Ethics & Editorial Policy

1. The Music Press exists to amplify the stories of musicians and connect music to people’s lives. We are publications of record and reflect the music news, artists and trends of the day as well as championing new music with a focus on quality Australian artists

2. We aim for honesty, fairness, independence, and respect for the rights of others in all of our coverage.

3. Our news reporting will be balanced and sourced, and opinion pieces will be chosen to add to debate or highlight different aspects of an issue rather than to create divides. While we may report on legitimate controversy, we are careful not to seek it, create it or fan it. Opinion pieces will be clearly marked as opinion to distinguish from news reporting.

4. Our publications hold zero tolerance for racism, sexism or homophobia. We will seek to cover female, LGBTQI+ and racially diverse artists and understand our role in actively amplifying their voices in order to begin the process of addressing historical, industrial and societal diversity deficiencies.  

5. We create our own content and plagiarism is not tolerated. Sources will always be credited unless they request otherwise.

6. Specific content provided by or created in direct editorial consultation with an advertiser will be tagged as sponsored content.  

7. Conflicts of interest must be disclosed by any journalist to the publisher and they will be taken off assignments where a conflict exists. Where this is deemed unavoidable a disclosure will be made clearly in the story.

8. Factual errors will be immediately corrected with the story noting the error change. Errors of fact when they occur will be corrected with an amendment to the top of the story outlining the correction that has been made.

9. Images on our sites have been commissioned by us or have been provided to us by the relevant artist, recording or touring company. If you believe that an image you own may have been supplied to us in error or you wish to revoke our permission to use an image, please contact us at copyright@themusic.com.au. If you wish to utilise any of our stories or images for your own purposes, please contact us at that address for licencing details.

COMPLAINTS PROCESS

If you believe that anything on this site reflects a breach of these editorial standards, please contact publisher@themusic.com.au. All complaints will be investigated by our publisher and addressed in writing within ten business days of receipt.

Complainants may appeal at which point a three-person review committee will be appointed by The Music Press Pty Ltd, consisting of media professionals unrelated to The Music Press Pty Ltd. The committee will be convened within 90 days of the appeal and must provide its written response to the complaint to both parties within 30 days of convention. The response will be published on the relevant TheMusic Press Pty Ltd website.

If the complaint is upheld, the committee may set a resolution including:

• Publication of a correction, clarification or apology in a form agreed to by both parties

• Amendment or removal of material

• Commitments to be adhered to by The Music Press Pty Ltd about future coverage of particular people or issues

• Commitments to be enacted by The Music Press Pty Ltd to standards training and education