The Meridian Awards

Privacy Policy

Version 1.1

The Meridian Awards Ltd ("Meridian", "we", "our" or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and processing your Personal Data fairly, lawfully and transparently.

This Privacy Policy explains what Personal Data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and your rights under applicable data protection laws, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

By accessing or using the Website, or submitting a Submission to the Awards, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:

Awards means The Meridian Awards programme, including all award categories, competitions, initiatives and associated activities organised by Meridian.

Entrant means any individual or organisation that submits, or intends to submit, a Submission to the Awards.

Judge means an individual authorised by Meridian to assess eligible Submissions.

Meridian, we, our or us means The Meridian Awards Ltd, a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 17298148.

Personal Data means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, as defined by applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Submission means any information, recording, musical work, audiovisual work, image, artwork, photograph, biography, lyric, document, metadata, declaration or other material submitted to Meridian in connection with the Awards.

Website means www.themeridianawards.com, together with any associated subdomains, web pages, online portals, judging platforms and digital services owned or operated by Meridian.

You or your means any individual or organisation accessing or using the Website or submitting a Submission.

2. Who We Are

The Meridian Awards Ltd is the data controller responsible for the Personal Data collected through this Website.

Company Name: The Meridian Awards Ltd

Company Number: 17298148

Registered Office:

71 to 75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom

Email: support@themeridianawards.com

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the way we process your Personal Data, please contact us using the email address above.

3. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with Meridian, we may collect the following categories of Personal Data.

Personal Details

This may include:

Applicant's or representative's name
Artist, band or project name
Email address
Country of residence or operation
Relationship to the Submission (for example, artist, manager, label representative or publicist)

Submission Information

To administer the Awards, we may collect information relating to your Submission, including:

Title of the submitted work
Release type
Release date
Genre(s)
Streaming links
Award categories entered
Creative contributor information
Artist statements
Lyric documents
AI disclosures
Submission declarations

Uploaded Materials

Depending on the category entered, you may upload one or more of the following:

Audio recordings
Immersive audio files
Cover artwork
Artist photographs
Lyrics
Supporting documentation
Other promotional or contextual materials relevant to the Submission

Ownership of all copyright and other intellectual property rights in uploaded creative works remains with the Entrant, except where otherwise expressly agreed in writing. The rights granted to Meridian in relation to Submissions are governed by our Submission Licence Agreement.

Payment Information

Entry fees are processed securely by Stripe.

Meridian does not collect, process or store your payment card details.

We may receive limited payment information from our payment provider for the purpose of administering the Awards, including:

Payment status
Transaction reference
Amount paid
Billing country

4. How We Collect Information

We collect Personal Data when you:

Submit a Submission to the Awards
Complete forms on the Website
Subscribe to newsletters or marketing communications
Contact Meridian by email or through the Website
Visit or interact with the Website
Accept or manage your cookie preferences
Interact with embedded media or third-party content available through the Website

Certain technical information may also be collected automatically through cookies, analytics technologies and similar tools. Further information can be found in our Cookie Policy.

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your Personal Data only where necessary to operate the Website, administer the Awards, fulfil our legal obligations and improve our services.

Depending on the circumstances, we may use your information to:

Administer and process Submissions
Verify eligibility for the Awards
Communicate with Entrants
Process entry fees and confirm payment
Administer the judging process
Publish shortlisted Entrants, finalists and winners
Promote the Awards in accordance with our Submission Licence Agreement
Improve the Website and our services
Protect the integrity and security of the Awards
Detect and prevent fraud, misuse or unauthorised activity
Comply with legal and regulatory obligations
Respond to enquiries and requests for support
Send marketing communications where you have chosen to receive them

We will only process your Personal Data for purposes that are compatible with those described in this Privacy Policy or where otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

6. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), Meridian processes Personal Data on one or more of the following legal bases.

Performance of a Contract

We process Personal Data where it is necessary to administer Submissions, process entry fees and fulfil our contractual obligations in connection with the Awards.

Legitimate Interests

We process Personal Data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. These legitimate interests include:

Operating and improving the Awards and the Website
Maintaining the security and integrity of our systems
Detecting and preventing fraud, misuse and unauthorised activity
Communicating with Entrants
Administering the judging process
Promoting the Awards in accordance with our Submission Licence Agreement
Improving our services and user experience

Consent

Where required by law, we rely on your consent to:

Send marketing communications
Place non-essential cookies and similar technologies
Process certain optional information that you choose to provide

You may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before your consent was withdrawn.

Legal Obligation

We may process Personal Data where necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations, including accounting, taxation and other applicable legal requirements.

7. Marketing Communications

If you choose to receive marketing communications from Meridian, we may contact you regarding:

Award announcements
Submission windows and deadlines
Results and winner announcements
Events and industry news
Opportunities relevant to artists and music professionals
Meridian services, initiatives and future projects

You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our emails or by contacting Meridian directly.

We will never sell your Personal Data to third parties for marketing purposes.

8. Payments

Entry fees for the Awards are processed securely through Stripe.

Payment card information is entered directly into Stripe's secure payment environment and is never collected, processed or stored by Meridian.

Meridian receives only the limited transaction information reasonably necessary to verify successful payment, administer the Awards and maintain appropriate financial records.

For further information about how Stripe processes payment information, please refer to Stripe's own Privacy Policy.

9. Uploaded Creative Materials

Entrants retain ownership of all copyright and intellectual property rights in their Submissions.

Creative materials are collected and processed solely for purposes connected with the administration of the Awards, including:

Administration of the Awards
Eligibility verification
Judging
Shortlisting
Winner announcements
Promotion of the Awards in accordance with our Awards Entry Terms and Conditions and Submission Licence Agreement

All Submissions are stored securely and are accessible only to authorised Meridian personnel and authorised Judges, where necessary for the administration of the Awards.

The rights granted to Meridian in relation to Submissions are governed exclusively by our Submission Licence Agreement.

10. Sharing Your Information

Meridian shares Personal Data only where necessary to operate the Website, administer the Awards, comply with legal obligations or deliver our services.

Depending on the circumstances, your Personal Data may be shared with:

Meridian directors
Authorised Judges
Payment providers
Professional advisers, including accountants and legal advisers
Technology providers supporting the operation and security of the Website

Authorised Judges receive only the information necessary to evaluate Submissions.

Meridian does not sell Personal Data to advertisers, sponsors or other third parties.

From time to time, Meridian may share information about sponsors, partners or promotional opportunities with Entrants where relevant to the Awards. However, Meridian will not share an Entrant's Personal Data with sponsors or commercial partners without the Entrant's consent or another lawful basis for doing so.

11. International Data Transfers

Meridian operates the Awards internationally.

Authorised Judges may be located outside the United Kingdom and may securely access relevant Submissions through Meridian's controlled judging platform and secure storage systems.

Where Personal Data is transferred internationally, Meridian will take appropriate technical, organisational and contractual safeguards to ensure that such information remains protected in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.

12. Data Security

Meridian takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect the Personal Data entrusted to us.

These measures include, where appropriate:

Access-controlled secure storage infrastructure
Restricted administrator access
Encrypted communications
Secure payment processing
Routine monitoring of system security

Access to Submissions and associated Personal Data is limited to authorised Meridian personnel and authorised Judges where necessary for the administration of the Awards.

Although no online system can guarantee absolute security, Meridian takes reasonable steps to protect Personal Data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

13. Data Retention

Meridian retains Personal Data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law.

Our current retention periods are as follows:

Information	Retention Period
Submissions	Three years after the relevant Awards cycle
Shortlisted and winning Submissions	Retained indefinitely as part of Meridian's historical archive
Financial and accounting records	Six years
Marketing subscriptions	Until you unsubscribe or withdraw your consent
Website analytics	In accordance with the applicable analytics platform retention settings
General enquiries	Two years

Where required by law, or where reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims, certain information may be retained for longer.

14. Your Rights

Subject to applicable data protection legislation, you may have the right to:

Access your Personal Data
Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data
Request deletion of your Personal Data
Request restriction of processing
Object to certain types of processing
Receive a copy of your Personal Data in a portable format, where applicable
Withdraw your consent where processing relies upon consent
Lodge a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority

To exercise any of these rights, please contact Meridian at:

support@themeridianawards.com

Meridian may request reasonable information to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

15. Children's Privacy

Entrants under the age of 18 may submit a Submission only where the required consent of a parent or legal guardian has been obtained.

If Meridian becomes aware that Personal Data has been collected from a minor without the necessary consent, we may remove that information and withdraw the relevant Submission, where appropriate.

16. Cookies and Analytics

The Website uses cookies and similar technologies to improve functionality, enhance user experience and understand how visitors interact with the Website.

These technologies may include:

Google Analytics
Google Search Console
Meta Pixel
LinkedIn Insight Tag

Meridian may also introduce additional analytics, advertising or functionality technologies from time to time where appropriate.

Where required by law, non-essential cookies and similar technologies will only be activated after you have provided your consent.

Further information about the cookies and technologies used on the Website, together with details of how you can manage your preferences, can be found in our Cookie Policy.

17. Third-Party Services and Embedded Content

The Website may contain links to, or embedded content from, third-party websites, platforms or services, including music streaming services, social media platforms, video providers and payment providers.

These third-party services operate independently of Meridian and may collect Personal Data in accordance with their own privacy policies and terms of use.

Meridian has no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites or services.

We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through the Website.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

Meridian may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in applicable legislation, technology, our services or the way we process Personal Data.

The most recent version of this Privacy Policy will always be published on the Website, together with its effective date and version number.

Where required by applicable law, or where we consider it appropriate to do so, we will notify users of material changes to this Privacy Policy.

19. Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or how we process your Personal Data, please contact:

The Meridian Awards Ltd