Privacy policy

Effective date: September 2, 2026 · Last updated: September 2, 2026

Who we are

Sound System Culture, Inc. (“Sound System Culture,” “we,” “us”) is a nonprofit corporation based in New York, New York, recognized as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This policy covers the website at soundsystemculture.world and the information we collect when you contact us, donate, volunteer, submit work or apply to a program.

Questions about this policy can be sent to info@soundsystemculture.world.

Our basic position

We collect as little information as we can, we use it only for the purpose you gave it to us for, and we do not sell it. We do not run advertising on this site or in our programs.

Information you give us directly

• Contact messages. If you use our contact form or email us, we receive your name, email address, the topic you selected and your message. Our contact form works by opening your own email application, so your message is sent from your email account to ours — it is not stored on this website.
• Submissions. If you send poems, stories, columns, audio or a show proposal, we receive the work itself plus whatever biographical information you include.
• Program applications. If you apply to an internship or volunteer role, we receive the application details you provide. For applicants who are minors, we require a parent or guardian’s involvement before any information is collected.
• Donations. If you give, we receive your name, contact details and the amount and date of your gift, along with any dedication or restriction you specify.

Information collected automatically

Our web host records standard server log information when you visit — IP address, browser and device type, referring page, and the pages and files requested, with timestamps. This is used for security, troubleshooting and aggregate traffic counts.

This site does not set advertising or tracking cookies of its own. If we add analytics in future, we will use an aggregate, privacy-respecting configuration and update this policy before doing so.

Third-party content and services

Some parts of this site rely on services operated by others, and those services may receive your IP address and technical request information when their content loads:

• Podcast feed and episode audio served from listenandbeheard.net, including a feed-conversion service used to display our current episode list.
• Web fonts delivered by Fontshare.
• Our web host and domain registrar, which operate the servers and DNS for this site.
• Payment processing for donations, handled by a third-party processor. We never receive or store your full card number.
• Podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify, if you follow our links to listen there. Their own privacy policies apply once you leave this site.

How we use information

• To answer your message, review your submission or process your application
• To process, acknowledge and receipt donations, and to meet our recordkeeping and reporting obligations as a nonprofit
• To send updates you have asked to receive, which you can stop at any time
• To operate, secure and improve this website and our programs
• To produce aggregate, non-identifying statistics for our board and funders

We do not use your information for automated decision-making, and we do not create advertising profiles.

Sharing

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information. We share it only:

• with service providers who operate parts of our work on our behalf (hosting, email, payment processing), limited to what they need;
• when you ask us to, or when you submit work for publication or broadcast — in which case we publish the name and biography you supply with it;
• where required by law, or to protect the rights, safety or property of Sound System Culture, our participants or the public;
• in aggregate, non-identifying form, in reports to funders and the public.

Retention

We keep correspondence and submissions for as long as needed to do the work and to maintain our editorial and program records. Donation records are retained as long as required by tax and nonprofit reporting rules. You may ask us to delete information we are not legally required to keep.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us at any time to tell you what information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, or stop sending you updates. Write to info@soundsystemculture.world and we will respond within a reasonable period. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act or the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation; we honor those requests regardless of residency where we reasonably can.

Children

This website is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Our youth programs serve older teenagers, and we involve a parent or guardian in the application process for any participant under 18. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

This site is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection, and we limit access to correspondence and donor records to the small number of people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable measures appropriate to our size.

International visitors

We operate in the United States, and information you send us is processed there. Data protection law in the United States may differ from the law where you live.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy we will revise the “last updated” date above, and for significant changes we will note the change on this page. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Sound System Culture, Inc.
New York, New York, United States
info@soundsystemculture.world