SPARK 2027
Terms & Conditions

SPARK is a shared creative adventure: a year of writing new music, supported by the people who want to help it happen. These terms explain what you receive, how payments work, and what happens if your circumstances or the project change.

1. Who you are purchasing from

The music is composed by Gareth McLearnon. For project enquiries, cancellations or problems, contact gareth@garethmclearnon.com . References below to “I” or “me” mean Gareth acting for the seller identified above.

2. What SPARK 2027 includes

The project is a collection of twelve new short pieces, intended to be released monthly from January to December 2027. Each is expected to be approximately three minutes long, primarily for flute and piano. Length, difficulty, musical style and instrumentation will vary.

Every level includes:

• PDF instrumental parts and complete flute-and-piano scores.
• An electronic piano backing track for each piece.
• An alternative C-flute part when a release features piccolo, alto or bass flute.
• Creative updates and opportunities to suggest ideas.
• Access to the project’s private members’ area while your membership remains active.

This is a shared commissioning project, rather than a bespoke commission for each member. Suggestions are welcome, but their inclusion is not guaranteed. I retain the final creative decisions and copyright. No exclusive dedication, premiere or ownership rights are included.

3. Prices and payments

These are the advertised consumer prices. Any applicable tax treatment and the total payable must be shown before you confirm payment. Approximate USD or GBP figures on the website are guidance only. Checkout confirms the transaction currency and amount; your payment provider may apply its own conversion rate or fees.

Your first payment is taken when you purchase. If you join before January, that payment counts towards the 2027 project; the monthly music still begins in January. Subsequent instalments follow the schedule displayed at checkout.

The monthly route uses a fixed payment schedule, but I voluntarily allow you to stop future instalments under section 5. There is no automatic renewal into 2028. Completing either the annual payment or all twelve monthly payments counts as a full-year contribution.

4. The minimum launch number

The project requires a minimum of 50 full-year micro-commissioners to launch. A person enrolled on the twelve-payment route counts towards that number; it is not necessary for every instalment to have been paid before launch.

I will confirm the launch decision by 31 December 2026. If the minimum is not reached and the project does not launch, I will cancel remaining payment schedules and refund all SPARK membership payments within 14 days of that decision.

Once the project has launched, membership numbers may change. A fall below 50 does not automatically end it. I may continue writing with a smaller community, or bring the project to an early close under section 6.

5. Changing your mind or stopping membership

Within 14 days of purchase: email me to cancel and receive a full refund. This is the project’s cancellation promise, including where you have already accessed a release. It does not reduce any longer or additional cancellation rights you may have by law.

After those 14 days: you may still stop your membership. Email me using the address associated with your account. No explanation is required, and you will not owe instalments falling due after your cancellation request.

Squarespace may require me to cancel a fixed instalment schedule for you. Cancellation takes effect from the date your email is received. If a later instalment is collected while I process it, I will refund it.

For a cancellation after the initial 14 days, I will refund any advance payment attributable to releases not yet supplied. For this calculation, each supplied monthly release accounts for one twelfth of the full-year price for your chosen payment route. Releases made available to you in the members’ area count as supplied, whether or not you downloaded them.

For example, an annual Supporter who paid €100 and cancels after three supplied releases receives a refund of €75. The same proportional calculation applies to the other levels. Refunds are rounded to the nearest cent. No retrospective charge or additional balance will be imposed.

Following cancellation, access to future releases ends. You may keep lawfully supplied, paid-for downloads under the personal-use licence below. Content covered by a full refund should be deleted and not used.

Included books and full-year acknowledgements depend on completing your full-year contribution. If you cancel and receive a partial refund, those benefits are no longer included. Discounts already used legitimately will not be retrospectively charged back.

6. Delays, changes or an early end

This is a creative writing project, so exact release dates within each month may vary. I will communicate significant delays promptly and explain the revised timetable. Minor changes will not reduce the promised number of pieces or their accompanying materials.

If illness, personal circumstances or the project’s viability mean I cannot reasonably continue, I may close it early. I will notify members, stop future instalments and refund advance payments for undelivered releases using the calculation in section 5, within 14 days of announcing closure.

If a significant delay or material change means the project no longer matches what you purchased, you may cancel and receive a refund for the unfulfilled part. Your statutory remedies remain available. I will not require you to accept replacement benefits instead of a refund you are entitled to.

Any outstanding included-book entitlement will also be addressed. If I cannot supply an included book, you may choose an agreed alternative or an appropriate refund for that unfulfilled benefit, in addition to any refund due for undelivered music.

7. Books, acknowledgements and discounts

Supporter is a digital-only membership. Commissioners completing their full-year contribution receive one signed, personally dedicated anthology; Patrons receive two. Planned dispatch is early 2028, following completion and editing of the collection.

Full-year Supporters may buy the anthology at 50% off its published standard retail price. Commissioners and Patrons may buy additional copies at the same discount. These anthology offers include free standard worldwide postage. Any import duties or local handling charges payable by the recipient will be explained before dispatch.

All levels receive 20% off PDF and hard-copy music purchases from my webstore during 2027 while their membership remains active. This discount applies to music prices, not postage, and is for the member’s own purchases. Discounts cannot be combined: the anthology’s 50% discount does not receive a further 20% reduction.

Acknowledgement is optional. I will ask how you wish your name to appear before the printing deadline. Once approved and printed, your name forms part of the anthology’s acknowledgements, including later printed copies. Please contact me about corrections or removal from future printings; copies already produced cannot be altered.

8. Using the music and your account

Membership gives you a personal, non-exclusive licence to download, print, practise and perform the supplied music. You may share the necessary score with your accompanying pianist for rehearsals and performances. Any applicable public-performance licensing remains the responsibility of the performer or organiser.

Please do not share your login, circulate the PDFs or backing tracks, upload them publicly, resell them, or distribute copies to a studio, class or ensemble. Contact me about wider copying, arrangements, commercial recording or other uses beyond this licence.

The collection will be published and may be sold separately later. Membership supports its creation and includes the stated benefits; it does not purchase exclusive access forever.

You need a working email address, internet access and software capable of opening PDFs and playing audio files. Download and keep your own backup copies of supplied music. If a file is faulty or you cannot access a release you have paid for, contact me so I can put it right.

9. Fair treatment and your legal rights

These terms do not exclude or restrict mandatory consumer rights, remedies for faulty or misdescribed content, or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. Your mandatory protections in your country of residence remain unaffected.

I may update these terms for future purchases. Material changes to an existing membership require your agreement, unless required by law. I will not retrospectively increase your agreed price or remove promised benefits without an appropriate remedy.

If something goes wrong, please contact me first. I will acknowledge your message and aim to resolve the issue fairly. Refunds will normally be returned through the original payment method, without a cancellation or administration fee.

10. How to cancel

Email gareth@garethmclearnon.com with your name and membership email address. You may use the following wording, but do not have to use a particular form: