Content Policy

Any content you submit to Ampwall must comply with the following standards. This includes audio, images, text, video, and any future forms of content.

Ampwall exists to help build thriving music communities. We provide spaces for people to put music, images, and words on the internet. We also have ways to send messages in private and public. As much as we want everyone to be their true selves, some content must be excluded to keep things fun, welcoming, and legal for our core audience. This content policy exists to define the rules in as specific terms as possible.

This is a living document. It will grow and change over time.

Ampwall's content policy has a handful of goals.

• Provide a supportive environment for artists and music communities to thrive.
• Comply with our legal obligations as a business.
• Comply with the content policy commitments made to our technology partners, such as payment processors.
• Protect the longevity of the platform so we can continue our mission.

We are aware that musicians hold a wide range of opinions about the appropriateness, offensiveness, and taste of many topics and beliefs. We will do our best to give space to as many communities as we can, and will default to the assumption of good faith and good intentions wherever possible.

Ampwall's preference is to apply rules based on content and behavior within and directly related to the platform. There are some exceptions where we may be forced to act based on behavior outside of Ampwall. Some examples are:

• Actions and words of public figures outside of the platform, like a high-profile controversial figure who records an album of innocuous childrens' music.
• Promoting Ampwall content alongside content that breaks other rules, like links to an Ampwall page alongside hate speech and symbols.
• Severity/intensity of behavior outside the platform that severely disrupts our ability to provide service.

In some cases, aspects of our content policy might seem at odds with artistic expression. Art can deal with issues of violence, sexuality, and illegal acts without crossing the line of becoming excessive and unwelcome on Ampwall. We trust our community members to use their best discretion when submitting content and reporting violations.

In simple terms:

• No nazism, racism, xenophobic, homophobic, or otherwise discriminatory content, images, symbols, language, music, etc,...
• No "dog whistle" content intending to mask or obscure any other prohibited topic.
• No content that will expose us, or you, to criminal liability in any way.
• No content that causes or incites specific harm or violence, including self-harm.
• No content or usage that bullies, harrasses, or incites harassment.
• No advertising, selling, or promoting content that is unrelated to your artistic identity (spam, unrelated product marketing, etc,...)
• No pornography, whether legal or illegal in order to comply with payment processing terms.
• No images depicting excessive violence, abuse of animals, abuse of children, sexual abuse, suicide.
• No sales of firearms, weapons of any kind, drugs, medicine, supplements, gambling, lotteries, affiliate programs.
• No impersonation, misrepresentation of identity, or content that claims the identity of another without explicit approval.
• No auctions, raffles, affiliate programs, investment products, cryptocurrency, NFTs.
• No spam, bullying, or "troll" behavior that deliberately hinders the ability of others to engage with the platform.

Ampwall reserves the right to remove any content, at any time, for any reason, without notice or the possibility of appeal. We would prefer not to, so please do not make us.

Do not upload anything to Ampwall that violates a criminal law. Do not upload anything to Ampwall that infringes on someone else’s rights, including copyrights and trademarks.

A non-exhaustive list of illegal content that Ampwall does not allow:

• Content that is defamatory
• Content that is libelous
• Content that aims to incite violent acts
• Content promoting terrorism or using terrorist organizations symbols, flags, images, slogans, etc,...
• Stolen content
• Content you do not have the legal right to distribute
• Harassing content or abusive content
• Child sexual abuse material

In order to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all users, Ampwall strictly prohibits the posting, sharing, or dissemination of adult content. For the purposes of these Terms of Use, "adult content" is defined as any material that is sexually explicit or pornographic, including but not limited to:

• Images, videos, or animations that depict graphic nudity, sexual acts, or sexually explicit material.
• Textual content that is intended to be sexually gratifying or that explicitly describes sexual acts.
• Content that promotes adult services, including but not limited to, prostitution, escorts, erotic massages, and similar services.
• Materials that are considered obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or pornographic.
• Any other content that Ampwall determines, in its sole discretion, to be of a sexually explicit nature or inappropriate for our community.

The emergence of AI technology such as Large Language Models (LLMs) poses complicated challenges for artists and platforms like Ampwall. It is a rapidly moving field and policies will evolve as the technology and usage change. Creating one unified policy for everything AI does not reflect the nuance of the issue and risks being either too lenient or too restrictive.

Ampwall's priority is preventing human artists from being forced to appear alongside or compete with low-effort AI-generated works.

• Music created entirely by AI is strictly prohibited on Ampwall.
• Music created predominantly by AI, such as a human singer over top of AI-created instrumentation or an AI performing human composition, is strictly prohibited on Ampwall.
• Music created with limited use of AI, such as a human band with human-written songs and some amount of AI-contributed instrumentation or AI "performing" alongside humans, is generally prohibited. Some exceptions might be made when the AI contribution is minimal.
• Use of AI to create effects that modify an input signal akin to traditional analog and digital equipment is currently permitted.

Where images (artwork on albums, merch, etc,.. as well as logos and artist profile images) are concerned, similar rules apply to all content added after October 26, 2024.

• Images created entirely by AI are strictly prohibited on Ampwall.
• Images created predominantly by AI, such as a base image created by AI with additional details or modifications created by a human, are strictly prohibited on Ampwall.
• Images predominantly created by humans and using AI for supplemental details or effects is discouraged. It is currently permitted but may be restricted in the future.
• Exceptions may be allowed for images wildely used prior to listing on Ampwall. Please contact us for more information.

Where permitted to upload, list, and sell physical goods, additional policies and guidelines apply.

• Ampwall e-commerce pages are for original music and music community-affiliated transactions. List and sell items that pertain to your musical identity. This can be broadly defined but we reserve the right to remove items that are outside the mission of the platform.
• No weapons, fireworks, explosives, or anything that can cause injury.
• No live or dead animals.
• No perishable food items.
• No unauthorized (bootleg) merchandise from other artists.
• No “vintage stores” or similar resellers of recycled goods.
• Instruments and equipment are permitted when the seller is the manufacturer or an official distributor.

When communicating with others within the Ampwall platform and its related spaces, all participants are required to be considerate of the people around them. In other words, don't be a jerk, don't be a troll, don't be deliberately disruptive. This is a vague area that will be defined more explicitly as time goes on. In general, the expectations are:

• Assume positive intent when reading the messages of others.
• Avoid "flame wars" and engaging with bad faith comments.
• Use available reporting and muting features as necessary.
• Avoid posting deliberately inflammatory content that aims to be disruptive to Ampwall and its users.
• Don't use Ampwall for political or ideological battles. Healthy discussion is welcome in appropriate spaces. Read the room.
• Respect requested pronouns and gender identities.

Above all else, do not ever be needlessly rude, cruel, or disrespectful of another Ampwall user's work in a shared space, comment, or direct message to them.

When considering whether reported content is truly a violation, we will consider a multitude of factors. Not all of this information will be publicly available and we ask that you interpret our decisions with the same level of good faith that we will interpret your artwork and uploaded content.

When Ampwall, or anyone empowered to act on behalf of Ampwall as part of our moderation efforts or legal obligations, feels that content or a user violates the above rules or any of the additional stipulations below, we may take any number of actions in response. These may take the shape of:

• Limiting the visibility of the content
• Asking them to remove the content
• Forcefully removing the content
• Temporarily placing restrictions on the account
• Removing the account entirely from the platform

We will strive to treat all users with respect in these cases.

Ampwall will provide artists and moderators with tools to restrict visibility of content and participation. Wherever possible, we will respect these decisions as long as they do not conflict with the platform-wide rules. Additionally, we will provide our users with tools and options to hide and silence content as they see fit.

Links to reporting violations of our rules are available in some contexts within the Ampwall web app. For other cases, please email us at [email protected]. Use your Ampwall user account whenever possible and please provide relevant information. We cannot guarantee responses to every message or an explanation of actions taken but we will do our best.

Ampwall reserves the right to remove any content that violates our Prohibited Content Policy without notice. Further, users who repeatedly violate this policy may face suspension or termination of their account. We rely on our community to help maintain the standards we set and encourage users to report any instances of adult content through our reporting tools. Ampwall is committed to reviewing reported content and taking appropriate action in a timely manner. Please note that this policy is part of our broader effort to create a safe and legal platform for users of all ages. We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines.