Our Editorial Standards
PlaylisterUK.co.uk is a digital music media publication committed to honest, accurate and independent journalism focused on UK music and culture. Every article we publish passes through a structured editorial process designed to uphold clarity, fairness and accountability. This page sets out the principles and procedures that guide our work.
Editorial Process
All content — from breaking news to long-form features, reviews, interviews, playlist features and opinion pieces — is reviewed by a named editor before publication. The editor checks for factual accuracy, tone, relevance to our UK audience, and consistency with our editorial standards. No article is published without human editorial oversight.
Stories that involve heightened sensitivity receive additional scrutiny. These include, but are not limited to: music industry disputes, legal matters, allegations of misconduct, health-related artist stories, financial claims, stories involving minors, privacy-sensitive reporting, and copyright or rights issues. Such pieces are flagged for review by Thomas Ellery, our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead (fact-checking policy). He verifies sources, checks attribution, and ensures all reporting meets legal and ethical requirements before any piece goes live.
Clear Labelling of Content Types
We maintain a clear distinction between the different kinds of content we publish. Every article is labelled according to its category, and readers can always tell whether they are reading:
- News: straightforward reporting of events, announcements and developments in UK music.
- Features: longer, in-depth pieces exploring topics, trends or artist stories.
- Reviews: critical assessments of albums, singles, concerts, festivals or products. Our reviews policy explains how we handle review copies and press access.
- Interviews: conversations with artists, industry figures or other relevant voices.
- Playlist recommendations: curated selections of tracks, clearly editorial or sponsored as appropriate (playlist policy).
- Opinion: pieces that reflect the personal views of the writer; these are clearly marked as opinion.
- Sponsored content: material produced in partnership with a brand and clearly labelled “Sponsored” or “Paid Partnership”. Our sponsored content policy details how such content is separated from editorial.
- Affiliate content: articles that include affiliate links are disclosed at the point of use. See our advertising and affiliate disclosure.
Article-Level Transparency
Every article on PlaylisterUK includes key transparency signals:
- Byline with a link to the author’s profile (see our team).
- Publication date and, where substantially updated, a last-updated date.
- Editor or reviewer label — for sensitive stories, a note that it was reviewed by our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead.
- Source references: we link to original sources where possible, including press releases, official data, social media posts and prior reporting.
- Disclosures: if a writer attended a listening session, received a review copy, was given press access to a concert or festival, was hosted by a venue, or has any commercial relationship relevant to the article, that is stated clearly.
- Correction notes: any post-publication correction is flagged at the top of the article and linked to our corrections policy.
Experience Signals
Where applicable, articles state the basis of the reporting. For example: “Based on a listening session at the artist’s studio”, “Review copy provided by the label”, “Staff writer attended the festival as a guest of the organisers”, “Information from an official press release”, “Based on verified social media posts”, or “Sourced from Official Charts Company data”. This helps readers understand the context and potential limitations of the coverage.
Independence
PlaylisterUK operates under strict independence. Our editorial decisions are never determined by commercial partners, advertisers or sponsors. Full details of our ownership, funding and commercial relationships can be found in our ownership & funding page, and our approach to advertising and affiliate links is set out in the advertising & affiliate disclosure.
Use of Automated Tools
We may use digital tools for research, editing, formatting, transcription, metadata and playlist organisation, but all editorial content is reviewed by a human editor before publication. AI is never used to fabricate quotes, sources, interviews, bylines or expert profiles. Our AI & automation policy explains this in full.
Attribution and Named Writers
We believe readers deserve to know who is behind every piece. All articles carry a named writer, and where a contributor is not a staff member, their affiliation and experience are noted. Anonymous writing is not used in editorial content, except in rare, approved cases for safety or legal reasons. See our team for full staff details.
Complaints and Corrections
We take errors seriously. If you believe we have published inaccurate information, please contact our corrections team at corrections@playlisteruk.co.uk or use our formal complaints procedure. Our corrections policy explains how we handle mistakes.
Contacting Us
For general editorial inquiries: contact us. For tips: tip us. For music submissions: see our music submissions policy.