Why I'm Not Posting a Sonific SongSpot Widget

I was going to post a sample SongSpot widget from Sonific after hearing that they would make them free for indie labels to use.  I would have posted a widget with music chosen as a fan.

But then I clicked yes on the terms of service and a popup said I couldn't use the widget on commercial websites though bloggers can post them on any service such as AOL.com, which is a very commercial website, and I couldn't find the statement in the actual terms of service themselves.

I then found that when creating the widget I had to specify the exact page on which it would be posted.  Since many bloggers would add such a thing to a sidebar there wouldn't be a particular page though there would be a particular site.

Maybe it would work anyway but that's too many wrong turns for me.

The idea is to offer the tools so people can make magic happen but magic can't happen with bizarre restrictions that ignore actual Web use.  Roadblocks lead to finding other routes and in the current environment I would strongly suggest keeping that key point in mind.

Comments

[Gerd Leonhard]

This is Sonific's CEO. You misunderstood our terms of use: as to the commercial use, we don't want to have hilton.com e.g. use music as a soundtracks for a flash intro that should be commercially licensed - all else is fine. The commercial question is purely about it being 'for commercial purposes' as opposed to personal / private use which is what the songspots are for. And as far as the actual URL of the page with the songspots is concerned, we have been debating this but it is by and large because our labels would like to be able to find the songspots; but right now we are not checking if your information is indeed correct so it's only a request not a must-have requirement. Hope this helps.

[Clyde Smith]

Yes, apparently I misinterpreted quite a bit or something.

Thanks for the clarification!

[Clyde Smith]

Now that I've had some time to go back and register again, I think your response is weak and you're unwilling to take responsibility for the fact that what you've posted on your site is misleading.

After registering, I did not get a popup as I recall, rather I was taken to a page which said this, in part:

"Your registration is complete!
Welcome to Sonific's Beta...

By registering, you have agreed to the Terms of Use. Please make sure you understand them. It is not allowed to use our widgets on commercial web properties. You are not allowed to share your Sonific password with anyone or share the widget code with anyone. Widgets can only be placed on registered online properties and if we can't verify the page address you enter when you create the widget we might remove or disable it."

It says no use on commercial web properties but you say that's not what it means.

It says you might move or disable the widget if you can't verify the page address.

But now you say "right now we are not checking if your information is indeed correct so it's only a request not a must-have requirement."

I would strongly suggest you align the actual text on your site with the actual intention that you have.

You're just lucky that most people ignore all that stuff and just do what they want. It may actually save your business.