Terms of Service

Mela is a marketplace where people discover and buy tickets to South Asian events in the United States and Canada. Event organizers (“Organizers”) list events; people who buy tickets (“Buyers”) pay Mela, and Mela pays Organizers their share after the event.

The event itself is run by the Organizer, not by Mela. The Organizer is responsible for the event taking place as described, the venue, the lineup, safety and any age or entry rules.

Mela also lists events it doesn't sell, gathered from public sources such as ticketing sites and organizers' own pages. These are marked with where tickets are sold. When you follow “Get tickets”, you buy from that seller under their terms, and Mela isn't a party to that purchase. We check listings daily, but details can change; confirm them with the seller. Organizers can ask us to correct or remove a listing at any time.

• You sign in with your email address. Keep access to that inbox secure, since anyone who can read it can sign in as you.
• You must be at least 16 to create an account. Some events have their own minimum age, which the venue may check at the door.
• Give accurate information, and don't create accounts for anyone else without their permission.
• We may suspend accounts used for fraud, ticket scalping with bots, abuse of staff or Organizers, or other breaches of these terms.

• The price shown when you choose tickets is the price you pay, including Mela's service fee. Any taxes required by law are shown before you pay.
• When you start checkout we hold your tickets for a short time. If payment isn't completed in that time, the tickets are released to other buyers.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. Mela never sees or stores your full card number.
• Your tickets are QR codes in your Mela account and in your confirmation email. Each code can be scanned once. Don't share it, because whoever scans it first gets in.
• Organizers and venues may refuse entry to anyone who breaks venue rules, and may search bags or check ID.

Refunds depend on the Organizer's refund policy, shown on each event page before you buy. See our Refund Policy.

Tickets are for personal use. Reselling tickets above face value, or buying them with automated tools, isn't allowed, and Organizers may cancel tickets bought that way. Where local law protects resale, we follow that law.

• Fees. Listing is free. For each paid ticket, Mela keeps a service fee of 4% + $0.99 per ticket unless we've agreed a different rate with you in writing. Card processing is included. You choose per event whether the fee is added to the buyer's price or absorbed from your share. Free tickets have no fee.
• Payouts. Mela collects ticket money as the merchant of record and sends your share (ticket revenue minus fees and refunds) to the bank account you connect through Stripe, after the event has taken place. To receive payouts you must complete Stripe's identity checks and agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement.
• Your listings. Event details, prices, lineups and artwork must be accurate, and you must have the rights to the names, images and music you use. We may review, edit for formatting, decline or remove any listing.
• Refunds and cancellations. You choose a refund policy for each event and must honour it. If you cancel an event, every buyer is refunded in full, and those refunds come out of your share. If refunds or chargebacks exceed what we owe you, you agree to repay the difference.
• Your team. You're responsible for the people you add to your organizer account and what they do with it.
• Buyer data. You receive buyer names and emails to run your event. Use them only for that event and for messages buyers have agreed to receive, and follow applicable privacy and anti-spam laws.
• Taxes and permits. You're responsible for venue contracts, permits, insurance, performer payments and taxes on your share.

Events that are illegal where they take place, that promote hate or violence against any group, that sell weapons, drugs or adult content, or that are fraudulent or misleading. We may cancel such events and refund buyers.

We work to keep Mela available and accurate, but the service is provided “as is”. To the extent the law allows, Mela isn't liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for things the Organizer controls, such as changes to the lineup, the venue, or how the event is run. Our total liability for any claim about a ticket is limited to what you paid for it.

Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under consumer protection laws that can't be waived.

We may update these terms. If a change materially affects you, we'll tell you by email or on the site before it takes effect. Continuing to use Mela after that means you accept the new terms.

Contact us at support@melaa.co.