PHARE
The creative industry, and it should be.
More people are finding their voice, innovative tools are opening doors, and new formats are emerging.
And yet—big challenges remain. Up to half of time is spent non‑creative tasks, over £2bn in royalties is sitting gathering dust, and AI platforms profit from the imagination of others.
Enter, PHARE.
PHARE is a new platform grounded in visibility, fairness, and empowerment—designed to connect creatives and audiences in a sustainable, inspiring way.
- Creatives are seamlessly onboarded into the industry
- Visibility is unlocked, not fought for
- IP is protected and creators set the rules
- Work can be monetised transparently and fairly
- Creativity—not admin—takes centre stage
We’re building the future of the creative industry, one where you thrive, and we’d love you to have you along for the ride.
Sound PHARE?
PHARE – Mailing List and Event Updates
Your privacy matters to us. This notice explains how the BBC collects and uses your personal information when you sign up to receive updates about PHARE, our BBC R&D creator economy pilot.
Why we collect your information and how you can take part
PHARE is new initiative and product from BBC R&D which looks to support the creative economy with new digital products and services. As part of this work, we will be speaking at conferences, running user research, and piloting new features with artists, industry professionals and other interested participants.
By completing our sign‑up form, you can choose to receive updates about:
- PHARE’s plans, developments and achievements
- opportunities to take part in user research
- invitations to product testing phases
- partnership or business development opportunities
- conference activity and related events
We only send marketing messages if you have given us clear consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
What information we collect and how we use it
When you sign up, we collect:
- your full name
- your email address
- your city and country
- your role and interest in PHARE (e.g., artist, industry professional, investor)
- your responses to optional questions (e.g., research participation, feature interests, private alpha access)
- your marketing consent preferences
Our email system also records standard information such as:
- whether an email was delivered
- whether it was opened
- whether links were clicked
- whether your email address has stopped working
- when you subscribed or unsubscribed
We use this information to:
- send you the updates you have chosen
- manage your subscription and communication preferences
- understand how our emails are used so we can improve them
- identify geographic clusters of interest (e.g., music hotspots) to support targeted events
- plan research, testing and partnership activity
- ensure we honour unsubscribe requests
We do not use analytics to profile you or make automated decisions about you. We do not collect sensitive personal data through this form. You must be 18 or over to sign up.
Who is responsible for your data
The BBC is the data controller. You can contact the BBC’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@bbc.co.uk.
Our legal basis for using your information
We use your information under:
Consent
For optional marketing messages, including:
- PHARE updates
- invitations to events, research or testing
- partnership or business development opportunities
You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email.
Public task
For processing that supports the BBC’s public purposes, including research and development activity that informs future BBC services.
Who we share your information with
Your information is processed within BBC systems and by trusted suppliers who support our email and communication services.
- We use Infobip to send newsletters, updates and service messages, and to manage subscription preferences.
- Before Infobip is fully configured, we may temporarily store form submissions in a secure BBC system so we can record consent (timestamp, wording version, source). These records will be migrated to Infobip once setup is complete.
These suppliers process your data only on our instructions and do not use it for their own purposes. Infobip processes data within the UK/EEA.
We do not share your information with external organisations for their own marketing.
How long we keep your information
We keep your information only for as long as we need it.
Email subscriptions (Infobip)
- We keep your details while you continue to engage with our emails.
- If you stop engaging for 2 years, we will ask you to reconfirm your subscription.
- If you unsubscribe, we delete your details after 90 days.
- If your email address stops working, we remove it after 90 days.
Temporary storage before Infobip setup
- Any interim consent records will be securely stored and deleted once migrated into Infobip.
Your rights
You have rights over your personal data, including:
- asking for a copy of your data
- asking us to correct inaccurate information
- asking us to delete your data (with some limitations)
- objecting to or restricting how we use your data
- withdrawing consent at any time
- asking for your data in a portable format
You can read more about your rights in the BBC’s Privacy and Cookies Policy at www.bbc.co.uk/privacy.
If you are concerned about how the BBC has handled your data, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at www.ico.org.uk.
Updates to this notice
We will update this notice if we make significant changes to how we use your personal data.
