Terms of service

Last updated: October 14, 2026

The service and its operator

ScoreStarling is operated by independent developer HaiyiMei and provides music transcription, conversion between formats, score playback, editing and export. By using the service you accept these terms and the privacy notice.

Accounts and usage

Provide an email address that can be verified and keep your sign-in credentials safe. A free account can run one transcription at a time, and an account with Plus five. Paid jobs with an unclear result are reviewed before they can be retried. The app displays your balance and the exact credit cost before you confirm a paid task. Each account may start a limited number of free previews per 24 hours, currently about 10, of which at most 3 may be band transcriptions or Starling Refine. Without an account, only the free 30-second preview is available; band transcription, Starling Refine and Starling require an account.

Subscriptions and purchased credits

Stripe hosts checkout and shows the price and whether payment repeats. A monthly or yearly subscription renews until you cancel it through “Manage subscription” on your plan page. Subscription credits expire at the end of their paid period and do not roll over. One-time packs expire 90 days after their credits are added. Cancelling a subscription keeps existing pack credits until their expiry. Yearly Plus gives the monthly credits for each month of the paid year. An account that redeemed a beta code may subscribe at the beta price shown at checkout, if it subscribes within 30 days of redeeming: monthly Plus at that price for 12 months, or yearly Plus at that price for its first year, after which it renews at the list price. A subscription started again after cancelling is at the list price.

A score from a recording of one instrument or voice, of solo piano, or from a PDF or picture of sheet music uses 10 credits per piece. A band transcription uses 30 credits per minute of audio, with the audio rounded up to 10 seconds. Starling Refine uses 20 to 30 credits per piece, depending on its length. Each piece first shows a free preview of its first 30 seconds; a recording or sheet music is processed in full and the rest is shown once its credits are paid, while a band transcription or Starling Refine processes only the preview until the whole piece is paid for. Before a paid task starts, its price shows the credit cost, audio excerpt and processing choices; accepting that exact price reserves the displayed credits, and a completed task settles the accepted amount. Each reply from Starling uses credits according to the work it does, at least 1 and at most 10, and the app shows the credits each reply used. Opening your own MusicXML, MIDI, Guitar Pro or ABC file uses no credits. Subscription credits are spent first, then the credits that expire soonest. Failed tasks, including a failed Starling Refine, tasks that find no notes and errors on our side release their reservation to the original allowance with its original expiry; uncertain paid results stay reserved for review. Editing, undo, saved versions, re-engraving, listening, downloads, re-downloads, previews and instrument suggestions never use credits. Refunds and payment disputes adjust the associated credits, and spent refunded credits require review before another paid task. How credits work explains these rules. For payment or refund help, contact support@scorestarling.com.

Free credits, invitations and beta codes

Each account receives 100 free credits each month through December 2026, and 50 each month from January 2027, on its first visit in that month, while the daily number of first grants lasts. They expire at the end of the month, counted in China Standard Time (UTC+8), and do not accumulate. An account with an active Plus subscription receives the subscription’s credits instead. Every account has an invitation link. When a friend joins with it and completes a first transcription of any kind, the friend and the account that invited them each receive 100 credits, valid for 30 days; an inviting account is rewarded for up to five friends. A beta code gives 300 credits, valid for 30 days, and each account can redeem one.

Downloads and the footer line

Download formats depend on the account. An account without Plus that has never bought credits can edit and play its scores and download them as PDF, page images, MP3 or WAV; its PDFs and page images carry a footer line reading “Made with ScoreStarling”. An account with an active Plus subscription, or one that has bought a credit pack, downloads every format, including MusicXML, MXL, MIDI, Guitar Pro, ABC and MEI, without the footer line. A score made from your own file can always be downloaded in that file’s original format. A free preview cannot be downloaded. Every PDF carries page numbers. Scores made before these rules took effect keep the access they had.

Audio processing and optional providers

Uploads can be up to 95 MB. Each transcription processes up to six minutes per task, for every account. Longer recordings use the first excerpt within that limit, and the app or its price says so before the task starts. By default, transcription runs on ScoreStarling’s servers with a local model and incurs no third-party transcription API fees. If you choose a band transcription, your audio is sent to our partner Mirelo and processed for the credits shown in the price you accept. The credits you spend are ScoreStarling’s and are separate from what we pay Mirelo; a price you accept, or credits held for a task, is not Mirelo’s invoice.

Content and results

You keep any rights you already hold in the content you upload, and you are responsible for having permission to upload, process and use it. You allow us to process and store audio, scores and related files to provide the services you request. We will not publish your work just because you use the service. Automatic transcription can make pitch, rhythm or notation errors; listen and proofread before performing, teaching or publishing. Passing the structure check does not mean the transcription is accurate.

Music you add and copyright

Add only music you made, music in the public domain or music you have permission to transcribe. Scores made from other people’s music are for your own practice and study; do not sell or publish them without the rights holder’s permission. You are responsible for claims that arise from music you add without permission.

If you believe something on the service infringes your copyright, email support@scorestarling.com with the work, where it appears on the service and how to reach you. We remove infringing material promptly and close the accounts of repeat infringers.

Edits, exports and storage

Changes proposed by a model should be previewed first and applied only after you confirm them. Exports are files of a specific revision, subject to the download rules above; anyone holding a temporary download link can get that file until the link expires, so keep links private. The trash hides and restores work and is not permanent deletion; request deletion as described in the privacy notice, and keep any exports you need.

Fair use and changes to the service

Do not circumvent account permissions, usage or upload limits, upload malicious files or persistently disrupt the service. We may restrict abusive accounts, address security issues or pause the service for maintenance. Changes to credits, features or terms that affect existing use will be explained on the service pages; any new paid offering will be clearly disclosed and will require your authorization.

Plugin license and contact

Files in the public plugin package are governed by the MIT license included in the package. That license grants no rights to other users’ audio or work and does not change access to the service or these terms. For questions about the service, accounts or these terms, visit the support page.