Privacy and Cookie Policy

Website: Karen Pancoast
Last updated: 18 October 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to the website of Karen Pancoast (“I”, “me” or “my”).

I respect your privacy and am committed to handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy and Cookie Policy explains what information may be collected when you visit my website, contact me through the contact form, subscribe to my mailing list or purchase my music, and how that information is used and protected.

I live and work in the United States. I aim to handle personal information in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (“GDPR”) where it applies.

In brief:

• I do not use my own cookies for analytics, advertising or behavioural tracking.

• You can browse my website without providing personal information directly to me.

• I collect personal information that you voluntarily provide through the contact form, mailing-list subscription or music purchase process.

• The contact form and mailing-list subscription form use Google reCAPTCHA, which may use cookies and process technical information to prevent spam and abuse.

• Music purchases are processed through Stripe. I do not retain payment card details or billing addresses in my own records, although Stripe may process and retain payment information in accordance with its policies and legal obligations.

2. Who is responsible for your personal information?

Karen Pancoast operates this website and is responsible for the personal information I collect directly through it.

Contact details

Karen Pancoast
Email: karenpancoastmn@msn.com
Website: https://www.karenpancoast.com/

For GDPR purposes, where applicable, I act as the data controller for the personal information I collect and determine the purposes for which it is used.

3. What information do I collect?

3.1 Visiting the website

You can browse my website without providing your name, email address or other personal information directly to me.

I do not use my own cookies for website analytics, advertising or behavioural tracking.

However, my website hosting provider and third-party services may automatically process limited technical information, such as IP addresses, browser information, device information and server logs. This may be necessary to deliver the website, maintain security, troubleshoot technical problems and prevent abuse.

Google reCAPTCHA may also process technical information when you interact with a protected form.

3.2 Contact form

If you contact me through the website’s contact form, I may collect:

• Your name, if provided.

• Your email address.

• The contents of your message.

• Any other information you choose to provide.

I use this information to respond to your enquiry and manage any necessary follow-up.

Please avoid including sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your enquiry.

3.3 Mailing-list subscription

If you subscribe to my mailing list, I may collect:

• Your email address.

• Your name, if requested.

• Your subscription and consent status.

• Information needed to manage your subscription and any unsubscribe request.

I use this information to send the newsletters, news, music updates and other communications you have chosen to receive.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in my emails or by contacting me directly.

Submitting a contact-form enquiry does not automatically subscribe you to my mailing list.

3.4 Purchasing music through the website

If you purchase music through my website, your payment will be processed through Stripe.

I do not retain payment card details or billing addresses in my own records. Stripe may collect and process information necessary to complete and manage your transaction, including payment details, billing information, transaction identifiers and information required for fraud prevention, security and legal compliance.

I may receive or have access to limited information about your purchase, such as your name, email address, the music purchased, the transaction reference and payment status, to the extent needed to fulfil your order, deliver your purchase, provide customer support and maintain appropriate transaction records.

The exact information exchanged depends on the checkout configuration and services used.

Stripe may retain personal and transaction information for a period determined by its own retention policies, applicable laws, fraud-prevention requirements and other legitimate purposes. I cannot determine or guarantee Stripe’s retention period.

For further information, please see Stripe’s Privacy Policy:

https://stripe.com/privacy

4. How and why do I use your information?

I use personal information only for appropriate purposes and where there is a lawful basis for doing so.

Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew consent.

Where applicable law requires consent before cookies or similar technologies are used, that consent must be obtained before the relevant technologies are activated.

5. Mailing-list consent

You will only be added to my mailing list when you choose to subscribe.

The subscription process should explain what communications you are signing up to receive and provide a clear way for you to give your consent.

You may withdraw your consent and unsubscribe at any time. Once you unsubscribe, I will stop sending you marketing communications.

I may retain limited information about your unsubscribe request where necessary to maintain suppression records, demonstrate compliance or prevent further unwanted communications.

6. Google reCAPTCHA

The contact form and mailing-list subscription form use Google reCAPTCHA to help distinguish genuine visitors from automated bots and to prevent spam, fraudulent submissions and abuse.

Google reCAPTCHA may collect and process technical information, including IP addresses, browser and device information, and information about interactions with the website. Depending on the version and configuration, it may also use cookies or similar technologies.

This information may be processed by Google and its associated infrastructure under the applicable service terms and privacy arrangements.

I use reCAPTCHA for website security and spam prevention, not to conduct my own advertising or behavioural tracking.

Where applicable law requires prior consent for cookies or similar technologies used by reCAPTCHA, the website must be configured to obtain that consent before those technologies are activated.

For more information, please consult:

• Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

• Google reCAPTCHA: https://www.google.com/recaptcha/about/

7. Cookie Policy

7.1 What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that websites or third-party services may store on your device. Similar technologies may also store or access information through your browser or device.

7.2 Does this website use cookies?

I do not use my own cookies for analytics, advertising or behavioural tracking.

However, Google reCAPTCHA is used on the contact form and mailing-list subscription form and may use cookies or similar technologies for security and anti-abuse purposes.

Other technical cookies or storage mechanisms may be used by third-party services necessary to operate particular website features, depending on the website’s configuration.

For this reason, I cannot guarantee that no cookies or similar technologies are ever used when visiting the website.

The exact cookie names, providers, purposes and lifetimes depend on the services and configurations in use and may change over time.

7.3 Cookie consent

Where applicable law requires prior consent for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, the website should provide a suitable mechanism for visitors to accept or refuse them before they are activated.

Strictly necessary technologies may be exempt from consent where the applicable legal conditions are satisfied.

You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect the operation of reCAPTCHA or other website features.

8. Stripe and other third-party services

I use third-party service providers to operate the website and provide its features. Depending on the service involved, these may include:

• Stripe: To process music purchases and payments.

• Google: To provide reCAPTCHA protection for forms.

• Website hosting providers: To host, deliver and secure the website.

• Mailing-list providers: To manage subscriptions and send emails.

• Email service providers: To receive and respond to enquiries.

These providers may process personal information as necessary to provide their services, comply with legal requirements, protect their systems or pursue other purposes described in their own privacy policies.

Stripe and other providers may act as independent controllers for certain processing activities. Their use of personal information is governed by their own applicable terms and privacy policies.

I do not sell your personal information.

9. International data transfers

I live and work in the United States, and some service providers may process information in the United States or other countries.

If the GDPR applies to a particular processing activity, any transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area must comply with the applicable GDPR transfer requirements.

Depending on the circumstances, appropriate safeguards may include an adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses or another lawful transfer mechanism.

For more information about the relevant arrangements used by a particular service provider, please consult that provider’s privacy documentation or contact me.

10. How long is information retained?

I retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, subject to applicable legal obligations.

My general approach is as follows:

• Contact-form enquiries: Retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the enquiry and manage any follow-up.

• Mailing-list information: Retained while you remain subscribed. Limited records may be retained after you unsubscribe where necessary to document your request or prevent further unwanted communications.

• Purchase information: I do not retain payment card details or billing addresses in my own records. I may retain limited order and transaction information necessary to deliver purchased music, handle enquiries and maintain appropriate business records.

• Stripe payment information: Stripe determines its own retention periods in accordance with its policies, applicable legal obligations and legitimate purposes. Further information is available at https://stripe.com/privacy.

• Technical and security logs: Retained according to the relevant hosting provider’s policies and the time reasonably necessary for security and troubleshooting.

• reCAPTCHA information: Handled in accordance with Google’s applicable service terms and retention practices.

Actual retention periods may vary depending on legal, accounting, security and operational requirements.

11. How is your information protected?

I take reasonable steps to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss or misuse.

These measures may include using reputable service providers, limiting access to personal information and maintaining appropriate website and account security.

Payment card details are processed through Stripe rather than retained in my own records.

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure, and I cannot guarantee absolute security. However, I will take reasonable measures to protect information entrusted to me.

12. Your privacy rights

Depending on your location and the laws that apply, you may have rights concerning your personal information.

Where the GDPR applies, these may include:

• Access: Request confirmation of whether your personal data is being processed and obtain a copy.

• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

• Erasure: Request deletion of personal data where the applicable legal conditions are met.

• Restriction: Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.

• Data portability: Receive certain personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format where the legal requirements are met.

• Objection: Object to certain processing based on legitimate interests.

• Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

• Direct marketing: Object to the processing of personal data for direct marketing at any time.

These rights are subject to the conditions and exceptions established by applicable law.

To exercise a right, contact me at:

karenpancoastmn@msn.com

I may need to verify your identity before responding. Where the GDPR applies, I will respond within the applicable legal time limit, generally one month, subject to any lawful extension.

Requests concerning payment information held by Stripe may also need to be directed to Stripe, depending on the information and processing involved.

13. Complaints

If you have concerns about how I handle your personal information, please contact me first so that I can try to resolve them.

If the GDPR applies to your personal data, you may also have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection supervisory authority in the EU Member State where you live, work or where the alleged infringement occurred.

For more information about GDPR rights, please consult the European Commission’s website:

https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection_en

14. Children’s privacy

This website is not specifically directed at children, and I do not knowingly seek to collect children’s personal information unnecessarily.

If you believe a child has provided personal information through this website and you have concerns about its handling, please contact me at karenpancoastmn@msn.com.

15. Links to other websites

My website may contain links to external websites, music platforms or other third-party services.

Those websites operate under their own privacy and cookie policies, which I do not control. I encourage you to review their policies before providing personal information or making a purchase through an external service.

16. Changes to this policy

I may update this Privacy and Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the website, the services I use or applicable legal requirements.

The latest version will be published on this page, together with a revised “Last updated” date.

17. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy and Cookie Policy or how your personal information is handled, please contact:

Karen Pancoast
Email: karenpancoastmn@msn.com
Website: https://www.karenpancoast.com/