged at the per-hour rate for the particular service.

1.4 MINIMUM BOOKING

Our minimum booking with an engineer is 2 hours. Our minimum booking for studio hire without an engineer is 3 hours. It is your responsibility to arrive on time to your session and you will be charged from the start time of your booking. If your session concludes before the end time of your booking, we will not charge you for the remaining whole hours that exceed the minimum booking time.

1.5 DUE DATE

Payment due dates are clearly displayed on each invoice.

2. REFUND POLICY

2.1 PAYMENTS MADE IN FULL

We do not offer refunds for cancellation where you have paid in full. If you wish to reschedule your booking, we will transfer your payment to the new booking providing you give us a minimum of 24 hours notice. See 2.4 for refunds where we have not yet started work.

2.2 NEGOTIATED DEPOSITS

Where a deposit has been personally negotiated with us instead of full payment, we do not offer refunds for the deposit, however if you wish to reschedule your booking we will transfer the deposit to the new booking providing you give us a minimum of 24 hours notice.

2.3 INCOMPLETE WORK

We do not offer refunds for any work undertaken by us in the course of completing a piece of work that you have commissioned. By instructing us to undertake a piece of work, you are committing to our fees. See CANCELLATION POLICY.

2.4 PAYMENTS MADE IN ADVANCE

For payments made in advance, if you change your mind and request a refund, we will refund you if we have not yet started on the work paid for, minus any expense to us resulting from the initial transaction, which may include fees collected by the payment processor. For recording sessions paid for in advance, a minimum of 24 hours notice applies to cancel in order to qualify for a refund.

2.5 TIME TAKEN TO RETURN FUNDS

Where payments have been made electronically, terms and conditions set by the payment processor apply. Refunded amounts may take 5 to 10 business days to return to your payment method, the time it takes to receive a refund once it has been actioned by us is outside of our control.

2.6 LATE PAYMENT FEE

If any invoice remains unpaid 30 days after the due date, a late payment fee of 10% of the outstanding balance will be applied. This fee will accrue for each 30-day period that the invoice remains unpaid, until the total balance is settled.

We will issue a reminder notice prior to applying the late payment fee. If the overdue amount is not settled within 7 days of the reminder notice, the late fee will be added to the total amount owing.

The late payment fee is intended to cover the administrative costs associated with pursuing overdue invoices.

3. OUR GUARANTEE

Audio work is partly subjective. We will always provide you with a finished product free from technical issues and in a high-quality audio format.

4. DELIVERY TIMES

Delivery dates are an estimate. It is your responsibility to communicate deadlines to us prior to commissioning our services.

5. CANCELLATION POLICY

5.1 FAIR PAYMENT

You may cancel at any time, however we will charge you for the portion of work already undertaken at the time of cancellation.

5.2 FLAT-RATE AGREEMENTS

If you cancel a service for which a flat-rate fee was agreed, we will charge you for the portion of work already undertaken by us at the per-hour rate for whichever service is applicable.

5.3 FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE

If you fail to cancel we will request payment in full for outstanding work after one year from the date of commission, outstanding work will be charged at the applicable per-hour rate(s).

5.4 WORK/SERVICES PAID FOR IN ADVANCE

For payments made in advance, if you change your mind and request a refund, we will refund you if we have not yet started on the work paid for, minus any expense to us resulting from the initial transaction, which may include fees collected by the payment processor. For recording sessions paid for in advance, 24 hours notice applies to qualify for a refund. Audiobook bookings follow the deposit and refund structure in Section 14 instead of the general clause above.

6.1 FREELANCE ENGINEERS

We hire our room to other freelance engineers. You may find yourself at the Studio Premises with an engineer who is not directly associated with us. You are only considered a client of Safe House Studios if you book directly with us and Our Guarantee (3) extends only to our clients.

6.2 CONCERNS

It is our hope that your visit to the Studio Premises is an enjoyable one, if you have any feedback you would like to share with us regarding a session booked through a third party, please contact us.

7. CREDITS

You agree to appropriately and accurately credit us for our service in the creation of your publicly distributed musical work, in the following format:

Recorded / Mixed / Mastered (at) Safe House Studios, Sydney

Recorded (by / Recording Engineer / Assistant Engineer / Studio Personnel) Mixed (by / Mixing Engineer / Assistant Mixing Engineer) Mastered (by / Mastering Engineer) Arranged (by / Arranger) Additional Production (Production) / Produced (by) / Performer(s) Vocal Arrangement / Vocal Producer / Vocal Production / Vocal Engineer Additional Vocals (Vocals) / Additional Lyrics (Written by) / Featured Artist e.g. MixedByEspa

8. SECURITY

8.1 SURVEILLANCE

You consent to being subject to video surveillance while attending the Studio Premises, for the purpose of maintaining security. All cameras are clearly visible.

8.2 IDENTIFICATION

We reserve the right to ask you for, and make a record of, your photo ID before allowing you to enter the studio premises or any time while in attendance at the studio.

9. USE/REPRODUCTION OF IMAGES/AUDIO

9.1 COVER ART

We reserve the right to reproduce, for the purposes of promoting our work, cover art pertaining to any publicly distributed musical work that has been created in part at the Studio Premises or by Safe House Studios, e.g. the inclusion of published album covers by our clients on our website.

9.2 AUDIO

We reserve the right to reproduce, for the purposes of promoting our work, audio pertaining to any publicly distributed musical work that has been created in part at the Studio Premises or by Safe House Studios, e.g. the inclusion of audio samples from published songs by our clients on our website.

9.3 OUR LOGO

We do not give permission for you to use or reproduce our logo, which includes the icon and text, unless prior consent has been obtained from us in writing.

10. HOUSE RULES

10.1 DOORS

10.1.1 MAIN ENTRANCE

Please ensure the front door has closed properly behind you, and is therefore locked, when exiting and entering the building.

10.1.2 BUILDING ACCESS

The studio premises is accessed via the front door entrance. Standard building access hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The building is closed outside these hours and on Saturdays and Sundays for general access. If your session falls outside standard access hours, including weekends, please call or message us on arrival for access, or use the security swipe access provided to you for that booking. It is an offence to attempt to force entry outside of standard access hours and doing so may result in police action and an immediate lifetime ban from the studio premises.

10.2 VOLUME

Please be mindful of your volume in the common areas (corridors/lounge/kitchen), owing to the close proximity of the recording rooms we ask you to please keep music and conversation to a respectful level.

10.3 DRINKS

Keep lids on bottles and liquid away from the gear at all times. You vow to inform us immediately in the event of a spill so that we can take swift action and minimise the damage.

10.4 MONITORS

Please do not move or adjust the speakers or the sub, each control room is calibrated for accurate monitoring.

10.5 CHAIRS

If you wish to adjust the chairs please refer to the following guides:

Herman Miller Sayl: https://www.hermanmiller.com/en_au/video-gallery/adjusting-sayl Herman Miller Aeron: https://www.hermanmiller.com/en_au/video-gallery/adjusting-aeron

10.6 SECURITY SWIPE CARDS

Where security swipe card access is provided to you for after-hours bookings, you will be issued the two swipe cards required for entry. You are responsible for both cards for the duration of your booking. Please return them to us at the end of your session. A replacement fee of $[CONFIRM AMOUNT] will be added to your invoice for each lost or unreturned swipe card.

10.7 SMOKING

No smoking inside the building. Please use the ashtray provided outside.

10.7.1 VAPING

No vaping inside the building. The sediment can damage delicate parts of audio gear. Thank you for understanding.

10.7.2 SMOKE MACHINES

No smoke machines inside the studios. You must gain prior consent from us in writing before using smoke machines anywhere inside the building. The sediment can damage delicate parts of audio gear. Thank you for understanding.

10.7.3 FIRE ALARM CALL-OUT FEE

If the building's fire alarm is triggered as a result of smoking, vaping, use of a smoke machine, or any other action on your part, you will be liable for the full cost of the fire brigade call-out fee. This fee is currently up to $2,000 and is set by the fire brigade, not by us.

11. LIABILITY

You agree to pay all costs to repair damage that results from your actions.

12. EXCESSIVE VOLUME

Sustained listening to sound levels above 85 dBA poses a potential risk of hearing loss. Our engineers reserve the right to turn down your volume if they feel it poses potential harm to them. Likewise, if your volume level is causing disruption to others outside of your session we reserve the right to adjust your volume to a level we deem fair.

13. REMOTE & UNATTENDED SERVICES

13.1 SCOPE

This section applies to services delivered without you attending the Studio Premises, including unattended mixing, mastering, and remote attended sessions conducted via video link or remote listening software.

13.2 SUPPLIED FILES

You are responsible for backing up any files you supply to us prior to sending them. We are not liable for loss or corruption of client-supplied files that occurs before we receive them.

13.3 FILE RELEASE

Final mixed, mastered or otherwise delivered files will not be released until payment has been made in full, or as otherwise agreed in writing.

13.4 REVISIONS

Revisions are provided within the agreed scope of the original project, until both parties are satisfied with the result. A revision is not the same as a new production task. The following are treated as billable additional work at the applicable hourly rate, not as a revision: lyric changes made after the song is finished, re-recording new parts after the mix is complete, music arrangement changes made after completion, stem exports requested after completion, and any tuning or editing beyond the agreed scope.

13.5 REMOTE ATTENDED SESSIONS

Where a remote attended session is booked (for example, via remote listening software with the client joining via video link), the same payment and cancellation terms apply as for an in-person attended session.

14. AUDIOBOOK PRODUCTION SERVICES

14.1 DEPOSIT

Audiobook production bookings require 50% of the agreed fee payable upon booking confirmation, with the remaining 50% payable on completion, prior to release of final files. This replaces the general payment structure in Sections 1.1 and 1.2 for audiobook projects specifically.

14.2 MANUSCRIPT READINESS

You warrant that the manuscript supplied for recording is fully edited and proofread. We are not responsible for errors, omissions, or additional work required as a result of a manuscript that was not finalised prior to recording.

14.3 PICKUPS, CORRECTIONS & CHAPTER REWRITES

Pickups, corrections or chapter rewrites requested after a recording session has concluded, including those resulting from manuscript changes made after recording, are billable as additional work, with a minimum charge applying per instance at our current published rate.

14.4 TURNAROUND

Turnaround estimates are based on project scope, word count and narration pace, and will be discussed and roughly mapped out with you at the time of booking. These remain estimates, as per Section 4.

15. DIGITAL PRODUCTS

15.1 SCOPE

This section applies to digital products purchased from us, including but not limited to mixing templates, mini-courses, and audio plugins or software.

15.2 LICENSE

Purchase of a digital product grants you a personal, non-transferable license to use that product for your own work. Resale, redistribution, sublicensing or public sharing of a purchased digital product is not permitted without our prior written consent.

15.3 REFUNDS

Under Australian Consumer Law, you are entitled to a refund, repair or replacement where a digital product suffers a major failure or fails to be of acceptable quality. Outside of these consumer guarantees, digital products are not refundable once access has been granted or the file has been downloaded, given the nature of digital delivery.

15.4 COURSE ACCESS

Where a digital product includes course content delivered online, any access period that applies will be clearly stated to you at the time of purchase.

16. EDUCATION, WORKSHOPS & MASTERCLASSES

16.1 SAFE HOUSE-HOSTED WORKSHOPS

Workshops or sessions hosted by us at the Studio Premises are governed by these Terms. Workshops delivered at an external community venue may also be subject to that venue's own conditions, which will be communicated to you where relevant.

16.2 THIRD-PARTY MASTERCLASSES

Masterclasses or courses delivered in partnership with a third party, including but not limited to Viking Lounge Academy, are organised, hosted, ticketed and operated by that third party. We are not the organiser, ticket seller or premises holder for these events, and are not responsible for bookings, payments, refunds, cancellations or venue-related matters relating to them. Any such event is governed by the third party's own terms and conditions, not these Terms.

Still got that one placeholder in 10.6, the swipe card replacement fee. Drop a number in there before this goes live.