Bloomsbury Music and Sound

INTRODUCTION TO OUR DATA PROTECTION & PRIVACY POLICY

This is our data protection and privacy policy that explains who we are, how we process personal data and, if you are the subject of any of the personal data concerned, what rights you have and how to get in touch with us if you need to.

WHO WE ARE

We are Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. We are the data controller in relation to the personal data processed in accordance with this policy (except where this policy explains otherwise). Our contact and other details are set out at the end of this policy.

This privacy notice is issued on behalf of the Bloomsbury Group so when we mention Bloomsbury, "we", "us" or "our" in this privacy notice, we are referring to the relevant company in the Bloomsbury Group responsible for processing your data.

We are an independent publishing company. We publish books and other publications (including journals and periodicals) in print and digital format and also own and/or operate online publishing platforms in specific subject areas (“Bloomsbury Digital Resources”, “BDRs”). We sell our products both directly to consumers and to business customers (including retailers, professional bodies and entities, and educational institutions and organisations).

We have appointed a data protection officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice, including any requests to exercise your legal rights, please contact the DPO using the details set out below. You may contact the DPO in relation to processing of personal data by any company in the Bloomsbury Group; the DPO acts a central point of contact in relation to data protection matters across the whole group.

THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE COLLECT PERSONAL DATA

We collect and process personal data as follows:

If you are an individual customer of ours or if you have registered individually to set up an account for any purpose via any of our websites or BDRs, or have signed up to receive any of our newsletters

We may collect your individual contact and other information that you give to us in order to communicate with you in relation to access to, and personalisation of, BDRs, as well as to send any newsletters that you have signed up to.

If you use or browse any of our websites, or otherwise participate in any activities via our website

We may collect information on your visits to our website, including content that you look at and how you move around different sections of our website. This is to enable you to participate in activities on our website as selected by you and also for analytics purposes to understand how you and other people use our website so that we can make it more intuitive. We may keep a record of the content on our website that you have clicked on and use that information to target marketing or advertising to you that is relevant to your interests and which we have identified based on information that you have provided or content you have looked at. This may involve the use of cookies, which is explained in our cookie policy.

WHERE WE PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We normally process personal data only in the UK or elsewhere in the EU, or in non-UK or EU countries that are certified as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data.

Where necessary in order to manage our business, we may share relevant personal data with our group companies outside the UK or EU, but only to the extent necessary in order to provide the services concerned.

Where personal data is transferred in relation to providing our services (including where personal data is hosted on our behalf in countries which are not certified as providing an adequate level of protection) we will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that it is subject to appropriate safeguards, such as relying on a recognised legal adequacy mechanism which may include by entering into approved standard contractual clauses relevant to transfers of personal information and that it is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.

SECURITY OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

All personal data processed by us is stored securely (the level of security being appropriate to the nature of the data concerned and the other relevant circumstances).

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our website and any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use appropriate procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.

WHO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL DATA WITH

We may where appropriate share your personal data with:

Appropriate third parties including:

our business partners, customers, suppliers and sub-contractors for the performance of any contract we enter into or other dealings we have in the normal course of business with you or the person that you work for;
our auditors, legal advisors and other professional advisors or service providers;

In relation to information obtained via our website:

analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimisation of our site and subject to the cookie section of this policy.

OTHER DISCLOSURES WE MAY MAKE

We may disclose your personal data to third parties:

In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets subject to the terms of this privacy policy.
If we or substantially all of our assets are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by us about our customers will be one of the transferred assets.
If we are under a duty to disclose or share your personal data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our terms of supply and other agreements with you or the person that you work for; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our business or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection, or credit risk reduction.

THE LEGAL BASIS FOR OUR PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

The legal basis on which we process your personal data is as follows:

Where it is necessary to obtain your prior consent to processing in order for us to be allowed to do it, we will obtain and rely on your consent in relation to the processing concerned (in relation to any processing we are carrying out with your consent, see below for how to withdraw your consent).

Otherwise, we will process your personal data where the processing is necessary:

for the performance of a contract to which you, your institution or your company is a party or in order to take steps at your or your institution’s/ company’s request prior to entering into such a contract;
for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are a subject; or
for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or another person, provided that this will only be in circumstances in which those legitimate interests are not overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms which require protection of personal data.

HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR PERSONAL DATA

We process personal data only for so long as is necessary for the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected, after which it will be deleted or archived except to the extent that it is necessary for us to continue to process it for the purpose of compliance with legal obligations to which we are subject or for another legitimate and lawful purpose.

YOUR RIGHTS

You have the following rights in relation to personal data relating to you that we process:

You may request access to the personal data concerned.
You may request that incorrect personal data that we are processing be rectified.
In certain circumstances (normally where it is no longer necessary for us to continue to process it), you may be entitled to request that we erase the personal data concerned.
Where we are processing your personal data for marketing purposes or otherwise based on our legitimate interests, you may in certain circumstances have a right to object to that processing.
Where we are processing personal data relating to you on the basis of your prior consent to that processing (such as in relation to marketing by email), you may withdraw your consent, after which we shall stop the processing concerned.

To exercise any of your rights (including withdrawing relevant consents or obtaining access to your personal data), you should contact us as set out below. To unsubscribe from any electronic newsletters or other marketing communications, you can click on the unsubscribe link in the relevant communication.

If you have a complaint about any processing of your personal data being conducted by us, you can contact us or lodge a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner.

CONTACTING THE REGULATOR

The Information Commissioner is the supervisory authority in the UK and can provide further information about your rights and our obligations in relation to your personal data, as well as deal with any complaints that you have about our processing of your personal data.

CONTACTING US

Our contact details are:

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square
London
WC1B 3DP
United Kingdom

Company Number 01984336

ICO Registration Number Z7552956

Contact: Data Protection Officer

Email: dataprotection@bloomsbury.com

Phone: +44 (0)20 7631 5000

UPDATES TO THIS POLICY

Any changes we make to our privacy policy in the future will be posted on this page. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to our privacy policy.

DATE OF THIS POLICY

This policy was last updated in February 2025.