Cookie and Privacy Policy

Making Music is committed to protecting your personal information when you are using our services. This Privacy Policy relates to our use of any personal information we collect from you via the following channels:

  • The Making Music website (www.makingmusic.org.uk)
  • Social media channels (for example Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud)
  • By phone (for example, if you call us to request a service or for advice)
  • Email (either person-to-person or via mass-mailing tools such as CiviMail in the case of our e-newsletters)
  • By post (for example, if you send us a joining form or DBS request).
  • In person (for instance at events or conferences)

We are committed to safeguarding your personal information. Whenever you provide personal  (for example your email address) or sensitive (for example, your passport number for a DBS check) information, we are legally obliged to use your information in line with all laws concerning the protection of personal information, including The General Data Protection Regulation 2018 .


At Making Music we collect different types of information about our users and members for four main reasons:

  1. To provide personalised services and features, such as access to resources and tools for members and member groups.
  2. To help us to monitor and improve the services we offer and projects we deliver.
  3. To sell advertising space on the site (this helps us keep membership fees down).
  4. Where we have your permission, to market services (for example, through the mailing labels service).

Making Music is a Data Controller under the UK Data Protection Act 2018. Making Music’s Data Protection Officer is the Chief Executive who can be contacted at Making Music, 8 Holyrood Street, London SE1 2EL.
Below you can find out more detail about what data we gather, for what reason and how it is used.


How we use your information – collecting information through the website 

We collect information from the website:

  • When you register on the website or become a member of Making Music
  • When you submit information to the website (e.g. on your group profile or personal preferences page)
  • Through cookies
  • If you choose to reveal information in postings.

Registering on our website 

To register on the website the minimum information we need is your name, email address and a password. Depending on why you are registering you may also need to provide extra information.

Group members

If you are registering a music group for membership with Making Music you must provide:

  • Your name, email address, postal address and a password
  • The name of your group, an email address for your group and a post code for you group. If you are applying for Full Membership we also need a copy of your groups governing document
  • We will use these details for the administration of your membership and your insurance policy with us with us (if applicable) 
  • If you take out an insurance policy with us we will pass you details to Advisory Insurance Brokers Limited and Covea for the administration of insurance policies. 

We will also ask for additional information about your group and its activities. This information is not required. Some of this information will be used so the service can be provided as designed and to help us tailor our benefits and services to your music group. Some of the data is publically available via your group profile page. It is made clear on the joining form which information is publically available. 

In addition to the above information we will also ask you about your personal communication preferences (see Communication Preferences below). 

In some cases your email address will be used to help an individual using a service on our website to contact you directly. Your email address will never be made available to the individual using the service. The contact will be made through our website with your details hidden at all times. These services are: Group Profile page contact form and the Request to borrow Sheet Music request form.

Communication Preferences 

Emails: When you register for the website we will also ask you to select which topics you are interested in and would like to receive emails about. These allow us to personalise services for you.
After you have registered we may send you emails based on these preferences. Newsletters may be personalised based on the topics you are interested in. At any time you can decide not to receive these emails and will be able to 'unsubscribe' through a link at the bottom of any email.

Third party advertising: When you register for the website you will be asked if you would like to hear from selected third parties by post. Any third parties will always be related to music and music making. We will only pass your details if you have given us permission to do so. We only pass details to third parties in a single use format and not for the third party to store. At any time you can decide not to receive these third party mailings by contacting us directly or by updating you details via our website (see below). 

Making Music Group Representatives (MM Group Reps): If you are an MM Group Rep for one of our member groups you can set your communication preferences as described above. Regardless of these communication preferences we will send you some emails throughout the year that are essential to your role as MM Group Rep and for ensuring we can administer the group’s membership effectively. These will be:

  • Emails to notify you of Making Music board elections and the Making Music AGM
  • Emails about membership and insurance (if applicable) renewals
  • Emails about updating your personal and groups contact details 
  • Three emails a year to update you on key membership benefits and services available to your group. 

Group Treasurers: If you are listed as the treasurer for one of our member groups you can choose your communication preferences as described above. Regardless of these communication preferences we will also send you emails about your group’s membership and insurance renewal (if applicable).

Webforms 

There are forms on our website that you might complete and submit information through whilst logged into our website. If you provide information we do not already hold on you when completing a form we will collect and store that information. We will use the data to help us administer and manage the activity the form directly relates to. This might include contacting you or passing your details to related third parties that are essential for managing the activity or delivering the service. If the new information you have provided can also be used for essential administration of your membership with us we may use the data for this purpose. 

  • Contact forms:    
    • For queries from individuals 
    • For umbrella organisation 
    • For Corporate membership queries
  • Forms related to services that we provide:  
    • Orchestra Tax relief service registration
    • Subsidy applications 
    • Event registration 
    • Requesting a DBS check
  • Forms related to projects we deliver:
    • Adopt a Composer: Group application form
    • Adopt a Composer: Composer application form
    • Philip & Dorothy Green Young Artists 
    • Selected Artists application.

Use of children's data

We do not knowingly collect or store any personal information about children under the age of 16

Non registered website users submitting information through our website 

There are forms on our website that you can complete and submit information without having to register as a user on our website. If you complete one of these forms we will collect and store the data you submit in the form. We will only use the data to helps us administer and manage the activity the form directly relates to. This might include contacting you or passing your details to related third parties that are essential for managing the activity or delivering the service. These forms are: 

  • Request a joining pack  
  • Contact forms:    
    • For queries from individuals 
    • For umbrella organisation 
    • For Corporate membership queries
  • Forms related to services we provide: 
    • Event registration 
    • Requesting a DBS check
  • Forms related to projects we deliver: 
    • Adopt a Composer: Group application 
    • Adopt a Composer: Composer application 
    • Philip & Dorothy Green Young Artists 
    • Selected Artists application.

How we use your information - submitting details by post, email, phone, online chat or in person

If you submit information to us by; post, email, phone and through online chat we will store and use that information for the purposes of processing the query or activity you contacted us about. If the information you have provided can also be used for essential administration of your membership with us we may use the data for this purpose. 

We sometimes collect information in person at events. This will normally be your name, email address, postal address, phone number and a website. We usually collect this information so we can register you on our website and or add you to a mailing list. The exact purpose will made clear at the point we collect the information, and we will only collect and use the information with your consent.  


Updating your personal information

If you are registered as a user on our website we offer a 'Dashboard' page where you can update your personal information at any time, and change your marketing preferences. You can get to this page from any page on the site – simply click on the red 'Dashboard' button on the right-hand side of your screen when you are logged in. You can also contact us directly (see below).

If you are not registered as a user on our website you can contact us at info@makingmusic.org.uk or call us on 020 7939 6030 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) to update your personal information. 


Who we share data with

For the effective delivery of some of our services we are required to share your data with other organisations. We will only ever share this data in relation to the delivery of the service and not for any other purposes. Who we will share the information with will be made clear as part of our delivery of the service. 

Any other organisations who access your information in the course of providing services on our behalf will be governed by strict contractual restrictions to make sure that they protect your information and keep to data-protection and privacy laws which apply. We may also independently audit these service providers to make sure that they meet our standards. We may use service providers to help us run this site (or services available on the site), some of whom may be based outside the EEA.

We will not share your personal information with others for marketing purposes unless you have given us your permission (e.g. for the Direct Mailing Service) . If we have your permission, we will share your information only with other organisations we have chosen carefully.
If you attend an event organised by an event partner, data may be shared for event administration purposes.

We may make other organisations' services available, through our site, although we are not necessarily operating these. We process any information which we collect when you access a service provided by another organisation under this privacy policy. Information these other organisations collect is governed by their own privacy policies.

We can access and release personal information to keep to relevant laws and government requests, to operate our systems properly and to protect both us and our users.

Some of our webpages use plug-ins from other organisations (such as the 'Facebook Recommend' function). These other organisations may use information about your visit to our website on their pages. If you browse these pages while still also logged in to your account with us, information they collect may be connected to your account on their site. For more information on how these organisations use information, please read their privacy policies.

To assist us in our marketing, in addition to the data that you provide to us if you register, we may also obtain data from trusted third parties to help us understand what you might be interested in. This 'profiling' information is produced from a variety of sources, including publicly available data (such as your group's website) or from sources such as Google Analytics.


How long we will keep your data 

Our data retention policy is to review all data held on individuals at least every two years and remove data where we no longer have a legitimate reason to keep it.

Where you have withdrawn your consent for us to use your data for a particular purpose (e.g. unsubscribed from a mailing list) we may retain some of your data for up to two years in order to preserve a record of your consent having been withdrawn. 


What rights do you have?

Under the GDPR, you have the following rights over your data and its use: 

  •  The right to be informed about what data we are collecting on you and how we will use it
  • The right of access - you can ask to see the data we hold on you 
  • The right to rectification - you can ask that we update or correct your data
  • The right to object - you can ask that we stop using your data for a particular purpose
  • The right to erasure - you can ask us to delete the data we hold on you
  • The right to restrict processing - you can ask that we temporarily stop using your data while the reason for its use or its accuracy are investigated 
  • Though unlikely to apply to the data we hold and process on you, you also have rights related to portability and automated decision making (including profiling)
  • You can find out more about your rights on the Information Commission’s Office website.

If you have any questions about how we may use your data, requests related to your rights or wish to make a complaint please contact the Data Protection Officer at Making Music, 8 Holyrood Street, London SE1 2EL or by email info@makingmusic.org.uk.

All queries and complaints will be dealt with by the Data Protection Officer, and will be responded to within 30 days at the latest.

If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint was handled, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office.


Use of Cookies

What are 'cookies'?

'Cookies' are small text files that are stored by the browser (for example, Internet Explorer) on your computer or electronic device. They allow websites to 'remember' you so that they can store things like user preferences and make the website quicker and easier for you to use.

Without cookies, many things on websites would not be able to work: for example, without cookies, if you logged in to the Making Music website to view restricted content you would have to log in again every time you looked at a different page.

How does the Making Music website use cookies?

A visit to a page on the Making Music website may generate the following types of cookie:

  • Registration and preferences cookies
  • Anonymous analytics cookies
  • Anonymous advertising cookies.

Registration and preferences cookies

When you register with the Making Music website, we generate cookies that let us know whether you are signed in or not. Our servers use these cookies to work out which account you are signed in with, and if you are allowed access to a particular service. It also allows us to associate any comments you post with your username. If you have not selected 'keep me signed in', your cookies get deleted when you either close your browser or shut down your computer.

Anonymous analytics cookies

Every time someone visits our website, software provided by other organisations (Google Analytics and Drupal) generate 'anonymous analytics cookies'.

These cookies can tell us whether or not you have visited the site before. Your browser will tell us if you have these cookies and, if you don't, we generate new ones. This allows us to track how many individual users we have, and how often they visit the site. We use them to gather statistics, for example, the number of visits to a page, to help us identify if visitors would benefit from more information on a particular area.

Anonymous advertising cookies

These cookies allow us to know how many people have seen or clicked on an advert on the Making Music website. We also use cookies to help us use targeted advertising. We may also combine these cookies with data provided by other organisations (Google Analysics and Google Adwords) to target our advertising elsewhere on the internet.

How do I turn cookies off?

It is usually possible to stop your browser accepting cookies, or to stop it accepting cookies from a particular website. However, we cannot tell if you are signed in without using cookies, so you would not be able to post comments and you may have problems using or accessing other parts of the Making Music website (such as your dashboard). 

All modern browsers allow you to change your cookie settings. You can usually find these settings in the 'options' or 'preferences' menu of your browser. To understand these settings, the 'Help' option in your browser may provide useful details.

Useful links

You can find out more about cookies and their use on the internet from www.allaboutcookies.org.


About our advertising

Our website and emails sometimes contain links to other websites from which we may earn revenue. Where adverts are shown, these will be clearly marked (with the word 'Advertisement' above or below). The content of adverts shown is moderated by us, but we do not vouch for any claims made within them, nor does their display on the website or in emails reflect any specific recommendation from Making Music. If you feel that an advert shown on our website or in our email is dishonest, misrepresentative or inappropriate, please contact us at info@makingmusic.org.uk.


Changes to the privacy policy

Should we elect to change our privacy policy we will post the changes here. Where the changes are significant, we may also choose to email all our registered users with the new details. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent to make these changes.