Terms of Service

• 16 or older: you may create your own account.
• 13–15: a parent or legal guardian must create the account, accept these Terms on your behalf, and supervise your use.
• Under 13: you may only access the Platform through a parent or guardian's account. The parent is the account holder, the contracting party, and is responsible for all activity under the account. We do not knowingly create accounts for users under 13 except via this parent-managed model. See our Privacy Policy §7.
• By using the Platform you represent that the information you provide is accurate, that you have the legal authority to enter this agreement, and that you are not on a sanctions list (UN, US OFAC, EU, UK, HK).
• We reserve the right to refuse or terminate service at our reasonable discretion, including (but not limited to) for residents of jurisdictions where operating the Platform would be unlawful.

• Students — purchase Private Lessons, Group Lessons, Studio Classes, Masterclasses, and other offerings from Faculty. Students may also be parents booking on behalf of a child.
• Faculty — independent music, dance, drama, or related-arts educators who offer lessons through the Platform under a separate Independent Contractor Agreement. Faculty are not our employees, agents, partners, or franchisees.
• Institutional users — schools, universities, and music programs may have a separate written agreement with us. In the absence of such an agreement, these Terms apply.

• Passwordless authentication: we email a 6-digit one-time code valid for 15 minutes.
• You must keep your email account secure. Anyone with access to your email can request a sign-in code.
• You are responsible for all activity occurring under your account, including lessons booked, messages sent, and content uploaded.
• Notify us immediately at info@theglobalconservatory.com if you suspect unauthorised use.
• We may suspend access if we detect suspicious activity (mass automated requests, credential stuffing, sign-ins from unusual locations).

• Faculty set their own teaching rates for each offering type they list (Private, Group, Studio, Masterclass).
• The Platform adds a 25% service markup on top of the Faculty's rate to determine the price you pay at checkout. Example: faculty rate $100 → you pay $125 → faculty receives $100, TGC retains $25.
• All prices are displayed at checkout in your local currency where supported, otherwise USD. Prices are final unless a typographical error is identified before fulfilment, in which case we may cancel and fully refund.
• Payment is processed by Shopify on our behalf. We do not store full payment-card details. Shopify's processing is governed by their Terms of Service.
• Faculty payouts are made via Airwallex (recommended) or PayPal, 7 days after each completed lesson, per the IC Agreement.
• Promotional credits, vouchers, and gift cards are non-transferable, non-refundable for cash, and may have expiration dates and use restrictions disclosed at issue.
• Sales taxes (VAT/GST/sales tax) may be added at checkout where required by your jurisdiction. We collect and remit those amounts to the applicable tax authorities.

Booking timeslots are confirmed when payment clears. Cancellations and refunds are governed by our Refund Policy. The headline rules:

• You cancel 24+ hours before the lesson: full refund or credit toward another lesson.
• You cancel within 24 hours: 50% credit toward a future lesson with the same faculty member; the faculty receives a 50% payout for the held timeslot.
• You no-show: no refund; faculty receives 50% payout.
• Faculty no-shows: full refund to you, plus a 25% platform credit toward your next booking with that faculty.
• Masterclasses: non-refundable within 7 days of the scheduled date; before that, the standard 24-hour rule applies.
• Studio Classes (full-term commitment): non-refundable after the term begins; partial refunds may be granted in exceptional circumstances at our reasonable discretion.

To protect the marketplace and ensure fair compensation to faculty and TGC, both Students and Faculty agree to the following:

• Faculty may not solicit any Student they met through the Platform to take lessons, masterclasses, or any other paid arts instruction outside the Platform during their faculty tenure or for 90 days after it ends.
• Students may not approach a current Faculty member to take lessons outside the Platform while the Student has any active account or booking on the Platform, or for 90 days after their last booking with that Faculty.
• After 90 days, Students and Faculty may freely arrange off-platform lessons with no further restriction from us.
• Breach of this section by either party may result in account termination and (for Faculty) liquidated damages per the IC Agreement.

• Lessons may be recorded only with the explicit consent of both Student and Faculty for that specific session.
• Recordings are owned jointly by Student and Faculty. Neither party may publish, redistribute, or commercialise a recording without the other party's written consent.
• TGC will not access, view, or distribute recordings except (i) as required by valid legal process, (ii) to investigate a verified complaint of misconduct, or (iii) at the explicit written request of both parties.
• Lesson notes (covered topics, homework, next focus) authored by the Faculty are visible to the Student of that booking. Notes from one student's lesson are never shown to another student.

• Faculty content (bios, headshots, lesson plans, sheet-music arrangements, recorded performances) remains the property of the Faculty. By uploading, the Faculty grants TGC a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting only), display, and distribute that content for the purpose of operating, marketing, and improving the Platform. The license terminates when the Faculty leaves the Platform, except for material that has already been published in marketing collateral, search-engine caches, or third-party links beyond our reasonable control.
• Student content (your own recordings, your own notes about lessons) remains yours. We claim no ownership.
• TGC content — the "Global Conservatory" name, logo, the "TGC" mark, the platform's design, the lesson-types framework, the curriculum templates, the Atelier theme customisations, the apply form, the IC Agreement structure, and any other materials we create — are owned by Kalinklo Limited and protected by copyright, trade-mark, and other intellectual-property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works of any TGC content without our prior written consent.
• Feedback you give us (suggestions, ideas for new features, bug reports) becomes our property. You grant us an unrestricted right to use your feedback without compensation or attribution.

Your use of the Platform is governed by the Acceptable Use Policy. Violations may result in warnings, suspension, or permanent termination of your account, at our reasonable discretion. Material or repeated violations may also result in legal action.

• You can close your account at any time by emailing info@theglobalconservatory.com. Already-completed bookings remain valid. Future bookings are refunded per the Refund Policy.
• We may suspend or terminate your account for: (a) breach of these Terms or any other policy, (b) repeated cancellations or no-shows, (c) any conduct that exposes TGC, faculty, students, or third parties to liability, harm, or reputational risk, (d) fraud, chargebacks filed without first contacting us, or use of stolen payment instruments, (e) any conduct inconsistent with the letter or spirit of these Terms or our values, or (f) any other reason at our reasonable discretion with appropriate notice except where immediate termination is necessary.
• Faculty terminations are additionally governed by the IC Agreement (including its 6-month minimum term and early-exit provisions).
• On termination, your right to access the Platform ends immediately. Sections 6 (no-poaching), 7 (recordings), 8 (IP), 11–16 (disclaimers, liability, indemnification, force majeure, governing law, class-action waiver) survive termination.

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, TGC EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING (WITHOUT LIMITATION) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ACCURACY.

Specifically and without limiting the foregoing:

• We do not guarantee that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure against every threat, or available in every jurisdiction.
• We do not guarantee any specific outcome from lessons (improvement, audition success, scholarship, professional placement, etc.). Outcomes depend on the student's effort, talent, and the natural variability of arts education.
• No warranty of employment, career, or earnings. Studying with TGC faculty does not guarantee any audition success, college admission, scholarship award, professional engagement, performance opportunity, gig, agent representation, recording contract, or any other career outcome. Music, dance, and theatre careers depend on many factors entirely outside our control.
• Faculty are independent contractors. We do not employ, supervise, or warrant the conduct, qualifications, or teaching of any individual Faculty member beyond verifying the application materials they submit. We are a marketplace facilitator, not a school in the traditional employment sense.
• We are not responsible for off-platform interactions, agreements, or arrangements between Faculty and Students.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless TGC, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your access to or use of the Platform; (b) your breach of these Terms or any other TGC policy; (c) your violation of any third-party right, including intellectual-property, privacy, or publicity rights; (d) any content you upload or transmit; or (e) any interaction with another user of the Platform that occurs as a result of the Platform.

We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with our defense.

TGC will not be liable for any failure or delay in performance under these Terms caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including (without limitation): acts of war, terrorism, civil unrest, natural disasters, epidemic or pandemic, government action or regulation, labour disputes, telecommunications or internet failures, hosting-provider outages, payment-processor outages, or any other event of force majeure. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact and resume normal service as soon as practicable.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong SAR, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

Mandatory binding arbitration. Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform — including the validity, interpretation, breach, or termination thereof — shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration administered by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) under its Administered Arbitration Rules in force at the time of filing. The seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The arbitral tribunal shall consist of one arbitrator. The language of the arbitration shall be English. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding on both parties.

Exception: either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of its intellectual-property rights or these Terms.

We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Effective" date at the top reflects the most recent version. We will give at least 30 days' advance notice of material changes by email to your account address and/or by prominent notice on the Platform.

Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any change constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept the changes, your sole remedy is to close your account before the effective date.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court or arbitral tribunal of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

No failure or delay by TGC in exercising any right under these Terms shall operate as a waiver of that right or any other right. A waiver of any right or remedy on one occasion shall not be construed as a continuing waiver or a waiver of any other right or remedy.

These Terms — together with the Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, Cookie Policy, Code of Conduct, DMCA / IP Takedown Policy, and (for Faculty) the Independent Contractor Agreement — constitute the entire agreement between you and TGC concerning your use of the Platform. They supersede any prior or contemporaneous understanding. No oral statement, course of dealing, or trade usage shall modify these Terms.

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your account without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms to any affiliate or successor in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all of our assets, on at least 30 days' notice.

Kalinklo Limited
Hong Kong SAR
info@theglobalconservatory.com