Copyright & DMCA Policy

Last updated: June 28, 2026

How audio and artwork are sourced

All song preview clips and album artwork displayed on Kpopless are sourced exclusively through the Apple Music API. Apple Music provides short preview clips (typically up to 30 seconds) for catalogue tracks as part of their developer program. These previews are served directly from Apple's infrastructure: Kpopless does not store, host, or redistribute audio files on its own servers.

All music, album artwork, and artist names remain the intellectual property of their respective rights holders, the artists, labels, and publishers involved in each recording. Kpopless does not claim any ownership over any musical content featured in the game.

Rights holders and labels

Songs in the Kpopless library originate from a wide range of Korean music labels and distributors, including:

HYBE Labels (Big Hit Music, BELIFT LAB, PLEDIS Entertainment, Source Music, KOZ Entertainment)
SM Entertainment
JYP Entertainment
YG Entertainment
STARSHIP Entertainment, Kakao Entertainment, WM Entertainment, RBW, P NATION
Independent artists and smaller labels across all generations of K-pop

All rights to the music, recordings, lyrics, and artwork belong to the respective rights holders. Kpopless is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or in any partnership with any of the above companies.

DMCA takedown requests

If you are a copyright owner or authorised agent and believe content on Kpopless infringes your copyright, please send a DMCA notice including:

Identification of the copyrighted work: title, artist, and release details.
Identification of the infringing material: the specific URL on Kpopless where it appears.
Your contact information: full name, address, phone, and email.
A statement of good faith: that you believe the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement of accuracy: under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on their behalf.
Your electronic or physical signature.

Since all audio is served through Apple Music's API, the most direct route for music-specific concerns may be to contact Apple regarding their API preview terms. For Kpopless-specific concerns, reach me via the contact page or @kpopless on Twitter.

Purpose and use of previews

Kpopless is a free fan game. The audio clips used are short, industry-standard promotional previews delivered through the Apple Music developer API, not full recordings, and not stored or redistributed by Kpopless. The use is transformative: the clips exist specifically to challenge players to identify music by ear, which is a distinct context from simply streaming or downloading a song.

The game actively encourages players to listen to full tracks on Apple Music or other licensed streaming platforms after each round. This drives legitimate streams back to the artists and rights holders, the opposite of piracy. Any advertising on the site covers the operational costs of running the game as a free service.