Legal · Gate Terms (Fan Flow)
Free download, in plain English.
What happens when you complete a free download gate on Droploud — the actions Droploud performs on your behalf, the data we collect, the data we share with the artist, and how to undo any of it.
What a gate is
A download gate is a free promotional download offered by an artist on Droploud. To unlock the track you complete one or more actions chosen by the artist:
- Email — enter your email address; the artist will receive it.
- SoundCloud sign-in (OAuth) — needed for the SoundCloud actions below.
- SoundCloud follow — follow the artist's SoundCloud account(s).
- SoundCloud follow @droploud — follow the official Droploud SoundCloud account.
- SoundCloud like — like the gated track.
- SoundCloud repost — repost the gated track to your SoundCloud profile.
- SoundCloud comment — add a timestamped comment to the gated track.
- Other social follow — Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, etc. (typically manual: you click through and confirm).
Only the steps the artist enabled apply to a given gate. You see the list of required steps before you begin.
Free in exchange for promotion
The track is free. There is no monetary payment at any step. In return, you carry out the actions above — they promote the artist on SoundCloud and on the artist's other channels. You can leave the gate at any time without penalty; nothing is charged.
SoundCloud actions Droploud performs on your behalf
When the gate includes SoundCloud steps you are asked to sign in to SoundCloud via OAuth. Once you authorise, Droploud receives a short-lived SoundCloud access token tied to your SoundCloud account. Droploud uses that token to perform only the SoundCloud actions the artist enabled in the gate, on your behalf:
- Follow artist — adds the artist to your SoundCloud followings.
- Follow @droploud — adds @droploud to your SoundCloud followings (mandatory step where the artist enabled it).
- Like track — adds the track to your SoundCloud likes.
- Repost track — reposts the track to your SoundCloud profile (public on your profile).
- Comment track — adds a timestamped comment on the track (public on the track).
Droploud does not post audio under your account, follow accounts the artist did not list, change your password, change your profile, read your private messages, or access your SoundCloud beyond the OAuth scope required for the actions above.
You can revoke Droploud's SoundCloud access at any time at soundcloud.com/settings/connections. Revocation does not undo follows, likes, reposts or comments that already happened — to undo those use SoundCloud's own UI. Unfollowing the artist or @droploud later is not a breach of these Terms; the download you already received is yours to keep.
Email & social handles
If the gate requires an email, the email you provide is shared with the artist whose gate you completed. The artist may use it to email you about their music (new releases, gigs, future free downloads).
The artist is bound by the Creator Agreement to:
- use your email only for artist-to-fan communication a reasonable fan would expect;
- not sell, lease or transfer your data to unrelated third parties;
- not use your data to train machine-learning models without your prior consent;
- honour your unsubscribe request within 30 days;
- honour your erasure request within 30 days.
Droploud retains a copy of the gate completion (email + actions + IP + session) for analytics, fraud prevention and for the artist's gate dashboard. See the Privacy Policy for retention details. If the gate requires a social handle (e.g. an Instagram handle) the artist also receives that handle.
Withdraw consent
You may at any time:
- Unsubscribe from artist emails via the unsubscribe link in each email.
- Ask the artist to delete your email from their list — see Privacy Policy §9.
- Ask Droploud to delete the gate-completion record from our analytics by emailing privacy@droploud.com with the same email you used at the gate and a brief identification of which gate.
- Disconnect SoundCloud in your SoundCloud settings.
Withdrawal of consent does not invalidate the download you already received and does not undo SoundCloud actions already performed.
Eligibility
You must be at least 16 years old to complete a gate. If your country's age of digital consent is higher, the higher age applies. You must own (or have authorisation to use) the email address and social accounts you provide.
Advertising on the gate page
The gate page is ad-supported. While the gate is running, Droploud may display third-party advertising (Google AdSense or comparable networks) beside or around the gate. Ad cookies are loaded only after you have accepted advertising cookies via the consent banner (see Cookie Policy).
The presence of an ad does not change the steps required by the gate, does not delay your download, and does not require any click on an ad. Clicking an ad takes you to a third-party site governed by that site's terms.
Honest engagement
You agree to use gates honestly. You must not:
- 01.complete a gate using someone else's email or social account;
- 02.use bots, scripts or click farms to mass-complete gates;
- 03.complete gates from multiple fake accounts to inflate metrics;
- 04.attempt to bypass the gate (DOM tampering, replaying a download URL, scraping audio outside the gate flow);
- 05.commercially redistribute the gated track (the gate grants a personal download for non-commercial use only — see §9);
- 06.resell, license, broadcast or otherwise commercially exploit the gated track without separate written permission from the artist.
Droploud may revoke a download, block your access, ban your account and/or pursue legal action for breaches.
Licence of the gated track
The gated track is delivered under a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-commercial licence unless the artist explicitly states a wider licence in the gate description. You may:
- listen to the track on personal devices;
- play it in DJ sets — including paid club / festival DJ sets — as a reasonable performance use customary in the underground music scene;
- include it in personal mixes posted to your own SoundCloud / Mixcloud / personal social profile, with credit to the artist.
You may not:
- re-upload the raw audio to streaming or download platforms as if it were your own work;
- include the track in a commercial release, compilation or licensed soundtrack without separate written permission from the artist;
- use the track in advertising or branded content without separate written permission;
- claim authorship.
Data we collect at the gate — short summary
For the full picture see the Privacy Policy §3 and §5.
- Email address — delivery + share with the artist (with your consent).
- SoundCloud account (OAuth) — perform follow / like / repost / comment actions you authorised.
- Other social handles — share with the artist if the gate requires them.
- Which gate steps you completed — analytics, anti-fraud.
- IP address — anti-fraud, rate-limit; anonymised after 90 days.
- Approximate location (city / country) — country charts, artist analytics.
- Session ID + timestamp — gate flow state, audit trail.
Failure to complete
If you start a gate and stop part way through, Droploud may retain the in-flight record (session ID, partial step completion) for a brief period to let you resume from where you stopped. If you do not return within 24 hours the record is purged from session storage; nothing is shared with the artist.
Disputes & support
For gate-specific issues — broken download link, file not received, artist not honouring an unsubscribe — email support@droploud.com. For copyright takedowns, see the DMCA Policy.
Changes to these Gate Terms
Material changes will be posted at least 30 days before they take effect. Continuing to complete gates after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
Contact
Privacy / unsubscribe / erasure: privacy@droploud.com. General support: support@droploud.com. Operator: Droploud FZ-LLC, RAKEZ, United Arab Emirates.