Deutsch | English

Terms of Use (AGB)

Version of 31 October 2026 (version 2026-10-31). This English text is a translation for your convenience; in case of doubt the German version (“Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen”) prevails.

Change compared with the version of 28 October 2026: section 7.5 (featuring placed tracks) and section 7.6 (newsletter and labelled recommendations) were added.

1. Scope and provider

These terms apply to the use of PlaylistDock (playlistdock.com, “the service”), offered by Niclas Koenigsbuescher, Senftenberger Ring 26, 13435 Berlin, Germany (“PlaylistDock”, “we”). They apply to artists who submit songs and to curators who run their own Spotify playlists through the service. Conflicting terms of users do not apply.

By submitting a song or a curator application and ticking the corresponding box, you agree to these terms. You can read them at any time at playlistdock.com/agb.php. We store the version you accepted together with your submission.

2. What PlaylistDock is – and is not

PlaylistDock is an intermediary platform and not a party to any individual placement. We provide the technical platform through which artists can submit songs to independent curators who run their own Spotify playlists. If a curator decides to add a song, an agreement arises exclusively between artist and curator – PlaylistDock does not become a party and makes no promises on the curator’s behalf.

Curators are independent third parties. They are not employees, agents or vicarious agents of PlaylistDock; we do not influence their editorial decisions and do not guarantee them.

PlaylistDock is independent and is not affiliated with Spotify AB, YouTube or Google. “Spotify” and “YouTube” are trademarks of their respective owners.

The service is currently free of charge for artists and curators. A placement cannot be bought on PlaylistDock, and there is no paid preference for submissions.

3. Requirements for use

Use of the service (submitting a song, applying as a curator) requires a minimum age of 18 years and full legal capacity. By ticking the box you confirm that you meet this requirement. We cannot verify this in individual cases; false statements breach these terms (section 11). If we find that a person under 18 has used the service, we delete their data and content.

No user account is created for artists. After approval, curators receive access that works exclusively through a login link (magic link) sent to the email address provided; you are responsible for ensuring that only you have access to that mailbox.

4. Submissions by artists

What you provide. When submitting you provide: the link to a specific Spotify track, an email address, a mandatory statement whether AI was used in creating the song (answer “Yes” or “No”; please answer truthfully, curators may decline AI songs), optionally a message to the curator (max. 500 characters), a cover image (mandatory, section 5) and the confirmation of your rights, your age and these terms. Optionally you can also (a) enter a submission code, (b) subscribe to PlaylistDock updates by email, (c) consent to the free YouTube promo and upload an audio file for it (section 7.2) and (d) open a curator’s “Follow Gate” links before submitting (section 8.6).

Your content, your rights. You keep all rights to your music and uploaded files. By submitting you confirm that you own the rights to the song or are authorised to submit it, that you have the necessary rights to every uploaded file (in particular the cover image), and that the submission does not infringe third-party rights.

Spotify data. From the Spotify link we retrieve publicly available data about the track and artist (including title, artist name, popularity, duration, release date, genres, follower count, Spotify cover image). You grant PlaylistDock a simple, revocable right to show this metadata to curators for reviewing your submission (including an embedded Spotify player, where you have allowed embeds in the cookie banner).

Process. The curator sees your submission (track with Spotify indicators such as popularity and follower count, your message, the AI statement and the Follow Gate statement – but not your email address) and accepts or declines it; you receive the decision by email. After an acceptance we automatically check via Spotify’s public interface whether the track actually appears on the playlist (“live”) and occasionally check later whether it is still there. If the track does not appear within about 14 days, we close the submission as “not placed”. A curator can reverse a decision (a decline or a not yet confirmed acceptance) and decide again; the curator’s current decision is decisive for us and for you.

No guarantee of success. Submitting a song gives no claim to acceptance by a curator, to a certain time on a playlist, or to a certain number of streams, saves or followers. Curators decide solely at their own discretion. A curator may remove a track from the playlist at any time.

Limits and abuse protection. To keep the service usable for everyone, we limit the number of free submissions per visitor, per track and per Spotify artist per day. These limits may be adjusted at any time. In individual cases we may issue submission codes that lift a daily limit for a specific track. The same combination of track and playlist can only be submitted once (section 6).

5. Cover image: requirement, use, retention

5.1 Mandatory. With every submission you must upload a cover image (JPG, PNG or WebP, upload up to 20 MB). The image must be your own work or you must hold all necessary rights to it. Not allowed: images showing identifiable persons who have not consented; third-party logos, trademarks or artworks without permission; material from Spotify or other platforms; unlawful, violence-glorifying, pornographic, discriminatory or youth-endangering content.

5.2 Technical processing. We check the file, fully re-encode the image on our server (which removes embedded metadata such as EXIF data or location information) and, if needed, downscale it to at most 2,500 pixels on the longest edge. Only this re-encoded copy is stored; we do not keep your original file.

5.3 To whom and for what the cover is made available. You grant PlaylistDock a simple (non-exclusive), royalty-free, worldwide right, limited to the retention period under section 5.5, to reproduce your cover image together with title and artist name, edit it (crop, scale, embed in graphics and videos, animate) and make it publicly available exclusively for the following purposes:

• (a) For you: creating the “Your track is live” graphic (PNG) and – where available – a story video after a confirmed placement. You receive a personal link by email.
• (b) For the curator you submitted to: providing the placement graphic for your track and creating weekly recap graphics and playlist reels showing the most recently (last seven days) placed tracks with cover, title and artist name. The curator may use these finished graphics and videos to promote their playlist, including publicly (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, own website). The curator does not receive the cover image as an original file. Posts already published are in the hands of the curator and the respective platform; we cannot recall them.
• (c) Only with your express consent: creating and publishing a YouTube video (section 7.2).

Use for advertising for third parties, sale, disclosure to third parties (except the graphics to the curator described in (b) and the publication on YouTube described in (c)) or any other commercial use does not take place. We deliberately use your uploaded image and not the Spotify cover for this.

5.4 Visibility. The stored cover image and graphics created from it are not shown on our public pages (playlist directory, home page). Created graphics and videos are reachable only through personal, non-guessable links. They can, however, be published by you or by the curator – then they are public.

5.5 Retention. We automatically delete the stored cover image (and any uploaded audio file) 180 days after the curator’s decision or, if no decision was ever made, 180 days after submission. After that no new graphics can be created from your cover; the granted right also ends with the deletion, except for uses already made (section 5.3 (b), posts already published). We delete created story videos after 45 days at the latest, and may re-create them on a new request as long as the cover image is still stored. If a YouTube promo is declined, we delete the files uploaded for it after a grace period of three days; the cover then remains stored for purposes (a) and (b) until the period in sentence 1 unless you have it deleted earlier. You can request early deletion of your cover at any time by email to info@playlistdock.com (section 6, last paragraph).

5.6 Indemnity. If the image you upload infringes third-party rights and you are responsible for this, you indemnify PlaylistDock against justified third-party claims, including reasonable legal defence costs. We may remove images that breach section 5.1.

6. A submission is final – no changes, no withdrawal

A submission can neither be withdrawn, nor changed, nor replaced once sent. This covers the Spotify link, email address, message, AI statement, cover image, audio file and all ticked boxes. Please check your details carefully before submitting. In particular:

• Wrong cover image: if you submitted with the wrong cover image, it cannot be swapped afterwards. There is no claim to replacement of the image, to re-creation of graphics already generated or to a new submission.
• No second submission: the same combination of track and playlist cannot be submitted again – not even with corrected details and regardless of the outcome of the first submission. You can submit the same track to other playlists.
• Wrong email address: the decision and all follow-up emails go to the address provided. We cannot change it; if there is a typo you may not receive the decision.
• Statutory rights: The fact that a submission cannot be withdrawn within the service is a rule on how the service works. It does not restrict statutory rights; any statutory right of withdrawal remains unaffected to the extent it applies to you as a consumer. By submitting you expressly request that we begin processing and forwarding the submission to the curator immediately.

Your statutory rights remain unaffected, in particular your data protection rights (access, erasure, withdrawal of consent, see privacy policy) and the right to report an infringement to us (section 12). The fact that a submission cannot be undone within the service does not prevent you from asking us by email to delete your personal data or your cover image; we will comply unless legal reasons prevent us. Decision and statistics data without personal reference may be retained.

7. Free extra features

The following features are currently free and voluntary. They are non-binding extras: there is no claim to their provision, availability or any particular result. We may change, limit (e.g. in quantity, on a first-come basis) or discontinue them at any time.

7.1 Placement graphic and story video. After a confirmed placement you receive by email a personal link to a graphic (“Your track is live”, cover, title, playlist name, PlaylistDock branding) and – where available – to an animated story video. The link only works while the track is on the playlist. You may use the graphic and video to promote your own track. The video is generated on request and cached for 45 days at most. Clicks on the Spotify links in the placement email are counted (section 18 / privacy policy).

7.2 YouTube promo (optional). If you expressly consent when submitting and upload an audio file (MP3, M4A, WAV or OGG, up to 25 MB), we may create a short visualizer video from audio and cover and publish it on a YouTube channel operated by us. This is entirely optional, depends on our capacity and is not guaranteed for every submission; we decide at our discretion. By consenting you confirm the rights mentioned in sections 4 and 5 (also for the audio file) and grant us the right to use audio, cover, title and artist name for this video and to make it publicly available via YouTube. If you additionally allow monetisation, we may run ads on the video; the revenue belongs to PlaylistDock and there is no claim to a share. We inform you of the publication by email. You can ask for removal of a video at any time by email; we remove it promptly. Publication on YouTube is additionally subject to the terms of YouTube/Google. We delete uploaded files at the latest after the period in section 5.5, after a decline with a three-day grace period.

7.3 Stream report (voluntary). About 20 days after a confirmed placement we send you a one-time email asking you to voluntarily report your stream numbers from Spotify for Artists, optionally with a screenshot. The information is used for our internal analysis and is not shown publicly. Please only upload screenshots that contain no personal data of third parties. We delete screenshots after 180 days (section 5.5 applies accordingly).

7.4 Rating the curator (voluntary). After a confirmed placement you can rate the curator once with 1 to 5 stars and optionally write a comment (max. 750 characters). Only the average star rating of a playlist is shown publicly. The comment is visible to the curator and to us. Please stay factual and do not write insults, false statements of fact or personal data of third parties. We may remove ratings that breach section 11.

7.5 Featuring placed tracks. We may mention tracks that were placed on a playlist, with title, artist name, playlist name and Spotify link (no cover image and no email address), as examples in our newsletter and social posts. You can object at any time by email to info@playlistdock.com; we then leave the track out of future issues and posts. We cannot recall emails already sent or posts already published.

7.6 Newsletter and labelled recommendations. If you subscribed to PlaylistDock updates, we send you a newsletter from time to time with tips for musicians, examples of placed songs and recommendations of third-party tools and services. Recommendations for which we may receive a commission if you buy (affiliate links) are labelled “Anzeige/Ad”; the price does not change for you. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email. There is no entitlement to the newsletter or to particular content.

8. Curators

8.1 Application and approval. Anyone who owns a public Spotify playlist or is authorised to manage one can apply as a curator (name, email, playlist link; optionally an Instagram profile later). We review applications and reserve the right to approve, decline, pause or later remove curators or playlists at our discretion – including when our internal authenticity checks (section 10) or other findings point to dishonest behaviour. There is no claim to approval.

8.2 Proof of control. For each playlist you must prove that you control it by entering a one-time code in the playlist’s description; we read it through Spotify’s public interface. We never access your Spotify account with write permissions.

8.3 Responsibility. Curators are solely responsible for the content of their playlist, their editorial decisions and compliance with Spotify’s terms of use. Acceptance of a track by a curator creates no obligation of PlaylistDock towards the artist. Curators should process submissions promptly; we may pause playlists automatically or manually in case of inactivity, overload (capacity limits) or at the curator’s request (e.g. vacation mode).

8.4 Handling artists’ content. Cover images (in the form of the graphics provided), titles, messages, ratings and decision data that you receive as a curator through the service may only be used to process the submission and – in the form of the recap graphics and reels we provide – to promote your playlist. You may not alter, sell, pass on to third parties or use them for other purposes. At the request of an artist or of us you promptly remove published posts containing their cover. You do not see the artist’s email address and must not try to obtain it otherwise.

8.5 Decisions. You can accept or decline submissions and reverse your decision before the placement is confirmed. Through “Discover” (section 8.7) you can add tracks from the chart to one of your playlists.

8.6 Follow Gate. Curators can optionally ask artists to follow or save the curator, a playlist or a song on Spotify before submitting (“Follow Gate”). This works exclusively through ordinary links; it is always voluntary for the artist, never a purchase or exchange of followers for money, and must not be used in a misleading way or to pressure artists. We only store which links were clicked; this is an unverified statement of the browser and no confirmation from Spotify.

8.7 Discover. When the feature is enabled, you see as a curator a chart of tracks confirmed on playlists via PlaylistDock (title, artist name, popularity, genres, Spotify cover; no email address). If you add a track to your playlist, we notify the artist at the email address given in their original submission (“Your track was discovered”), together with your message. Artists take note of this notification when submitting.

8.8 Charts, awards, visibility. We calculate indicators, weekly scores, rankings and awards (e.g. “Curator of the Week”) from activity data. Name, playlists, Instagram link, awards and the average artist rating of your playlists may be shown publicly on PlaylistDock; a ranking position gives no entitlement.

8.9 Playlist cover. For recap graphics you must upload your own playlist cover image (JPG, PNG, WebP; upload up to 20 MB) to which you hold the rights – expressly not Spotify artwork. For this image you grant us the right to use it to create your recap graphics and reels and as a fallback image in graphics for your playlist. We delete it when you replace or remove it or delete your account.

8.10 Surveys and notices. We may invite curators to voluntary surveys (answer: reaction and optional comment) and send operational emails (login link, new submissions, reminders, daily/weekly summaries, notes on capacity and pauses). We only send promotional emails with your consent; you can unsubscribe at any time.

8.11 Account deletion. You can delete your curator account at any time in your profile. Your playlists are then detached from the account; submissions already received and decision data without personal reference may be kept for statistics.

8.12 Feedback messages. Messages a curator sends to artists through the service (acceptance, decline, note on Discover) serve solely as feedback on the submitted track. They must not contain contact details or external references – in particular no web addresses (except links to open.spotify.com), email addresses, phone numbers, messenger or social media handles, and no requests for payment, donations or tips (e.g. via PayPal, Ko-fi, Patreon or Cash App). You can store your own Instagram link in your curator profile; artists are invited there to tag you. PlaylistDock checks feedback messages technically for such content and for insulting wording, shows this while writing, and may block sending until the text is adjusted. To detect abuse we log blocked attempts (time, type of violation, affected text excerpt).

8.13 Own services. A curator may not offer or advertise own paid services (e.g. reviews, interviews, features, promotion) through the service. Whether and in what form curators may offer own services through PlaylistDock in future is for PlaylistDock to decide; until then this is not permitted within the service. Your activities outside PlaylistDock remain unaffected.

9. Feedback and ratings are opinions

Feedback, comments, acceptances, declines and notes by curators on individual songs are the personal, subjective opinions and judgements of taste of the respective curator. They do not reflect the opinion of PlaylistDock, we do not adopt them as our own and do not check them for factual accuracy, appropriateness or expertise. PlaylistDock takes no responsibility for positive or negative assessments by curators of individual songs and their consequences. There is no claim to feedback, a justification or any particular quality of feedback. The same applies to ratings and comments by artists about curators. Statements that contain insults, false statements of fact or infringements are not protected “opinion” within the meaning of this section; we remove them as soon as we become aware of them (section 12). Otherwise our liability is governed by section 15; we may block or remove messages and ratings that breach these terms.

10. Playlist authenticity

PlaylistDock operates an internal system that evaluates collected playlist data (follower history, track patterns, removal and activity patterns and similar signals) to detect possible artificial growth or bot activity. This is a best-effort aid – not a guarantee, assurance or certification that a playlist is free of bots or purchased followers. An inconspicuous result does not mean that authenticity has been verified with certainty. Artists and curators should treat this signal as one indication among several, not as a substitute for their own judgement. The signals may form the basis of decisions under section 8.1; we do not make such decisions solely by automated means.

11. Prohibited conduct

In particular, the following is prohibited:

• using bots, fake accounts or automated tools to manipulate submissions, follower numbers, ratings or authenticity signals;
• submitting content (music, cover images, audio) for which you do not have sufficient rights, or which is unlawful or fraudulent;
• false statements, in particular about age, rights, AI use or stream numbers;
• circumventing rate limits, submission limits, security measures or the Follow Gate mechanism, and misusing submission codes by passing them on;
• offering or demanding payments for guaranteed placements contrary to Spotify’s terms of use;
• offering, advertising or demanding payments, donations or tips for own services, and passing on contact details or external links in feedback messages to artists (section 8.12), including by circumventing the technical check;
• use of artists’ content by curators contrary to section 8.4;
• insults, threats, discriminatory, racist or otherwise unlawful statements in messages, feedback or ratings;
• scraping, reverse engineering or disrupting the normal operation of the service;
• uploading files that are not what they claim to be or that contain malicious code.

In case of violations we may remove content and restrict or block access at our discretion, with or without prior notice (e.g. by blocking an IP address or a curator).

12. Reporting unlawful content

If you believe that content on PlaylistDock (e.g. a cover image, message, rating or video) infringes your rights or is unlawful, you can report it to info@playlistdock.com (contact point see legal notice / Impressum). Please state: (a) a sufficiently substantiated explanation of why the content is unlawful; (b) the exact location, e.g. the URL or the title of the track or playlist; (c) your name and email address (except for reports concerning offences against children); (d) a statement that your information is accurate and complete to the best of your knowledge. We acknowledge receipt, examine the report promptly, diligently and objectively, remove unlawful content and inform you and the affected user of our decision, with reasons and the options to challenge it (in particular a complaint to us, or recourse to the competent authorities or courts). We may reject abusive or manifestly unfounded reports.

13. Suspension and termination

We may suspend users or end curator access in case of violations of these terms or for another important reason. Curators can delete their account themselves at any time (section 8.11). The relationship with artists ends with the submission or its final processing; the rules on retention (section 5.5) and on your rights continue to apply.

14. Availability and changes to the service

The service is provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not warrant uninterrupted availability or any response by a curator to a submission. We may change, restrict or discontinue the service or individual features at any time, in particular for technical, legal or capacity reasons (e.g. pausing submissions, maintenance). Claims from transactions already completed remain unaffected.

15. Liability

We refer to the limits of the authenticity system (section 10) and to the fact that decisions, opinions and content of curators do not originate from us (sections 2, 8.3 and 9). The operators of third-party links and content (Spotify, YouTube, Instagram) are responsible for those.

Our liability for intent, gross negligence and for damage from injury to life, body or health remains unaffected by the foregoing provisions and is unlimited by law. In case of slight negligence we are only liable for breach of an essential contractual obligation (an obligation whose fulfilment is necessary for the proper performance of the contract and on whose observance you may regularly rely); in this case liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract. Liability under the Product Liability Act and under mandatory data protection law remains unaffected. Our responsibility for our own breaches of duty, in particular in data protection and data security, and for our own content also remains unaffected; claims that cannot be excluded or limited by law remain in place.

16. Indemnity

You indemnify PlaylistDock against third-party claims arising from your having uploaded or submitted content for which you lack the necessary rights or from your breach of these terms – to the extent you are responsible for the infringement. This includes reasonable legal defence costs. Further statutory claims remain unaffected.

17. Changes to these terms

We may amend these terms with effect for the future where there is an objective reason (e.g. new or changed features, changes in law, changes in Spotify’s terms). Updated terms are published with a new date and version number; material changes are marked separately. For artists, the version that applied to and was accepted with the respective submission governs; a new version applies to later submissions. We inform registered curators of material changes at least 14 days in advance by email. A change that materially affects the curator’s rights or obligations only takes effect if you actively agree to it (e.g. by confirming at your next login); silence does not count as consent. Mere clarifications, editorial adjustments and changes we are legally required to make apply from publication. If you do not agree to a material change, the previous terms continue to apply until then; you can delete your account at any time (section 8.11), and we are entitled to end the cooperation on 14 days’ notice if we can only offer the service on the amended terms.

18. Data protection

How we process personal data is described in our privacy policy. It forms part of these terms to the extent legally permissible; your rights under it remain unaffected.

19. Governing law and jurisdiction

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If you are a consumer habitually resident in another EU member state, this choice of law does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory provisions of the law of your country of residence. If you are a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction is Berlin.

20. Dispute resolution

We are neither obliged nor willing to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board. You are welcome to contact us first (section 22).

21. Severability and language

Should a provision of these terms be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected. The invalid provision is replaced by the statutory provision where provided by law. These terms are available in German and English; the German version prevails, the English version is for understanding.

22. Contact

Questions about these terms and reports under section 12: info@playlistdock.com