Ethical Statement
Version 3.1. February, 2024
“If one thing matters,
all things matter.”
The music we love is the creation of a multitude of cultures, ethnicities, sexualities and struggles. We strive to represent, honour and engage this diversity.
We recognise the challenge posed to businesses like ours to urgently reframe our engagements and activities in order to combat the injustices and crises we face today. We hope to inspire others to recognise and accept the duty to become part of the solutions urgently needed.
The following is an outline of the myriad different ways we intend to address these challenges.
DEVELOP & EVOLVE
How we interact with our collaborators and our position on today’s social and environmental injustices is central to our business. We acknowledge that as a young business our impact on the world is limited, though not insignificant. Our ethical position is subject to constant re-evaluation and we will continually shift our actions away from harmful practises as our understanding of the subject deepens.
THE PREMISE
We regard the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) as the foundation and minimum point to act and measure from.
We will run Alors in accordance with the IPCC’s March 2023 AR6 recommendations. We set out to actively engage with industries and cultural movements working on the betterment of the many crises we face. We attentively follow the scientific, journalistic, philosophical and spiritual discourses around these issues and acknowledge their invaluable contribution to the realms of behaviour change, re-connection to purpose, instillment of meaning and creation of new narratives.
Meanwhile we shall disengage from the biggest hindrance to equity and ecological healing, the as of yet still indissoluble and largely unaccountable ‘petro-political’ complex as well as some other areas we expand on in our EULA.
MUSICIANS, ARTISTS,
COLLABORATORS
As a conscious act of countering the common undervaluation of musicianship and musicians’ work, we offer higher than industry standard remuneration for our artists, musicians and collaborators and we honour their trust with clear communication, transparent statements and simple contractual language.
WHO WE DON’T WORK WITH
The music in our library cannot be used to advertise products which fall under the following categories and activities:
- Arms and military equipment
- Fossil fuels
- Industrial animal farming and detrimental land exploitation (e.g. destruction of wetlands, mangroves, peatlands, rainforests and ancestral land)
- Anything that is illegal in the United Kingdom
- Anything that violates human rights, as enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and/or the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
OUR RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY
When music is licensed for advertising it becomes part of a persuasive instrument seeking to influence, create desire or alter perceptions. This can be done with good as well as the bad intentions. We therefore accept the challenge posed to the advertising industry and businesses like ours to carefully steer and reframe our engagements.
POLITICS
Without prior consent, we do not license music to political organisations, political individuals, political think tanks or political research groups of any kind.
BANKING WITH A CONSCIENCE
We do not use banking services that finance fossil fuels. One of the most effective steps a business or individual can take to reduce their carbon footprint is to check if their bank is financing oil, gas or coal. Then to either pressure their institution to divest or simply take their custom elsewhere. Here is a tool that might help you make your mind up.
AFFECTING CHANGE ELSEWHERE
There are bound to be situations that fall into an ethical grey area. If with hindsight, we consider the use of music licensed from us to be morally dubious, we pledge to make a financial donation to a movement, organisation or charity that works directly to counter-act the negative effects of the product, services or activities involved.
ENERGY GENERATION AND CONSUMPTION ON OUR BEHALF
Currently, our website is hosted by AWS which is powered by more than 95% renewable energy. We will continue to monitor the web server landscape and always work with data centres using progressive environmental energy policies matching our traffic volumes and updating them as we grow.
FEEDBACK
We are keen to continually expand our ecological literacy and understanding of the complexities involved in ethics fit for the 21st century. We are also curious to hear from you with any concern, observation or comments you might have. Get in touch.