Bearly Bass
Collection

Bearly Bass Token - Holder, Audio & Cover Image License

TL;DR (plain language)

  • You own the NFT (ERC-721). Hold, transfer, sell, gift, or "flex" it like any NFT.
  • The loop audio is publicly usable by everyone, commercially or not - and non-exclusive, so owning the token does not let you stop others from using it. Don't repackage the raw loop as a sample pack, don't Content-ID it, and don't claim "exclusive".
  • The cover image is yours, digitally - exclusive use as avatar, in digital merch and derivatives, on websites, in streams. Personal physical prints (home, gifts) are fine.
  • The artist keeps two cover-image rights: showing it on the Bearly Bass website and official social channels to operate and promote the project, and producing/selling all physical reproductions (prints, photographs, posters, books, apparel).

0) What you're really minting

When you mint a Bearly Bass Token, you receive an on-chain collectible and become the canonical steward of a specific bass loop recording, with cryptographic provenance linking that loop to the token (e.g. audio_sha256, signed_provenance). The audio itself is intentionally non-exclusive: everyone may use it in music and media.

Bearly Bass loops are designed as shared musical building blocks - closer in spirit to a common groove vocabulary than to an exclusive catalog - while still being anchored by cryptographic provenance.

The value of the token lies in provenance, collectibility, and cultural significance - not exclusive control over the sound.

1) Definitions

  • "Token" / "NFT" = the ERC-721 token.
  • "Loop Audio" = the bass loop sound recording referenced by the token metadata under loop_audio.
  • "Cover Image" = the visual artwork referenced by the token metadata under image, being the per-token cover artwork associated with the Token. The Cover Image does NOT include the "Bearly Bass" name, Bearly Bass logos or wordmarks, or any other names, logos, trademarks, or brand elements that may appear within or alongside the artwork.
  • "Digital Medium" = display, transmission, or use of the Cover Image as a digital file or digital signal. Includes (without limitation) websites, mobile and web applications, social media, profile avatars, embeddable players, streaming, video, animation, projections and screen displays in physical venues, AR/VR, in-game and metaverse assets, and digital derivative works distributed digitally. Does NOT include any Physical Medium use.
  • "Physical Medium" = any tangible reproduction of the Cover Image, including (without limitation) photographic prints, fine-art prints, posters, framed works, books, postcards, apparel, mugs, stickers, sculptures, and any other object on which the Cover Image is fixed in physical form, and any physical derivative work that incorporates the Cover Image.
  • "Metadata" = the token JSON metadata (may include fields like loop_audio, audio_sha256, signed_provenance).
  • "Licensor" = the original creator / initial rights-holder who first published the Loop Audio and the Cover Image via Bearly Bass.

2) What you get when you own the token (the benefits)

2.1 You own the on-chain collectible

You own the ERC-721 token. You may sell, resell, trade, transfer, gift, or otherwise dispose of the token like other NFTs.

2.2 A verifiable reference to the canonical master

The token metadata points to a specific Loop Audio file and includes provenance data that ties the token ID to that recording.

This includes, in particular:

  • a canonical reference URL to the Loop Audio in the token metadata (e.g. loop_audio / animation_url)
  • an independently checkable SHA-256 hash of the Loop Audio (audio_sha256)
  • a creator-signed provenance payload (signed_provenance) that can be verified against the creator's published signing address

2.3 Sound recording rights (token-linked, but NOT exclusive)

  • Intention: the sound recording copyright in the Loop Audio (the "Sound Recording Copyright") is intended to be owned by the current token owner, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
  • Important: whether you own the Sound Recording Copyright or not, it is always subject to:
    • the public license in Section 3, and
    • the restrictions in Sections 4-5. You must not use any copyright claim to revoke, narrow, or interfere with the rights granted to everyone in Section 3.

Clarification (no exclusivity; no reinterpretation): if the Sound Recording Copyright is owned or later acquired by any person (including a token owner), that ownership is permanently encumbered by the Public Audio License in Section 3. Any such ownership is functionally limited by that public license and exists primarily to support standing and provenance, not to confer exclusive control over the Loop Audio. It must not be exercised to restrict any use permitted under Section 3.

Successor binding: any transferee, assignee, successor, or other rights-holder of the Sound Recording Copyright takes it subject to this license as a condition of transfer and is deemed to accept and be bound by the obligations in this license, including the permanent non-exclusive encumbrance in Section 3. Any transfer must not be interpreted to detach the Sound Recording Copyright from the Public Audio License.

2.4 Cover Image rights (digital medium, exclusive)

In addition to the rights in Sections 2.1-2.3, the current token owner receives the following rights in the Cover Image. These rights transfer with the Token.

Exclusive digital rights. The token owner holds the exclusive, worldwide right to use, display, reproduce, distribute, communicate, publicly perform, adapt, and create derivative works of the Cover Image in any Digital Medium, for personal or commercial purposes. This includes the right to use the Cover Image as an avatar or personal-brand identifier, to incorporate it into digital products and digital merchandise, to mint or distribute digital derivatives, to sublicense those digital uses to third parties, and to enforce against unauthorized digital uses by others. These rights are subject to (a) the limited public-facing display rights in Section 6 and (b) the Licensor reservations below. The token owner agrees not to interfere with, withdraw, or restrict either.

Personal physical use. The token owner may reproduce and use the Cover Image in Physical Medium for personal, non-commercial purposes only (for example, printing it for display in their own home or making a non-commercial gift). Personal physical use must not be sold, distributed at scale, or used to promote a commercial enterprise.

Licensor reservation - Physical Medium (exclusive). All rights to reproduce, distribute, sell, exhibit, license, or otherwise commercially exploit the Cover Image in Physical Medium - including but not limited to photographic prints, fine-art prints, posters, framed works, books, apparel, and any other physical merchandise - are reserved exclusively to the Licensor. The token owner may not produce, sell, or distribute any Physical Medium reproduction of the Cover Image except as permitted under "Personal physical use" above, unless they have received a separate written license from the Licensor. This reservation is permanent and survives any transfer of the Token.

Licensor reservation - Digital Medium (non-exclusive, for project operation, documentation, and promotion). The Licensor (and any party operating the Bearly Bass platform under written authorization from the Licensor) retains a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable right to use, display, reproduce, communicate, and adapt the Cover Image in Digital Medium for the purpose of operating, documenting, and promoting Bearly Bass and the Bearly Bass Token collection. This reservation runs in parallel with the token owner's exclusive digital rights and survives any transfer of the Token. It includes (without limitation):

  • displaying the Cover Image on bearlybass.com and any other website, application, or platform UI operated by Bearly Bass (including gallery pages, token pages, search results, archives, and historical exhibits), regardless of whether the Token has been transferred;
  • using the Cover Image in posts and content on social media, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, videos, and similar digital channels of the Licensor and of Bearly Bass (including, by way of example, Instagram, X / Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and successor platforms);
  • using the Cover Image in pitch materials, partnership outreach, press kits, app store listings, and digital marketing creative about Bearly Bass; and
  • providing the Cover Image to journalists, partners, and curators for editorial and promotional coverage of Bearly Bass.

Successor binding. Any transferee, assignee, or successor to the Token takes the Cover Image rights subject to this license, including the Licensor reservations above and the public display rights in Section 6, as a condition of transfer.

2.5 What you do NOT get

You do NOT receive ownership of any underlying musical composition(s), the "Bearly Bass" name, Bearly Bass logos or wordmarks, or any other names, logos, trademarks, or brand rights.

3) Public Audio License (everyone can use the loops)

Bearly Bass loops are non-exclusive. Minting/owning a token does NOT grant exclusive usage rights to the Loop Audio.

Public license grant (perpetual, worldwide)

The Licensor grants everyone a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and irrevocable license (except as expressly provided in Section 7 for material breach) to:

  • download and use the Loop Audio
  • play, stream, and publicly perform the Loop Audio (including via an embeddable audio player)
  • reproduce, edit, chop, process, and adapt the Loop Audio as part of new creative works (songs, beats, soundtracks, videos, games, podcasts, ads, client work, etc.)
  • publicly perform, communicate, and distribute those new works commercially and non-commercially

This public license is granted once and continues even if the token is sold or transferred, and even if the Sound Recording Copyright is assigned. Any current or future token owner (and any successor, assignee, or other rights-holder) takes the Sound Recording Copyright subject to this public license and agrees not to withdraw it, revoke it, narrow it, or claim the Loop Audio is "exclusive".

4) Audio restrictions (things you are NOT allowed to do)

You may NOT:

  • sell, sublicense, or distribute the Loop Audio as a standalone or reusable sample/loop library (e.g. a sample pack / loop pack), including distributing it in substantially unmodified, isolated, or separately extractable form that is marketed or reasonably intended for reuse as a loop/sample
  • mint, tokenize, or re-publish the Loop Audio (or materially the same audio) as a competing standalone audio NFT
  • claim the Loop Audio is "exclusive" or claim that others may not use it under this license

For avoidance of doubt, making the Loop Audio available for listening (including streaming, preview, playlists, and embeddable players used as an "audio avatar") is permitted under Section 3, so long as you do not distribute it as a reusable sample/loop library.

5) Content ID / fingerprinting (policy)

  • Do not register the Loop Audio by itself in YouTube Content ID or similar fingerprinting systems.
  • If you register a finished track that contains the Loop Audio, you must ensure the registration does not create claims against other legitimate uses of the Loop Audio, and you must release/clear mistaken claims promptly.

6) Cover Image and Metadata (public display rights)

Exclusive digital rights in the Cover Image sit with the current token owner under Section 2.4. This Section 6 sets out the limited public-facing display rights that everyone else has, by default.

(a) Display alongside the Loop Audio. Anyone may display the Cover Image as part of playback or sharing of the Loop Audio (for example inside an audio player, playlist, or embeddable widget), provided the Cover Image is used to identify the linked Token/loop and not as standalone artwork or merchandising.

(b) Marketplace, gallery, and editorial display. Anyone may display the Cover Image and the Metadata to show, list, market, or resell the Token itself - for example on NFT marketplaces, in galleries, in social posts, and in editorial coverage about the Token.

(c) Metadata. The Metadata may be displayed to identify or describe the Token.

(d) Limits. No other public use of the Cover Image is granted. In particular, this Section 6 does NOT grant: standalone artwork display unrelated to the Token or Loop Audio, commercial merchandising, brand or trademark use, or any reproduction in Physical Medium.

The token owner accepts Section 6 as a permanent public limitation on the exclusive digital rights granted in Section 2.4.

7) Transfers and termination

  • Token ownership is transferable (sell/resell/trade).
  • The public license in Section 3 is not tied to token ownership and survives all transfers and assignments.
  • If you materially breach Sections 4-5 and you do not cure within a reasonable time after notice, your permissions under this license terminate with respect to you only. Termination does not revoke rights previously granted to others under Section 3.

8) No warranties

The token, site, and linked media are provided "as is." Blockchain transactions can fail and incur network fees.

9) Governing law and moral rights (Austria)

This license is governed by the laws of the Republic of Austria, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules.

Nothing in this license assigns, waives, or limits any non-transferable moral rights of the original creator under Austrian law.

For clarity, adaptations, edits, or other modifications of the Loop Audio do not imply endorsement, approval, or authorship of the resulting work by the original creator.