Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 19, 2026

Santa Rosa Records keeps this Privacy Policy for readers, artists, writers, playlist followers, and anyone else who finds their way into our corner of independent music.

About This Privacy Policy

This policy explains how Santa Rosa Records collects, uses, stores, and protects information connected to this website at Privacy Policy. It covers ordinary site visits, contact and submission forms, newsletter or subscription inputs when available, and the technical systems that keep the site running.

We write about music because small scenes matter. That does not mean every click needs to become a permanent file. Our approach is simple: collect what the site needs, use it for the purpose people expect, and avoid turning casual browsing into a surveillance project.

This policy should be read together with our Terms of Service, especially where submissions, artist materials, comments, or other user content are involved. If any part of this policy feels unclear, contact us before sending sensitive personal information.

Third-Party and External Services

Like most independent publishing sites, Santa Rosa Records relies on outside services for parts of the stack. The page you read may pass through hosting systems, content delivery networks, spam-prevention tools, analytics platforms, or future advertising systems before it reaches your screen.

These providers act within their own technical and legal systems. We choose services for practical publishing needs, but we cannot control every downstream system once data moves through a provider’s infrastructure.

Information We Collect and Licensing Terms

The quietest data is the technical kind. When someone visits the site, server logs may record an IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, referring pages, date and time of access, and basic error or performance details.

If you use a contact form, submission form, or similar tool, we collect the information you choose to provide. That may include your name, email address, artist name, label or project details, links to music, press notes, social handles, message content, and any files or references you send.

If subscription inputs are offered, we may collect the email address and preference information needed to send updates. Do not send private material, unreleased files, contracts, or personal data about someone else unless you have permission to share it.

User Content Licensing

Artists and readers keep ownership of the content they submit. By sending user content to Santa Rosa Records, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, edit for formatting, display, distribute, and promote that content in connection with the site and related editorial channels.

In plain terms, if you submit a track description, quote, image, bio, or link for coverage, we need enough permission to review it, publish it if accepted, make it fit the page, and keep the article accessible. You also confirm that you have the rights needed to submit the material.

Cookies and Tracking

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. Some are part of the doorframe of the site; others help us understand how people move through pages or may support advertising if those systems are added later.

You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings. The route differs by browser, but the controls usually live under privacy, security, or site data settings. Blocking every cookie can make some forms, consent tools, or embedded features behave badly.

Purposes of Data Processing

We process information for the everyday work of running an indie music publication: keeping pages online, reviewing submissions, answering messages, checking errors, and improving how the site reads on phones, laptops, and the half-cracked tablet at the merch table.

Site Improvement and Maintenance

Technical logs help us find broken links, loading issues, spam attempts, and pages that need attention. This is maintenance work, not mysticism. If an interview page keeps throwing errors, logs give us a place to start.

Performance Monitoring via Analytics

Analytics may show general traffic patterns and performance problems. We use that information to make editorial and technical decisions, such as improving navigation to Indie Reviews or making submission-related pages easier to find.

Contact and Communication

When you contact us, we use your information to respond, evaluate submissions, coordinate editorial coverage, manage requests, and keep a record of the conversation where needed.

Your Digital Privacy Rights

Your rights may vary depending on where you live, but the core requests are familiar. You can ask what personal information we hold about you, request correction, ask for deletion, object to certain processing, or opt out of non-essential tracking where those choices are available.

If you want to opt out of tracking, start with the cookie controls on the site if shown, then check your browser’s privacy settings. Some browser tools can limit cross-site tracking or clear stored cookies after each session.

Deletion requests are handled with care. We may remove personal contact records, but we may need to keep limited information when required for legal, security, abuse-prevention, or recordkeeping reasons.

Data Retention Periods

We keep personal information only as long as it serves the reason it was collected, unless a longer period is needed for legal, operational, or security purposes. A cold inbox full of old submissions helps nobody.

Technical logs are generally kept for a limited operational period so we can troubleshoot, secure the site, and understand system behavior. Contact and submission records may be retained while we evaluate, respond to, publish, or archive related editorial work.

Subscription information, when collected, is kept while the subscription remains active or until you unsubscribe or request deletion. Published editorial material may remain online as part of the site archive unless removal is required or approved under the applicable terms.

Deletion Routines

We review stored information when practical and remove records that no longer need to be kept. Backups may retain deleted information for a short time until backup cycles replace older copies.

Policy Changes and Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy when the site changes, when new tools are added, or when legal requirements shift. If the change is material, we will update the date at the top of this page and may provide a notice in a visible place on the site.

Small edits may happen too: clearer wording, corrected formatting, or better explanations of existing practices. The latest version on this page is the version that applies going forward.

Privacy work is not glamorous. It is more like sweeping the venue after the last band loads out: necessary, unromantic, and part of taking the scene seriously.