Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Five AM Music (“Five AM”, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, discloses and protects personal information when you visit fiveam.music and related pages, contact us, submit music, create or use an account, or buy products through our store. We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 (New Zealand) and the Information Privacy Principles under that Act. Questions: hello@fiveam.music.

1. Who we are

Five AM is an independent music company based in Aotearoa New Zealand. For the purposes of the Privacy Act 2020, Five AM is the agency that controls how personal information collected through this website is used. Our privacy contact is: hello@fiveam.music (mark your message “Privacy”).

2. Scope

This policy applies to personal information collected through our website, online forms, artist/staff logins, email, and our online store. It does not cover third-party websites or apps we link to (for example Spotify, Instagram or payment pages operated by Stripe), which have their own privacy policies.

3. Personal information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Identity and contact details: name, email address, phone number, and similar details you provide.
• Correspondence: messages, attachments and other content you send via contact forms, email or submit-music forms (including links to demos or profiles).
• Account information: login credentials and profile details for staff, artists or other authorised users of secure areas of the site.
• Order and fulfilment information: billing and shipping name and address, order contents, amounts, currency, fulfilment and tracking status, and related notes. Payment card details are collected and processed by our payment provider (Stripe); we do not store full card numbers on our systems.
• Technical and usage data: IP address, device/browser type, pages viewed, approximate location derived from IP, referring URLs, and similar analytics or security logs.
• Security / bot-prevention data: where enabled, tokens and related signals from bot-prevention tools on forms.

We generally collect information directly from you. We may also receive information from payment, hosting, email delivery, analytics or authentication providers acting on our behalf, and from publicly available sources where relevant to our business (for example public artist profiles you point us to).

4. How we use personal information

We use personal information to:

• operate, secure and improve the website and our services;
• respond to enquiries and manage music submissions or business opportunities;
• create and administer accounts, authenticate users, and send service messages (including password resets);
• process, fulfil and support orders, including shipping, returns where applicable, fraud prevention and customer support;
• send marketing or updates where you have opted in or where otherwise permitted by law (you can unsubscribe at any time);
• comply with legal, accounting and regulatory obligations; and
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

We only collect and use personal information for lawful purposes connected with our functions and activities, and only where the information is reasonably necessary for those purposes (Privacy Act 2020, IPPs 1–4).

5. Music submissions and demos

If you submit music, links or related materials, we will use that information to review and respond to your submission. Submitting material does not create any obligation on Five AM to reply, sign, release or commercially exploit your work. We treat submissions as confidential for review purposes, but please do not send sensitive personal information you do not want us to hold. Keep copies of anything you send.

6. Payments and store data

Online payments are processed by Stripe. Stripe may collect identity, payment and fraud-prevention information under its own privacy notice. We receive limited order and payment status information needed to fulfil your purchase and provide support. Shipping addresses and order details are used to deliver products and communicate about your order.

7. Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies as described in our Cookie Policy. These help the site function (including secure sessions), remember preferences, and understand usage. Where required by law for visitors from certain jurisdictions, we will obtain consent for non-essential cookies.

8. Sharing personal information

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose personal information to:

• Service providers who process information on our instructions, such as website hosting and infrastructure, database and authentication, payments (Stripe), transactional email, and bot protection;
• Professional advisers (lawyers, accountants) where needed;
• Delivery / logistics partners where needed to ship physical goods; and
• Authorities where required or authorised by law, or to protect our rights, users or the public.

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate confidentiality and privacy safeguards.

9. Overseas storage and transfers

Some of our providers store or process information outside New Zealand (including in Australia, the United States, the European Economic Area or other locations where those providers operate). Where personal information is disclosed overseas, we take reasonable steps consistent with the Privacy Act 2020 (including IPP 12) so that it is protected to a comparable standard, for example through contractual arrangements and provider security practices.

10. Retention

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably needed for the purposes set out in this policy, or as required by law (for example tax and transaction records). Form submissions, account records and order history may be retained for operational, legal and accounting periods and then securely deleted or de-identified when no longer required.

11. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information against loss, misuse and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; if you believe your account or interaction with us has been compromised, contact us immediately.

12. Your rights

Under the Privacy Act 2020 you may request:

• access to personal information we hold about you; and
• correction of that information if it is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.

You may also ask us to stop using your information for direct marketing. To exercise these rights, email hello@fiveam.music. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will respond within the timeframes required by law.

13. Children

Our website and store are not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 without appropriate consent from a parent or guardian. If you believe we have collected such information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

14. Third-party links

Our site may link to third-party sites and services. Their privacy practices are outside our control. Please review their policies before providing personal information to them.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Material changes may also be notified by email or a notice on the site where appropriate.

16. Contact and complaints

For privacy questions, access or correction requests, or complaints, contact: hello@fiveam.music.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (New Zealand): privacy.org.nz.