Cookie Policy

Last updated: July 5, 2026

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that a website places on your device (computer, tablet, or smartphone) when you visit. They allow the site to recognise your device on subsequent visits, remember your preferences, keep you logged in, and collect information about how you interact with the site. Cookies set by the site you are visiting are called "first-party cookies"; those set by other organisations via content on the page are called "third-party cookies."

Similar technologies — such as pixel tags, local storage, and session storage — work in comparable ways and are also covered by this policy. For brevity, we refer to all of these collectively as "cookies."

2. How We Use Cookies

The Musical Road uses cookies in two contexts:

• The main application (themusicalroad.com): cookies used when you are logged in as a registered artist to operate core functionality and improve your experience.
• Artist promo pages: public-facing release pages generated by artists and shared with their audience. When a visitor opens a promo page, we set a limited first-party cookie to distinguish unique visits from repeat visits. This data feeds directly into the releasing artist's Audience Insights dashboard and is never used to track visitors across unrelated websites.

We do not use third-party advertising or retargeting cookies. We do not place cookies for the purpose of serving behavioural advertisements, and we do not share cookie data with advertising networks.

3. Cookie Categories We Use

3.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the Service to function. Without them, features like logging in, accessing your dashboard, or saving your campaign settings would not work. They do not require your consent.

• Session cookie: created when you log in; stores an encrypted session token that authenticates you with our servers. Expires when you log out or after a configurable idle period (default 30 days for "remember me" sessions).
• CSRF protection cookie: a short-lived token used to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks. Expires at the end of your browser session.
• Cookie-consent cookie: records your cookie preferences so we do not ask again on subsequent visits. Stored for 12 months.

3.2 Preference Cookies

These cookies remember choices you make on the platform to provide a more personalised experience.

• UI theme preference: remembers whether you have selected the dark or light application theme. Stored for 12 months.
• Language / locale preference: stores your preferred language setting if you change the platform default. Stored for 12 months.
• Dashboard layout preference: remembers how you have configured your release and analytics dashboard layout. Stored for 6 months.

3.3 Analytics Cookies

Analytics cookies help us understand how artists use the application and how listeners interact with artist promo pages. All analytics data is collected in a privacy-preserving manner: IP addresses are used only for geolocation (country/region) and are discarded within 24 hours; no individual visitor is identified by name or email.

• Platform analytics cookie: used to measure feature usage within the logged-in application (e.g., which campaign generation steps are completed, how often PDF reports are downloaded). This helps us identify friction points and improve the product. Stored for 6 months.
• Promo-page visitor cookie: set on public artist promo pages when a listener visits. Records a pseudonymous visitor identifier, visit timestamp, and whether the visit resulted in an audio preview play or a download link click. This is the data that powers the Audience Insights dashboard shown to the releasing artist (e.g., unique listeners, country breakdown, device breakdown, referral source). The cookie is first-party, scoped to the promo page domain, and expires after 12 months.

Analytics cookies require your consent where required by applicable law. We ask for this consent via the cookie banner on your first visit.

4. No Third-Party Advertising Cookies

The Musical Road does not use, and has no plans to use, third-party advertising or tracking cookies from ad networks, data brokers, or social media platforms. We will not place retargeting pixels from Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, or similar services. If this ever changes, we will update this policy and seek fresh consent as required.

5. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can control and manage cookies in several ways:

5.1 Cookie Consent Banner

When you first visit The Musical Road, you will see a cookie consent banner. You can accept all cookies, accept only strictly necessary cookies, or customise your preferences by category. You may update your choices at any time by clicking "Cookie Settings" in the footer.

5.2 Browser Settings

Most browsers allow you to view, manage, block, and delete cookies through their settings menus. The exact steps vary by browser:

• Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
• Safari (macOS/iOS): Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data
• Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data

Please note that blocking or deleting strictly necessary cookies will prevent you from logging in or using core features of the Service. Blocking preference or analytics cookies will not impair your ability to use the platform, but some personalisation features may be reset on each visit.

5.3 Opt-Out for Promo-Page Visitors

If you are a listener visiting an artist's promo page (not a registered user), you can decline analytics cookies via the cookie banner displayed on that page. Declining will not affect your ability to preview music or access download links; it will simply mean your visit is not counted in the artist's Audience Insights.

6. Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) setting that sends a signal to websites requesting that your browsing not be tracked. Because there is no universally agreed standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals, we do not currently alter our data collection practices based solely on a DNT header. However, our analytics are privacy-preserving by design (no cross-site tracking, no persistent individual identifiers), which aligns with the spirit of DNT. You can exercise equivalent control via the cookie banner or your browser settings as described in Section 5.

7. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy to reflect changes in the cookies we use, changes in applicable law, or improvements to our privacy practices. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Where required by law, we will seek fresh consent for new categories of cookies.

8. Contact Us

If you have questions about our use of cookies or this policy, please contact us:

• Email: themusicalroad@gmail.com
• Website: themusicalroad.com

For broader privacy questions, please see our Privacy Policy and GDPR Compliance page.