Last updated: May 19, 2026

This page explains how Electronic Dispatch makes money and where that money does and doesn't influence our coverage. It exists because readers deserve to know who's paying for what they're reading, and because it's required for the publication to qualify as a trustworthy news source under Google News and similar platforms.

If you spot a conflict that isn't disclosed here or in a specific article, email corrections@electronicdispatch.com.

How Electronic Dispatch is funded

As of May 19, 2026, the publication operates on three revenue lines:

1. Newsletter subscriptions (free and paid)

The Dispatch newsletter is delivered every Saturday. Free subscribers get the weekly digest. Paid subscribers (planned for May 19, 2026, $[AMOUNT]/month or $[AMOUNT]/year) get longer-form pieces, the full Late Pass with commentary, and earlier access to features. Subscription revenue does not give subscribers influence over coverage.

2. Application fees on artist submissions

Artists and labels who submit material for consideration via /submit/ pay $[AMOUNT] per submission. This fee:

  • Buys the editor's commitment to listen and respond within 14 days with a yes-or-no decision and a one-line reason
  • Does not buy coverage, a positive verdict, or any influence over editorial direction

Our acceptance rate is approximately 2% and is published transparently on the Submit page. The fee exists to filter spam pitches and pay for editor time. Paying the fee does not raise the probability of a positive verdict — paid submissions are evaluated on the same merits as free editorial pitches. The full mechanics are in our Editorial Policy §5.

3. Promoted listings (planned, not yet live)

We expect to launch paid "Promoted" placements in 2026 for:

  • Events calendar — promoters can pay to elevate an event in the weekly calendar. Promoted events carry a clearly-visible "Promoted" badge.
  • Artist directory — artists/labels can pay for a profile page in a future /artists/ directory section. These are listings, not editorial coverage.
  • Newsletter sponsor slot — one paid placement per newsletter, labeled "Sponsored by". Sponsors do not influence the editorial content of the newsletter.

When these launch, the rates and rules will be added to this page.

What's not on the list

  • No display ad networks (Google AdSense, Mediavine, etc.). We don't run programmatic ads.
  • No affiliate links in editorial content. If we ever review a record and link to where to buy it, the link is to the artist's preferred storefront with no commission to us.
  • No paid coverage, in any form, ever. See §3 below.
  • No outside investors. The publication is wholly owned by Electronic Dispatch LLC.

What we will and won't accept money for

We will accept money for:

  • Newsletter subscriptions (membership tiers)
  • Artist submission application fees (for editor time, not for coverage — see above)
  • Promoted event listings with visible labeling (when launched)
  • Artist directory profile listings with visible labeling (when launched)
  • Sponsored newsletter slots with visible labeling (when launched)
  • Clearly-labeled sponsored content if we ever publish any (see Editorial Policy §6)

We will not accept money for:

  • Editorial coverage — reviews, features, news stories, mixes, or any article in our editorial tracks
  • Positive review scores or favorable verdicts
  • Removal of negative coverage about a paying party
  • Faster handling of paid submissions vs. free editorial pitches
  • Embargo violations or trading coverage for early access in any way that compromises editorial judgment
  • "Native advertising" without clear labels — all sponsored content is plainly marked as such

Our policy on industry relationships

The electronic music scene is small. Editorial staff inevitably have relationships with artists, label heads, promoters, and venues. Our policy:

  • Editors and contributors disclose all material relationships in their author bio and on a per-article basis where relevant
  • A staffer does not write about a party they have an undisclosable conflict with — that piece is assigned to someone else
  • We accept free promos and press passes (this is standard music journalism), but disclose them when they're material to a review (e.g. an album was reviewed off a streaming promo vs. a final pressing)
  • We do not accept gifts of value over $[AMOUNT] from any party we cover. Items above that threshold are declined, returned, or donated to a charity (and disclosed on this page)

Our AI policy

Electronic Dispatch uses AI tools as research aids only:

  • Internal radar tool — a private editorial scanner clusters public RSS and Reddit signals to surface what topics are worth covering. The output is editor-facing only and never published.
  • No AI-generated articles. Every word in a published article is written by a human. We do not use AI to write, rewrite, paraphrase, summarize for publication, or generate alt text / headlines / decks.
  • No auto-translation of other publications' work. We do not republish or rephrase RSS content.
  • Image generation is not used for editorial photography. Where we use illustration, it is by human illustrators, credited.

If our AI policy changes, this section will be updated and the change will be announced in the corrections feed.

Our privacy policy (sources)

Sources who request anonymity are protected. We do not reveal source identities to advertisers, sponsors, paid submitters, or any third party. We push back legally if a source's identity is sought via subpoena. We don't pay sources.

For tips: tips@electronicdispatch.com. For sensitive tips, ask about Signal.

Diversity and representation

The electronic music scenes we cover were built largely by Black, Latino, queer, and immigrant artists. Our coverage reflects that history. We make active efforts to:

  • Cover artists and scenes outside the white-male-DJ mainstream
  • Use contributors who reflect the communities they're covering
  • Disclose when a story's framing might benefit from a perspective we don't have, and seek out that perspective

We don't claim to do this perfectly. Feedback to hello@electronicdispatch.com.

This policy was last updated on May 19, 2026. Material changes are announced in our corrections feed and updated here. Earlier versions available on request.