Cookies Policy
This policy explains how we use cookies and similar technologies.
It describes that usage by each relevant BMG group company (“BMG”, “we”, “us” or “our”) in relation to our online, digital or mobile services for which this policy is posted or linked (the “services”). Those services include each of our label-related or artist-related websites, apps, data integration tools and software, as well as any of our other products, services, content, adverts or activities for which this policy is posted or linked.
Our relevant site(s) for the services are referred to below, collectively and individually, as “the site”.
This policy forms part of our Privacy Policy, which also explains which BMG group company operates each service and the types of partners with whom we share data. Just to be clear, this policy does not apply to any BMG group sites for which a different cookies policy is posted or linked from time to time.
About cookies
Cookies are widely used to allow online and mobile sites to function efficiently. A “cookie” is a small text file that (depending on your browser settings) is deposited on the hard drive of your computer, mobile phone, tablet or other smart device when you visit a site. The cookie may be sent back to that site when you visit again and may then be used by the server to identify and track your use of the site.
There are two main types of cookie. A “session cookie” is a temporary cookie that only remains in the cookie file of your device until you leave a website. A “persistent” cookie is a long-term cookie that will be stored by your device until its set expiry date (unless you delete it before the expiry date).
We may also use some other technologies that work in a broadly similar way, such as web beacons, software development kits or locally stored objects.
We refer below to cookies and all such other similar technologies as “cookies”, for short.
Rejecting and deleting cookies
If you object to the use of cookies on the site, most browsers can be configured to alert you to their use or to enable you to reject browser-based cookies. Third parties may use certain special types of cookies (such as flash cookies) that cannot be disabled by configuring browsers, although other methods of preventing or managing such cookies may be available to you (such as via the relevant third-party settings panel). You can also delete cookies already stored on your device.
The site itself may also provide you with a cookie consent tool, in which case you can also set your cookies choices and preferences for the site using that tool (in addition to any other methods of cookie control described below).
If you are in Europe or the UK, further information on rejection and deletion of cookies is provided on www.aboutcookies.org, and for further information on managing behavioural advertising, please visit www.youronlinechoices.com/uk. For our other users, please visit your help or support page for your preferred internet browser for further information on rejection and deletion of cookies.
If, however, you decide to disable or delete any cookies, some parts or features of the site (especially interactive features) may not work properly. Disabling or deleting cookies may also affect your ability to use other online or mobile sites.
Our own cookies
We use the following types of cookies via the site for the following purposes:
- Necessary: enabling core site functionality. Strictly necessary cookies are essential to allow you to move around the site and to use certain site features, such as access to secure areas or provision of appropriate content based on your type of device. We don’t often use necessary cookies, but we may use them where required in that way.
- Analytics: allowing us to analyse site usage. Analytics cookies collect information on how you use the site, so that we can analyse traffic and understand users' interactions to perform analytics, including to analyse, measure and report on usage and performance of the site and marketing content. For this purpose, we may use third-party service providers such as Google, as explained further below.
- Functional: enabling us to personalise your experience of the site. Functional cookies allow the site to remember choices that you make (such as your user name or location) and to provide more personalised features. We may also use them to provide services that you request or to remember changes that you have made to site features that you can customise. The main functional cookies used on the site are certain non-persistent cookies to identify you as you use the site and/or leave it to visit any store associated with the site (the “store”). That helps BMG and our third-party partners to provide you with a good experience when you browse the site and the store and also allows BMG and our third-party partners to improve the site and the store. In particular, where relevant, we may use functional cookies for log-in identification, for load distribution, to store your language settings, and to note that information placed on the site or store has been displayed to you – so that on your next visit to the site or store it does not need to be displayed again.
- Advertising: enabling advertising partners to serve customised online advertising. Advertising cookies allow us, our affiliates and our and their advertising partners to target advertising of products, services or content. Those cookies also facilitate, manage and measure the performance of adverts displayed on or delivered by or through the site. Those advertising partners may also have the capability to track your browsing across sites, apps and social media sites.
- Social media: used when you share content with, or link to or from, social media. Social media cookies are used when you share content using a sharing button or “like” button on the site, or when you link your account or engage with our content on or through a social media site such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Snapchat or TikTok. The social media site will record that you have done that, and the information may be linked to targeted advertising activities.
The cookies do not contain any information that, in itself, personally identifies you and do not provide us with access to the rest of your device. We and such partners may, however, associate the information contained in cookies with personal information that you have provided to us or them separately.
We or such partners might introduce further types of cookie from time to time to improve your experience of the site or the store. If we do so, we or they will provide details of any such usage on the site and/or (as relevant) the store.
If you would like any further information on the cookies that we use, you can contact us at data-protection@bmg.com.
We also use partners’ cookies (including comparable technologies such as web beacons) for analytical and marketing purposes. This is described in further detail in the sections below.
Analytics and marketing
We use technologies to improve the site by analysing user behaviour and user data. That information includes, but is not limited to, the IP address, time and date of access to the site, device ID for a mobile device and cookie ID, as well as technical information about your device, such as the browser and operating system. We also use such data for marketing and retargeting purposes.
The legal basis for such processing is our legitimate interest in analysing the site’s traffic to improve the user’s experience and to undertake data-based marketing and advertising. Where you have given consent to our use of cookies for analytics and marketing purposes, the legal basis for that processing is your consent.
You can opt out of the use of cookies for analytics and marketing purposes using the opt-out function of the relevant cookie provided below.
Alternatively, you can exercise your objection by making the appropriate settings on http://preferences-mgr.truste.com. The website operated by TRUSTe, Inc. of 835 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1905, USA (“TRUSTe”) allows opt-out cookies to disable all ads at once or alternatively to set preferences for each provider individually. Please note that after deleting all cookies in your browser or later use of another browser and/or profile, an opt-out cookie must be set again.
Please note that other sites that may be accessible via the site by clicking on links (such as any associated store hosted by a third-party partner) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. You should check the privacy and cookies policies posted on the relevant third-party sites for further information on such cookies (including details of how to reject or delete such cookies).
Google cookies
The following cookies may be used on the site, in which case each is a service provided by Google LLC of 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA (“Google”).
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web-analysis service that uses cookies to analyse and improve the site on the basis of the site user’s usage pattern. The data accrued in this context may be transmitted by Google for analysis to a server in the USA and stored there. Should personal data be transmitted to the USA, Google has implemented appropriate safeguards. Your IP address will be abbreviated before the analysis of usage statistics, however, so that no conclusions can be drawn about your identity. For this purpose, Google Analytics has been extended on the site to include the code “anonymizeIP”, in order to guarantee an anonymised capture of IP addresses.
Google will process the information so gained in order to evaluate your use of the site, to assemble reports on the site activities for the site operators, and to supply further services connected with website use and internet use.
As set out above, you can configure your browser so that it rejects cookies, or you can prevent the capture of the data generated by cookies and relating to your use of the site (including your IP address) and the processing of such data by Google by downloading and installing the opt-out browser add-onprovided by Google. As an alternative to the browser add-on or if you browse the site from a mobile device, you can use this opt-out link. This will prevent the data collection of Google Analytics within the site (the opt-out link will only work in this browser and only for this domain). If you delete your cookies in this browser, you have to click on the link again.
You will find more detailed information on this matter in the privacy policy for Google Analytics.
Google Ads / Google AdWords conversion tracker
Google AdWords conversion tracking may be used to capture specific customer actions (such as clicking on an advert, page call-up or download) and to analyse them. AdWords Remarketing may be used to display individualised advertising messages to you for our products, services or content on partner websites of Google.
For this purpose both services insert cookies. The data accrued in this context may be transmitted by Google for analysis to a server in the USA and stored there. In the event that personal data are transmitted to the USA, Google has implemented appropriate safeguards.
If you use a Google account, Google may – depending on the settings saved in your Google account – link your web and app browser history with your Google account and use information from your Google account in order to personalise adverts. If you do not wish for this allocation to the Google account, it will be necessary for you to log out before calling up our contact page at Google.
As set out above, you can configure your browser so that it rejects cookies. Additionally, in the cookie settings of Google’s support information, you can prevent Google cookies from being used for advertising purposes.
You can find more detailed information about this in Google’s privacy policy.
Google DoubleClick
DoubleClick uses cookies to serve ads relevant to you. Use of DoubleClick allows Google and its partner sites to serve ads based on previous visits to our or other sites on the internet. If you are in Europe or the UK, please note that the data arising in this context can be transmitted by Google to a server in the USA for evaluation and stored there. In the event that personal data are transferred to the USA, Google has implemented appropriate safeguards.
You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser (as described above). But please note that if you do that, you may not be able to use the full functionality of the site. You can also prevent Google from collecting the data generated by the cookies and relating to your use of the site and from processing such data by Google by downloading and installing the DoubleClick deactivation browser plug-in. As an alternative to the browser plug-in or within browsers on mobile devices, you can disable the “Personalized Advertising” button in Google’s advertising settings. In this case, Google will only display general advertising that has not been selected based on the information collected about you.
We may use the following DoubleClick functionality:
- Bid Manager, which enables users to create campaigns, to set bids on ad spaces online (e.g. a banner) and to evaluate the success of their campaign through reporting features;
- Bid Floodlight, which enables users to track multiple visits from the same browser using a cookie and is used for conversion tracking purposes; and/or
- Ad Exchange, a marketplace for ad spaces online (e.g. a banner), where marketers can purchase targets and optimise their campaigns.
Please refer to Google’s privacy policy for more information.
Google Dynamic Remarketing
Google Dynamic Remarketing uses cookies to display personalised advertising messages on websites that work with Google. Cookies are also used to perform the analysis of website usage as a basis for the creation of interest-based adverts. The data arising in this context can be transmitted by Google to a server in the USA for evaluation and stored there. In the event that personal data are transferred to the USA, Google has implemented appropriate safeguards.
If you use a Google Account, depending on the settings in your Google Account, Google may link your Google web and App browsing history to your Google Account and use information from your Google Account to personalise ads. If you don’t want this association with your Google Account, you’ll need to log out of Google before you can access our contact page.
As described above, you can configure your browser to reject cookies, or you can prevent the collection of data generated by the cookies and related to your use of the site and the processing of such data by Google by accessing the Google advertising settings and setting the personalisation buttons to “Off”. Alternatively, you can opt out of such cookie usage by visiting the TRUSTe website mentioned above and clicking the Google opt-out button.
Please refer to Google’s privacy policy for more information on Dynamic Remarketing.
Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager is used to manage tracking tools and other services, so-called “website tags”. A tag is an element that is stored in the source code of the site in order to record, for example, predefined usage data, such as an IP address. The Google Tag Manager does not itself use cookies and does not collect any personal data. The Google Tag Manager triggers other tags that may collect data. Some of the data are stored on a Google server in the USA. In the event that personal data are transferred to the USA, Google has implemented appropriate safeguards. If deactivation has been made at the domain or cookie level, it will remain in effect for all tracking tags implemented with Google Tag Manager.
For more information, please refer to Google’s privacy policy and Google’s further information about Tag Manager.
Meta cookies
The site may make use of Meta technologies such as the Meta pixel. The Meta pixel is a piece of code that functions by setting and triggering cookies to track users during their interaction with the site, both on and off its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. The pixel gathers site usage data to help to optimise advertising across those platforms, including by measuring effectiveness of ads (e.g. tracking conversions from ads), building targeted audiences for future ads and remarketing to site users who have already taken some kind of action on the site.
For further details about Meta cookies, please see Meta’s cookies policy.
Social media plug-ins
On certain pages of the site or the store we may implement so-called “social media” plug-ins, such as Facebook’s “like” button, Twitter’s Twitter buttons and Google’s “+1” button. When you visit a page that displays one or more of such buttons, your browser will establish a direct connection to the relevant social media server and load the button from there. At the same time the provider of the social media service will know that the relevant page on the site or the store has been visited.
We have no influence on the data that any such social media provider collects on the basis of the buttons. According to the available information, however, if you do not click on the respective buttons, none of your personal data will be collected and stored unless you have logged onto to your social media account. In that case, certain user data (including your IP address at the time) may be collected and linked to the account information already present at the social media service. If you wish to prevent this, please log out of your social media accounts before visiting the site or the store.
In addition, clicking a button may also lead to a collection of certain data, such as your IP address. Social media providers such as Meta, Twitter, Google, Snapchat and TikTok may set cookies as well, unless you have disabled the acceptance and storage of cookies in your browser settings (see above).
We receive no information from social media providers about which social media buttons you may personally have clicked or seen on the site or the store. If at all, we may receive a summarised, non-personalised statistical report on the use of the buttons.
The Meta, Twitter, Google, Snapchat and TikTok privacy policies are available via the following links:
- Meta privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update
- Twitter privacy policy: https://twitter.com/en/privacy
- Google privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Snapchat privacy policy: https://snap.com/en-US/privacy/privacy-policy
- TikTok privacy policy: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/privacy-policy?lang=en
- Other third-party cookies
Other third-party cookies
Various cookies may be set by our third-party partners in connection with the site. In particular:
- Our third-party partners may set cookies as part of the integration of third-party services, such as if Spotify or Apple is integrated into the site.
- Third-party media agencies may also use their own cookies when you interact with the site.
Those third parties are responsible for setting out their own privacy and cookies policies, where you can find out more about their privacy practices and use of cookies.
Changes to this policy
We may modify this policy at any time. We shall notify you of any changes to the policy by posting the modified policy on the site. By then continuing to use the site, you agree to the setting of cookies in accordance with the modified cookies policy.
Last modified: 30 September 2022