Privacy Policy

Last updated: 09 July 2026

Who we are

The Vinyl Historian (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates this website.

For data protection purposes, we are the data controller of personal information collected via this website.

What is the purpose of this document?

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling personal information responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and your rights under data protection laws. It also explains the choices you have, including how to unsubscribe from marketing or newsletter emails.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Please check this page occasionally to see any changes.

The personal information we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal information:

Information you provide to us

  • Name / Username: If you choose to provide it when subscribing, filling out forms, or leaving comments.

  • Email address: For newsletter subscriptions, site updates, or when you contact us directly.

  • User Content: Comments, forum posts, or research contributions you choose to submit on the site.

Information collected automatically

  • Technical data: Including your IP address, browser type and version, device information, operating system, time zone settings, and approximate geographic location.

  • Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, specific clicks, user journeys, and referral sources (how you found our site).

Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies for site functionality, security, analytics, measurement, and advertising. This includes tools provided by third parties such as Google Analytics (GA4), Microsoft Clarity, GetClicky, and the Meta Pixel.

These technologies collect data such as behavioural metrics, heatmaps, session replays, and unique identifiers. Where required by law, we request your explicit consent via our cookie banner before placing non-essential tracking cookies on your device. We do not intentionally collect special category data (such as health, ethnicity, or political beliefs).

How we collect your personal information

We collect personal information when you:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter or email updates.

  • Interact with historical archives, forms, or comment sections on the site.

  • Contact us directly via email or our social media channels.

  • Browse the website (via automated cookies and performance tracking tools).

We may also receive limited technical data from service providers that support our infrastructure, such as email delivery networks, hosting providers, and analytics platforms.

How we use your personal information

We use your data for the following lawful pathways:

1) To run, optimise, and protect the website

Monitoring traffic and behaviour to improve our historical content, user experience, and site security.

  • Lawful basis: Legitimate interests (operating a secure, functional publication) and consent (where required for tracking cookies).

2) Newsletter and editorial updates

Sending you occasional emails regarding music history articles, deep-dives, site updates, or related features you have opted into.

  • Lawful basis: Consent. You can withdraw your consent at any moment by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link in any email or messaging mercury@thevinylhistorian.com.

3) To respond to research and general enquiries

Replying to direct emails, corrections, or historical submissions you send us.

  • Lawful basis: Legitimate interests (responding to reader feedback and maintaining accurate editorial output).

Analytics, Advertising, and Commercial Partners

We partner with specialised third-party services to keep the site commercially viable and to understand our audience. These partners may place their own cookies or process technical identifiers:

  • Google Analytics (GA4) & GetClicky: Used to evaluate anonymous reader behaviour, popular eras/articles, and overall traffic patterns.

  • Microsoft Clarity & Microsoft Advertising: We use these tools to capture user interaction through behavioural metrics, heatmaps, and session replays. This helps us optimise site layout, improve navigation, and detect fraud or security vulnerabilities.

  • Meta Pixel & Meta Business Tools: Used to track user activity on our site to measure the performance of external promotions and to build targeted "lookalike" or custom audiences for relevant advertising on Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram). This constitutes behavioural profiling, which you may opt out of at any time.

  • Affiliate Marketing Partners: We may feature affiliate links to third-party marketplaces (such as music retailers, book publishers, or equipment platforms). If you click these links, third-party cookies track your journey to allocate commissions. This process runs independently of our internal tracking and is subject to the partner's privacy policy.

  • Programmatic Ad Networks: If display advertising is running on the site, third-party ad networks use tracking parameters to deliver personalised ads based on your broader browsing habits. You can manage or disable this personalisation through your browser settings or standard ad-choice portals.

We do not sell your personal data or email addresses to third parties.

International data transfers

Some of our technology providers are located outside the UK (for example, in the United States). Whenever your personal information is transferred internationally, we ensure that a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by utilising Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent legal mechanisms recognised under UK data protection law.

Data retention

We hold your data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the tasks it was gathered for:

  • Newsletters: Active until you choose to unsubscribe, at which point you are removed from active distribution logs.

  • Site Comments & Forum Posts: Retained indefinitely to preserve the historical context of the discussion threads, unless you request deletion.

  • Enquiries & Research Correspondence: Kept as long as required to resolve the query and maintain accurate editorial records.

Your Global Privacy Rights

While we are governed by UK data protection law (UK GDPR), we believe in giving all our global readers control over their data. Depending on where you live, you possess some or all of the following statutory rights regarding your personal information:

  • The right to access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

  • The right to rectification: You can ask us to correct or complete any inaccurate personal data.

  • The right to erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You can request that we wipe your data under specific conditions.

  • The right to restrict or object to processing: You can object to our reliance on legitimate interests as a legal basis, and explicitly object to direct marketing or behavioural profiling.

  • The right to data portability: You can request that we transfer your structured data to another provider.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at mercury@thevinylhistorian.com. If you are a UK or EU resident and are unsatisfied with our response, you also have the legal right to lodge a formal complaint with your local data protection authority (such as the UK Information Commissioner’s Office).

Complaints

If you feel your data is being handled incorrectly, please reach out to us first so we can put it right. If you remain unsatisfied, you retain the legal right to lodge a formal complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s supervisory authority for data protection.

Contact details