FAQ

Juniper hosts human-made music only, pays artists through a listening-time-based payout model, integrates local record stores directly into the listening experience, and operates as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) with community-governed bylaws designed to protect its mission—modeled after the business structures of Dr. Bronner's, Patagonia, and Ben & Jerry's.

Together, these choices are meant to create a more transparent, ethical, and artist-centered music ecosystem.

A Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) is a legal business structure required to operate according to its stated public mission and governance bylaws, balancing profit with community benefit and ethical responsibility.

This corporate form was introduced into U.S. law beginning in 2010, with advocacy support from organizations such as B Lab, as an alternative to traditional C-Corporations that are legally bound by shareholder primacy—where maximizing shareholder profit is the primary obligation.

Public Benefit Corporations are legally bound to their bylaws and public benefit purpose regardless of who is running the company. In many ways, these bylaws function like a constitution for a business, ensuring long-term mission protection beyond any single leadership team.

This structure sits at the core of a growing ethical business movement. Companies such as Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, and Dr. Bronner's were among the earliest and most visible adopters of this approach, demonstrating that values-driven businesses can scale without abandoning their principles.

Juniper Stream is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), a legal corporate structure established under state law and often referred to informally as a B-Corp.

The term "Certified B Corporation" (or Certified B-Corp) refers to a voluntary certification issued by B Lab, a private nonprofit organization. This certification is separate from the legal PBC structure and is not granted by the government.

Juniper Stream is structured as a PBC and modeled after mission-driven companies commonly associated with the B-Corp movement, such as Dr. Bronner's, Ben & Jerry's, and Patagonia. Like Dr. Bronner's, we have chosen not to pursue private certification through B Lab, as we have ethical concerns with aspects of the certification process and believe mission protection should live first and foremost in a company's legal structure and daily practices, rather than in a badge.

Our focus is on legally protecting our mission, artists, and community through both our corporate structure and our actions. Rather than asking for trust based on a certificate, we prefer to demonstrate our values through what we build and how we operate—and let people decide for themselves.

Juniper believes music is a human cultural artifact—born from lived experience and the full spectrum of human emotion, from pain and suffering to joy, love, and connection. Music is not just sound; it is the processing and sharing of human experience.

For musicians, record stores and streaming platforms are our galleries—the places where people go to encounter art and culture. Just as AI-generated art does not belong in an art gallery alongside masterpieces by Picasso or Dalí, AI-generated music does not belong on streaming platforms or in record stores alongside works created by artists such as The Beatles, Bob Marley, and countless others who made music through human intention, struggle, and expression.

Juniper's decision to host human-made music only is about preserving the integrity of those cultural spaces and protecting the meaning, value, and authorship of music as a human art form.

No. Juniper supports the ethical use of AI and believes it can be a powerful tool for artists.

AI can help across the full spectrum of artist operations—analytics, accounting, tour routing, promotion, and day-to-day management. Used responsibly, these tools can help artists reach listeners more efficiently and spend more time creating.

AI is welcome at Juniper as a tool that helps artists get their music into the world—just not as the artist itself.

Juniper uses a fair-trade payout model based on percentage of listening time. Instead of pooling all streams together and paying fractions of a cent per play, each subscriber's listening is tracked individually, and their subscription revenue is distributed to the artists they actually listen to—proportionally, based on time spent listening.

For listeners, this means your subscription supports only the artists you actually listen to.
For artists, this means you don't need millions of fans to generate revenue—you need real fans.

The goal isn't racking up plays.
It's racking up fans.

This model is designed to return a meaningful and fair share of revenue directly to artists, in the most transparent way we could think of.

Yes. Artists retain full ownership of their work.

Juniper receives only a non-exclusive license to stream approved content on the platform. This license can be revoked at any time upon request, giving artists full control over their music.

No. Juniper does not sell or share subscriber data with third parties.

Juniper is intentionally designed to collect only the minimum data necessary to operate a fair, functional music platform.

We may collect:

• Total listening time (used solely to calculate artist payouts)
• Device information (such as device type, operating system version, and app version)
• Error logs and crash reports (to improve stability and performance)
• Approximate location (used only to show nearby independent record stores)

We do not:

• Access your contacts
• Access your microphone
• Track your activity outside the Juniper app
• Sell, rent, or share your data with third parties

Camera access is optional and used only if you choose to scan QR codes. Juniper does not access your camera unless you explicitly enable this feature.

When a listener streams music on Juniper, they can see which independent record stores carry the vinyl or physical releases of that album or artist. This connects digital listening directly to local retail, making it easy to discover and buy records in the real world.

Record stores are added to Juniper through our Record Store Helm page, which serves as a shared inventory and discovery hub. Artists, labels, managers, and record stores can update which releases are in stock, keeping availability current and visible to listeners.

The goal is simple: turn streaming moments into real-world record store visits and keep independent stores active participants in the modern music ecosystem.