Terms of Use
musaik

Application: musaik (macOS)
Provider: Pondstack Software, represented by Jürgen Frosch
Address: Segeberger Chaussee 162, 22851 Norderstedt, Germany
E-Mail: info@pondstack.com
VAT ID: DE 250 223 616
Last updated: August 2026

1. Provider and Scope

These Terms of Use apply to the macOS application musaik (hereinafter "App") provided by Pondstack Software, represented by Jürgen Frosch, Segeberger Chaussee 162, 22851 Norderstedt, Germany (hereinafter "Provider").

By downloading, installing, or using the App, the user agrees to these Terms of Use.

2. Subject Matter and Description of Services

musaik is a native macOS application for editing, combining and rearranging music files. The App analyses audio files and lets users create mashups, reworked single tracks and DJ mixes, and export them as audio files.

Features include in particular:

• Separation of a track into the four elements drums, bass, music and vocals (stem separation), performed locally on the user's device
• Automatic analysis of tempo, bar grid, musical key and song structure
• Three project types: mashup (several tracks), track edit (a single track) and DJ mix (a chain of tracks with transitions)
• Time stretching and pitch shifting to align tempo and key
• Mixer with EQ, filters, FX buses, sidechain ducking, automation and master processing
• Sampler lanes and a palette for loops, segments and the user's own audio snippets
• Import of playlists and tracks from rekordbox and Serato, and optional write-back to the rekordbox database
• Export as WAV or MP3 at a selectable quality
• Support for the user's own audio plug-ins (VST3/AU)

All processing takes place locally on the user's device. No audio data is transmitted to the Provider or to third parties.

The Provider reserves the right to change, extend or reduce the scope of functions through updates.

3. Conclusion of Contract and Licence

The App is purchased through the Provider's online shop at pondstack.com. Payment is processed by FastSpring (Bright Market, LLC dba FastSpring, Bright Market LLC dba FastSpring Limited and/or FastSpring B.V.), acting as authorised reseller and Merchant of Record; which of these entities becomes your contracting party depends on the payment method used. After completing the purchase, the user receives a licence key by e-mail.

The Provider grants the purchaser a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the App on their own devices. The App is offered as a one-time purchase (no subscription) unless expressly stated otherwise. The licence covers the major version purchased; future major versions may be subject to a charge.

The licence is unlocked by a one-time activation and may be used on up to three devices at the same time. Devices no longer in use can be released by the user within the App, freeing the slot for another device. This applies as soon as the installed version of the App supports activation; nothing changes for earlier versions.

The App may be used as a time-limited trial before purchase. In the trial, individual functions are disabled or limited – in particular, export is disabled and the number of stem separations is limited.

4. Rights of Use and Restrictions

The user may install and use the App on their own devices. The user is prohibited from:

• Copying, distributing or making the App or licence keys available to third parties
• Reverse engineering, decompiling or disassembling the App
• Circumventing, removing or disabling the licence protection
• Modifying the App, creating derivative works, renting or leasing it
• Removing protection notices, copyright notices or other markings
• Using the App for unlawful purposes

Activating and renewing the licence requires an internet connection at least once every 90 days. Within that period the App works fully offline. If the renewal does not take place, the App remains usable; export and paid modules become available again after the next successful renewal. The licence itself has no expiry date – the renewal is a technical check, not a time limit and not a subscription.

Licence keys that are shared or made publicly available may be blocked by the Provider.

5. Music Rights – Responsibility of the User

This is the central provision of these Terms. Users are asked to read it particularly carefully.

musaik is a tool. The App itself does not provide any music, recordings, samples or compositions. All audio material processed in the App originates exclusively from the user.

5.1 Ownership of rights: The user alone is responsible for holding all rights required for the audio files they process. This applies to sound recordings (neighbouring rights of phonogram producers and performing artists) as well as to the underlying compositions and lyrics (copyright).

5.2 Adaptation and transformation: Splitting a track into individual elements (stems), changing tempo and pitch, shortening, extending or rearranging it, and combining several works into a mashup or mix, generally constitute an adaptation or transformation of protected works. As a rule, such adaptations may only be published or exploited with the consent of the respective rights holders.

5.3 Private use: Use within the limits of legally permitted private copying remains unaffected. The App is intended for private, non-commercial use and for material to which the user holds the necessary rights.

5.4 Publication and commercial use: Any use beyond that – in particular publication, making available to the public (streaming, download, uploading to platforms), public performance (for example in clubs, at events, on radio) and any commercial exploitation – requires the user to obtain the necessary rights and licences in advance. Depending on the circumstances this may include permissions from labels, publishers and artists as well as reporting and licences from collecting societies (e.g. GEMA, GVL, PRS, ASCAP, BMI).

5.5 No grant of rights by the Provider: By supplying the App, the Provider grants no rights whatsoever in third-party musical works and issues no copyright clearances. The App does not include any licence for adapting or exploiting third-party music.

5.6 Indemnification: The user shall indemnify the Provider against all third-party claims arising from an unlawful use of third-party content in or with the App, including reasonable costs of legal defence. The Provider accepts no responsibility for copyright infringements or other legal violations resulting from the use of third-party content.

5.7 The user's results: Projects created with the App and exported audio files are the user's results. The Provider claims no rights in them. Third-party rights in the material used remain unaffected.

6. Third-Party Software and Plug-ins

The App can load audio plug-ins (VST3/AU) installed by the user. Such plug-ins are neither supplied, licensed nor reviewed by the Provider. The user alone is responsible for being entitled to use them. The Provider is not liable for malfunctions, crashes or damage caused by third-party plug-ins.

At the user's request, the App can read from and – after explicit confirmation – write to local DJ software databases (rekordbox, Serato). Before write access, the App creates a backup copy. Users are nevertheless advised to keep their own backups.

7. Data Backup

The user is obliged to create appropriate backups of music files, project data and DJ databases before using the App and before installing updates. The Provider is not liable for data loss caused by missing or inadequate backups.

8. Updates and Further Development

The Provider supplies updates where technically and economically reasonable. There is no entitlement to specific updates or new features. The Provider may discontinue updates for older macOS versions.

The App may check periodically whether a new version is available and notify the user. This check can be switched off in the settings. Details are set out in the Privacy Policy.

9. Liability

9.1 Unlimited liability: The Provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, under the German Product Liability Act, and for injury to life, body or health.

9.2 Limited liability: In cases of slight negligence, the Provider is liable only where a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation) is breached. In such cases liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.

9.3 Exclusions: The Provider is not liable for:

• Data loss caused by missing or inadequate backups
• Copyright infringements or other legal violations arising from content processed by the user
• Claims by third parties or collecting societies in respect of mashups, edits or mixes published by the user
• Changes to third-party DJ databases made at the user's instruction
• Malfunctions caused by third-party plug-ins
• Incompatibilities with future macOS versions or third-party software
• Indirect damage, loss of profit or consequential damage in cases of slight negligence

10. Warranty

The statutory warranty rights for digital products under German law apply. Claims for defects become time-barred two years after delivery.

The Provider does not warrant that the App will operate free of errors or interruptions, or that the automatic analysis (tempo, bar grid, key, structure, stem separation) will produce correct results in every case. The analysis is a machine estimate; the App provides tools for manual correction.

11. Trial and Pre-Release Versions

The free trial version comprises the full feature set of the App with the exception of all export functions and is limited to 14 days per device from first activation. To reliably enforce this limit, the start of the trial is recorded per device via a licence service (see the Privacy Policy for details); this requires an internet connection at least temporarily, and a short grace period applies on first launch without a connection. There is no entitlement to the grant, extension or repetition of the trial period; circumventing its temporal or functional limitations is prohibited. After the trial period expires, continued use of the restricted functions requires the purchase of a licence.

Trial and pre-release (beta) versions are made available for testing purposes and may be incomplete, faulty or unstable. Use is at the user's own risk. The Provider gives no warranty for such versions. Feedback is welcome at info@pondstack.com.

12. Termination

The licence terminates automatically if the user breaches these Terms of Use. Upon termination the user must delete all copies of the App.

The statutory right of withdrawal for digital content remains unaffected; details are set out in the withdrawal policy.

13. Changes to these Terms

The Provider reserves the right to update these Terms of Use in the event of material changes to the App or the legal framework. The current version is always available at pondstack.com/musaik-terms.

14. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the country in which the user has their habitual residence remain unaffected.

Place of jurisdiction, to the extent legally permissible, is Hamburg, Germany.

15. Severability

Should individual provisions of these Terms be or become invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid one.