How we cover music tech

We are the music makers covers music technology and AI in music. We publish a small number of news posts each day, a weekly opinion column called "What we think", guides, and a directory of the tools working musicians use.

What every piece has to do

Every piece adds something the source does not: analysis, context, or a clear opinion with our reasons. If all we could do is restate a press release, we don't publish it.

Sources and how we check them

Every factual claim links to where it came from, and every non-opinion piece needs at least one primary source. Before a piece goes live, each claim is checked against its source and recorded in a fact table as verified (the source says it), inference (our reading of what the sources show), unverified or disputed. Anything unverified or disputed does not go in as fact.

News and opinion

News posts report what happened and why it matters. Our weekly column, "What we think", is opinion: it states a thesis and rests it on at least three sources. We label which is which, and we keep the two apart.

How we use AI

AI helps us monitor sources, cluster stories, and prepare drafts and fact tables. People decide what to publish, edit every piece, check the facts and add the analysis. Nothing is published automatically. Posts say "Researched with AI assistance, written and checked by" and then the editor's name. We do not publish AI-generated images of real people, and we label AI-generated audio examples. We publish about five news posts a day at most.

Corrections

When we get something wrong we fix it, say so on the page and list it in the public corrections log.

Rankings and money

We never sell rankings or scores. Paid placements are labelled, and paid links are marked as sponsored. Payment never changes where a tool appears in a ranking or best-of list. Sponsored items are labelled, and the wording we use is on the disclosures page.

How listings work

Listing a tool is free. Every submission is hand-reviewed and judged with the same public rubric, and we can decline any tool.

• Paying never buys inclusion, a ranking or a score. Paid options can only change how soon we review you, or add a time-boxed placement.
• Paid placements are labelled. A featured slot carries a visible Sponsored label, and its link is marked rel="sponsored". Free listings link with rel="nofollow".
• Payment data never reaches scoring. Rankings, scores and best-of lists are built without knowing who paid.
• Refund if rejected. When paid options open, a paid submission we decline to list is refunded in full.

Paid options are not switched on yet; nothing is charged today.