Verification & Trust Policy

Verification exists so that an artist deciding where to send their work can tell the difference between a station that is really a station and a page that says it is. It is a check on identity and authority — not a rating, not a recommendation, and not a promise about anyone’s taste or professionalism.

This policy forms part of the Terms of Service.

1. What verification means

A verified badge means one thing: Artist Launcher reviewed evidence that the person or organisation controlling this account or Page is who they say they are, and had the authority to represent it at the time we checked.

Verification does not mean:

• that Artist Launcher endorses or recommends them
• that their work, service or programming is of any particular quality
• that they will respond to you, accept your music, or deliver what they advertise
• that we have audited their finances, audience figures or business practices
• that any partnership or agency relationship exists between them and Artist Launcher

Verification is a statement about identity, not about merit. Judge the work on its own terms.

2. What can be verified

We may verify:

• artist and band accounts — that you are the artist, or authorised to act for them
• Pages — that a station, show, festival, venue, label, publisher, blog, studio or service is real and that you run it
• curator profiles and the discovery channel behind them
• directory listings claimed by the organisation they describe
• service providers offering paid services through the Platform

Verification is per account or Page. It does not transfer when control of either changes hands.

3. What we ask for

We ask for the least that will settle the question, and what that is depends on what you are verifying.

Artists and bands

Usually a link we can check both ways — a distributor or streaming profile you can demonstrably post from, an official site or social account, or a release carrying your credited name. Government identification only where a claim is contested.

Stations, shows, festivals, venues and organisations

Evidence that the organisation exists and that you speak for it — business or society registration, a broadcast licence or association membership, control of the organisation’s domain or email address, or a reply from an address already published on the organisation’s own site.

Curators

Control of the playlist or channel you are curating, and where relevant, the connected account it lives on.

Service providers

Business registration where applicable, and evidence you are authorised to offer the services advertised, including any licence or accreditation your category requires by law.

We may ask for more where a claim is contested, where a Page handles payments, or where an earlier submission was inaccurate. We will always tell you why we are asking.

4. Claiming a listing that is already yours

Our directory includes organisations researched from public sources who never signed up. If one of those listings describes you, you can claim it.

• Tell us which listing is yours and how you are connected to it.
• Verify from an address or domain the listing already publishes, so the check runs against information you controlled before we ever indexed you.
• Once approved, the listing becomes your Page. You control what it says, you can accept submissions through it, and you can correct anything we got wrong.

You can also ask us to correct a listing without claiming it, or to remove it entirely. Removal requests are honoured, do not require you to prove anything, and are permanent — we keep a suppression record so the listing does not return in a later import.

5. How we decide

A person reviews every application. We check whether the evidence establishes identity and authority, whether it is consistent with what the account or Page already says, and whether anything about the application suggests it is being made by someone other than its subject.

We will approve, decline, or come back to you with a specific question. Where we decline, we say why, unless doing so would compromise an investigation or another person’s safety. You may reapply once the reason has been addressed.

Verification decisions are made at Artist Launcher’s reasonable discretion, and meeting every requirement does not oblige us to verify an account where we have grounds to believe it would mislead people.

6. How we handle your documents

Verification material is handled under the Privacy Policy and used for verification alone. It is never published, never shown to other participants, and never used for marketing or matching.

• Access is limited to the people carrying out the review.
• Identity documents are deleted once the decision is made. We keep the outcome and the date, not the document.
• Where we must keep a record for legal or fraud-prevention reasons, we keep the minimum for the minimum time.
• You may ask what we hold, and ask us to correct or delete it, as set out in the Privacy Policy.

7. Losing verification

We may suspend or revoke verification where:

• the information it was granted on turns out to be inaccurate or has since changed
• control of the account or Page has moved to someone else
• the account is used to impersonate or mislead
• there is a serious or repeated breach of the Terms or the Community & Content Guidelines
• we are required to by law

We will tell you when we remove a badge and why, except where notice would compromise an investigation. Removing verification does not by itself remove the account or Page.

8. Disputes

If you believe an account or Page is verified when it should not be — including one impersonating you or your organisation — write to founders@artistlauncher.com with the account concerned and your connection to it. Impersonation reports are prioritised.

If your own verification was declined or revoked and you think we were wrong, reply to our notice with what you think we misread. A person will look at it again.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Platform changes. Material changes are reflected in the “Last updated” date above. Where a change would affect verifications already granted, we will say so.