Recordbuilds Terms of Service

Last Updated: April 19, 2026

Welcome to Recordbuilds. These Terms of Service, the “Terms,” govern your access to and use of recordbuilds.com, builder.recordbuilds.com, and any related pages, products, features, tools, emails, content, community areas, and services we operate, collectively, the “Site.”

By accessing or using the Site, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.

1) Who we are

“Recordbuilds,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Recordbuilds.

Contact email: info@recordbuilds.com
Mailing address: 1388 Haight St #1036, San Francisco, CA 94117

2) What the Site is

Recordbuilds provides educational content, planning tools, setup-building tools, public and private profile features, community features, and related resources centered around vinyl gear, listening setups, and related topics.

The Site may allow you to:

browse educational articles, guides, and community content
use setup-building or planning tools
create an account or profile
create, save, edit, publish, or share builds
upload photos, avatars, cover images, comments, and other content
view, vote on, comment on, fork, or otherwise interact with public community content
access links to third-party retailers, creators, brands, social platforms, or other services

The Site is intended to be helpful and educational, but it is not a guarantee of product compatibility, safety, quality, availability, or outcome.

3) No professional advice

The Site and all content, scores, recommendations, compatibility guidance, rankings, and community information are provided for general informational and educational purposes only.

Recordbuilds does not provide engineering, electrical, installation, repair, legal, financial, tax, or other professional advice.

You are solely responsible for verifying:

compatibility and suitability of any products
safe setup, installation, and use
pricing, availability, shipping, taxes, warranties, and returns
whether any product, setup, or recommendation is appropriate for your room, needs, preferences, and budget

You use the Site and any information on it at your own risk.

4) Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Site. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may use the Site only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian.

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and you may not use the Site or submit personal information if you are under 13.

We may impose additional age or eligibility requirements for specific features, promotions, contests, or community activities.

5) Accounts and account security

Some Site features require an account.

If you create or use an account, you agree that:

you will provide accurate, current information
you will keep your login credentials secure
you are responsible for activity under your account
you will not impersonate another person or entity
you will not create fake accounts, duplicate accounts for manipulation, or accounts intended to spam, scrape, or abuse the Site

We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account, profile, content, or access if we believe there is abuse, fraud, impersonation, harassment, scraping, automation, infringement, vote manipulation, security risk, or other harmful behavior.

6) Public profiles, public builds, and community features

The Site may allow you to create a public profile, make content public, or participate in community features such as community pages, featured lists, setup directories, voting, comments, badges, rankings, “setup of the week” style modules, or other public-facing features.

If you choose to make content public, you understand and agree that your public content may be:

visible to visitors and other users
indexed or cached by search engines
displayed across profile pages, feeds, community pages, featured sections, rankings, badges, and similar Site surfaces
shown with your display name, username, profile image, cover image, build title, build description, votes, comments, scores, or other public-facing metadata
highlighted, shared, excerpted, screenshot, reposted, or promoted by Recordbuilds in connection with the Site, our emails, and our social media and marketing materials

Public content should be treated as public. Do not include sensitive or confidential information in usernames, profile text, build names, descriptions, notes, comments, or uploads.

We do not guarantee that any public content will remain visible, ranked, featured, or available in any specific place or format.

7) User Content

“User Content” means any content you upload, submit, post, create, transmit, or otherwise make available through the Site, including:

profile information
usernames and display names
build titles and descriptions
profile photos, avatars, and cover images
comments and other community posts
custom component entries or notes
votes, reactions, tags, and related interactions
photos, text, graphics, and other materials

You retain ownership of your User Content, subject to the rights you grant in these Terms.

8) License you grant to Recordbuilds

By submitting or making available any User Content through the Site, you grant Recordbuilds a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to:

host
store
cache
reproduce
modify for technical or presentation purposes, such as cropping, resizing, compression, formatting, or layout adjustments
publish
display
distribute
perform
promote
feature
use in connection with the operation, improvement, promotion, and marketing of the Site and the Recordbuilds brand

This includes the right to use public User Content in connection with:

public profiles
public builds
community pages and feeds
featured lists and badges
editorial or promotional showcases
email newsletters and product emails
social posts, screenshots, ads, and other promotional materials

You can stop future public display of certain content by deleting it, changing it to private where that option exists, or closing your account, but you understand that:

cached or archived copies may persist for some time
prior promotional uses may continue where already created or published
third parties may already have copied, shared, or saved public content

9) Your promises about User Content

You represent and warrant that:

you own your User Content or have all rights and permissions needed to submit it and grant the license above
your User Content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any copyright, trademark, trade secret, publicity, privacy, or other rights of any person or entity
your User Content is not unlawful, defamatory, obscene, hateful, threatening, harassing, misleading, fraudulent, or otherwise prohibited by these Terms or applicable law
if your User Content includes another person’s likeness, property, or protected material, you have any permission needed to submit and allow Recordbuilds to use it as described in these Terms

We may remove, hide, edit, restrict, or disable User Content at any time if we believe it violates these Terms, our policies, applicable law, or the spirit of the Recordbuilds community.

10) Community rules and acceptable use

You agree not to use the Site to:

break the law or encourage unlawful conduct
infringe or violate another person’s rights
impersonate another person, creator, brand, or business
harass, threaten, intimidate, stalk, or abuse others
post hateful, discriminatory, sexually explicit, violent, or otherwise inappropriate content
spam, self-promote abusively, or flood community surfaces
upload malware, harmful code, or security exploits
scrape, harvest, or bulk extract Site data without permission
use bots, scripts, or automation to create accounts, post content, vote, comment, click links, or manipulate engagement
manipulate rankings, badges, votes, featured status, or community visibility
bypass limits, security measures, or access controls
interfere with the Site’s performance, stability, or integrity

We may investigate misuse and may remove content, invalidate votes, revoke badges, reset metrics, restrict visibility, suspend accounts, or take any other action we consider appropriate.

11) Voting, rankings, badges, and featured placement

The Site may include votes, rankings, badges, featured placements, trending lists, editorial showcases, and similar community signals.

These features are offered at our discretion. We may:

change how they work
add or remove eligibility criteria
remove fraudulent or suspicious engagement
adjust rankings or featured placement
revoke badges or labels
limit or disable participation for some users or builds

You have no guaranteed right to keep any vote total, rank, badge, featured placement, or community status.

Any attempt to manipulate votes, rankings, or visibility through fake accounts, automation, purchased engagement, vote trading, brigading, or similar tactics may result in removal, disqualification, suspension, or termination.

12) Comments and interactions

If comments or interactive community features are available, you are solely responsible for what you post.

We do not guarantee that comments or interactions will be accurate, useful, respectful, or safe. We are not obligated to monitor all content, but we may monitor, moderate, remove, hide, filter, restrict, or disable comments and interactive features at any time.

13) Builder and product-specific features

Certain Site features, including the setup builder, compatibility guidance, public builds, forking, votes, scores, pricing displays, and similar functions, may also be governed by separate Builder Terms or feature-specific rules.

If Builder Terms or feature-specific terms exist, they supplement these Terms.

14) Affiliate links and third-party links

Some links on the Site may be affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

The Site may also link to third-party retailers, creators, brands, social platforms, tools, and other services. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content, pricing, policies, shipping, returns, warranties, customer service, outages, privacy practices, or security.

Any transaction or interaction you have with a third party is solely between you and that third party.

15) Intellectual property

Except for User Content, the Site and its original content, design, layout, text, graphics, logos, trademarks, photos, software, and other materials are owned by Recordbuilds or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property and other laws.

You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, sell, license, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display, or otherwise exploit our content without our prior written permission, except as permitted by law.

16) Copyright complaints

If you believe content on the Site infringes your copyright, please send a notice to our designated copyright contact at:

Recordbuilds Copyright Agent
1388 Haight St #1036
San Francisco, CA 94117
info@recordbuilds.com

We may remove or disable access to allegedly infringing material and may terminate repeat infringers where appropriate.

17) Privacy

Your use of the Site is also subject to our Privacy Policy.

Depending on how you use the Site, we may collect account information, profile information, uploads, comments, voting activity, analytics data, communications data, and other information described in the Privacy Policy.

18) Emails and communications

By creating an account, using Site features, submitting content, or participating in community features, you agree that we may send you service-related communications, such as:

account notices
verification emails
password reset emails
moderation notices
feature updates
build or profile status notifications
contest or community participation notices

If you opt in to marketing or promotional emails, we may also send you newsletters, community highlights, featured-build emails, product announcements, and similar promotional messages. You can unsubscribe from promotional emails using the link provided in those messages, but we may still send service-related communications where permitted by law.

19) Changes to the Site

We may change, suspend, limit, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time, with or without notice, including:

content
profiles
community features
builder logic
products and data
scores and rankings
comments and votes
badges and featured sections
integrations
email features
security or anti-abuse protections

We are not liable for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Site or its features.

20) Disclaimers

The Site and all related content, features, tools, and services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Recordbuilds disclaims all warranties, express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, accuracy, reliability, and availability.

We do not guarantee that the Site will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, accurate, complete, or free from viruses or other harmful components.

21) Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Recordbuilds and its affiliates, owners, officers, directors, employees, contractors, licensors, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, business opportunities, or other intangible losses arising out of or related to:

your use of or inability to use the Site
your reliance on Site information, scores, rankings, or recommendations
public posting or sharing of content
third-party links, products, or services
content posted by other users
moderation decisions
removal of content, badges, votes, or visibility
outages, bugs, security incidents, or unauthorized access
changes to the Site or any feature within it

To the maximum extent permitted by law, if Recordbuilds is found liable for any claim related to the Site, our total liability will not exceed the greater of: (a) one hundred U.S. dollars (US $100), or (b) the amount you paid, if any, to Recordbuilds for the specific service giving rise to the claim during the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim.

22) Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Recordbuilds and its affiliates, owners, officers, directors, employees, contractors, licensors, and agents from and against any claims, demands, actions, liabilities, damages, judgments, losses, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to:

your use of the Site
your User Content
your violation of these Terms
your infringement or violation of any rights of another person or entity
your misuse of community features, public profiles, voting systems, or other Site functionality

23) Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Site, remove your content, disable your profile, or restrict your use of any feature at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you violated these Terms, posed a risk to the community or product, or created legal, security, or reputational risk.

You may stop using the Site at any time.

Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including sections relating to licenses, intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity, governing law, and dispute-related provisions.

24) Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California for any dispute arising out of or relating to the Site, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

25) Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time by posting a revised version on the Site. Changes are effective when posted unless a later effective date is stated.

Your continued use of the Site after updated Terms are posted means you accept the revised Terms.

26) Contact

Questions, copyright complaints, or Terms-related issues may be sent to:

Recordbuilds
info@recordbuilds.com
1388 Haight St #1036
San Francisco, CA 94117

Recordbuilds “Build of the Month” (B.O.T.M.) – Official Rules & Terms of Service

Last Updated: 10/24/25

Sponsor. Recordbuilds, 1388 Haight St PMB 1036, San Francisco, CA 94117 (“Sponsor,” “Recordbuilds,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

No Purchase Necessary; Void Where Prohibited. A purchase or payment will not increase your chances of winning. The Contest is void outside eligible territories and where restricted by law.

Skill-Based Contest. Winners are determined by public voting that applies stated, non-random criteria (creativity, originality, and adherence to the monthly theme). This is not a random drawing.

By accessing or using the B.O.T.M. contest at https://recordbuilds.com/botm/ (the “Website”) or submitting an entry (an “Entry”), you agree to these Official Rules & Terms of Service (the “Terms”). If you do not agree, do not participate.

1) Eligibility

Open to natural persons 18 years or older at the time of entry.
Employees, contractors, agents, officers, and directors of Sponsor (and members of their households) are not eligible.
Prizes ship to addresses in the continental United States only. Non-U.S. winners (or those outside the continental U.S.) may receive a digital or alternate prize at Sponsor’s discretion.

2) Contest Period

Each monthly contest has (a) an Entry Period and (b) a Voting Period.
Unless stated otherwise on the Website, the Entry Period opens at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on the first day of the submission window and closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the last day of the submission window. The Voting Period begins immediately after the Entry Period ends and runs until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the last day of the month.
Dates/times may change at Sponsor’s discretion. Any change will be posted on the Website or via other official channels.

3) How to Enter

Submit one (1) photo of your vinyl listening room via the submission form on the Website during the Entry Period. One Entry per person per contest.
Entries must be submitted by the actual entrant. No proxy submissions (including by parents/guardians or third parties).
Incomplete, late, unintelligible, or non-conforming Entries may be rejected.

4) Photo Requirements & Content Guidelines

Originality/Ownership. You must be the creator and copyright owner of the photo, or have all rights/permissions needed to submit and license it under these Terms.
No Infringement. Do not submit content that infringes the rights (including copyright, trademark, publicity, or privacy rights) of any person or entity.
Appropriate Content. No obscene, sexually explicit, unlawful, hateful, harassing, discriminatory, or violent content.
Verification. Sponsor may require proof of ownership/permission and may disqualify any Entry it reasonably believes violates these Terms or applicable law.
Edits. Sponsor may make minimal, good-faith edits for presentation (e.g., cropping to remove non-photographic elements like watermarks, borders, collages, or overlaid graphics) and may ask you to resubmit a compliant file.

5) License to Sponsor

By submitting an Entry, you grant Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify (for formatting/presentation), adapt, publish, translate, distribute, publicly display, and otherwise exploit your Entry (including your name, likeness, and any accompanying text you provide) in connection with the Contest, the Website, Sponsor’s social channels, press, and promotional materials – now known or later developed – for the duration of applicable copyrights. You retain all ownership in your photo.

6) Community Voting (Skill Criteria)

During the Voting Period, registered users may cast up to three (3) free votes per contest. Voting is free; paid votes and vote purchases are prohibited.
Voting is intended to reflect the following non-random criteria applied by the community: creativity, originality, and adherence to the monthly theme.
Casting votes is optional and not a condition of eligibility to win as a Competitor.
Sponsor may provide reasonable, clearly disclosed vote multipliers or incentives that do not require payment (e.g., time-limited two-for-one free votes), and may verify voter eligibility (e.g., email/SMS checks).
Any attempt to game or distort community voting (including bots, automated scripts, duplicate accounts, vote-buying/selling, financial incentives for votes, or organized brigading) is prohibited and may result in disqualification and/or vote invalidation.

7) Winner Selection, Notification & Verification

After the Voting Period closes, the top vote-getters (as displayed on the Website after removal of ineligible or fraudulent votes) will be the potential winners per the prize structure posted for that month.
Tie-Breakers. In the event of a tie after invalid votes are removed, Sponsor may (i) apply the published criteria (creativity, originality, theme adherence) via an internal panel, or (ii) use the earlier valid submission timestamp as the tie-breaker.
Potential winners will be notified via the email address provided at entry within seven (7) business days after the contest ends. Failure to respond within 14 days may result in forfeiture and selection of an alternate.
Sponsor may require reasonable identity, eligibility, and originality verification and completion of any required documents (e.g., prize acceptance, liability/publicity release, W-9 for U.S. tax reporting). Noncompliance may result in disqualification.

8) Prizes

Prizes for each contest (including approximate retail values and counts) will be listed in the contest announcement.
Winner Choice/Ranking. The top vote-getter chooses first; second place chooses next; third place receives the remaining prize (unless otherwise stated on the Website).
Shipping. Physical prizes ship to continental U.S. addresses only. International or outside-coverage winners may be offered a digital/alternate prize of comparable value at Sponsor’s discretion.
Vinyl Record Prizes. We will make a good-faith effort to purchase a record by one of the winner’s top three preferred artists. If a given record is unavailable or exceeds $100 USD retail, Sponsor may substitute a similar record aligned to the winner’s preferences or provide a $20 eGift card alternative.
No Cash Alternative. Prizes are not transferable, refundable, or redeemable for cash, except at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a listed prize becomes unavailable.
If a Grand Prize winner resides outside the continental U.S., Sponsor may offer a digital/alternate prize or, in limited cases, re-rank eligible winners for physical-prize fulfillment.

9) Taxes

Winners are solely responsible for any taxes, fees, or other charges associated with prize acceptance and use. For U.S. winners, Sponsor may issue an IRS Form 1099 for prizes with a total value of $600 USD or more in a calendar year and may require a completed W-9.

10) Publicity

Except where prohibited by law, by accepting a prize, each winner authorizes Sponsor to use winner’s first name and state/county of residence, likeness, and winning Entry for advertising and promotional purposes related to the Contest and Recordbuilds, in any media, without additional notice or compensation.

11) Disqualification & Anti-Fraud

Sponsor may disqualify any Entry or participant and/or void or adjust votes if it reasonably believes (i) these Terms or the Website rules were violated; (ii) content infringes or is inappropriate; or (iii) unfair voting or abuse occurred (including bots, automation, fake accounts, vote-buying/selling, or harassment). Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding.

12) General Conditions

Sponsor may cancel, suspend, or modify any contest (or any portion of it) if fraud, technical failure, force majeure, or any factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Contest. If terminated, Sponsor may determine winners from eligible, non-suspect votes/Entries received up to the time of action or as otherwise fair and feasible.

13) Limitation of Liability; Release

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Sponsor and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages, or for any loss of data, profits, or goodwill, arising out of or relating to the Contest, prizes, shipping/fulfillment by third parties, or use of the Website – whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise.

By participating, you release and hold harmless Sponsor from and against any claims arising from your participation, your Entry (including IP/publicity claims), voting activities, acceptance/use/misuse of any prize, and any technical issues, interruptions, or errors.

14) Communications

By entering, you consent to receive Contest-related communications (e.g., status updates, rule changes, prize notices, and future contest announcements) via the contact details you provide. You may manage email preferences or unsubscribe as indicated in those communications.

15) Privacy

Information collected from participants is subject to Recordbuilds’ Privacy Policy (see Website footer). By participating, you consent to such collection and use consistent with that policy and these Terms.

16) Website & Third-Party Platforms

You are responsible for your internet access and device. Sponsor is not responsible for platform outages, rate limits, or failures beyond its control. The Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any social media platform.

17) Governing Law; Venue

These Terms and the Contest are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in San Francisco County, California for any claim not subject to informal resolution. Class/representative actions are waived; claims must be brought in an individual capacity.

(If you prefer binding arbitration and a class-action waiver, you can swap this section for an arbitration clause. If you do, keep it short, clear, and conspicuous.)

18) Modification of Terms; Severability

We may update these Terms and/or the schedule by posting changes on the Website; changes take effect upon posting unless a later effective date is stated. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

19) Entire Agreement

These Terms (plus any contest-specific announcement on the Website) constitute the entire agreement between you and Sponsor concerning the Contest and supersede any prior or contemporaneous communications on the subject.

20) Contact

Questions? info@recordbuilds.com