Accessibility statement

Which accessibility standard does eleMusic aim for?

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) first published WCAG 2.2 on October 5, 2023, and the edition we follow is dated December 12, 2024. The W3C defines its Level AA this way:

For Level AA conformance, the web page satisfies all the Level A and Level AA success criteria, or a Level AA conforming alternate version is provided.

W3C, WCAG 2.2, section 5.2.1, Conformance Level, read October 12, 2026

Level AA is the goal we test against, not a claim that every page meets every criterion today. The W3C adds that following its guidelines "will not address every user need" for people with disabilities, so your reports matter as much as our tests.

How do we check the site and the player?

• An automated scan. On October 11, 2026, the axe-core checker (version 4.10.3) found no violations on nine pages at phone and desktop widths, also with the phone menu and every expandable answer open. Other checks that day found two Level AA failures, in the phone menu on short screens and in the header under wider text spacing. Both are fixed.
• A site test. Before we publish site changes, a browser test opens every page built from our templates at four widths from 320 to 1,280 pixels and fails on sideways scrolling. It also checks that the phone menu scrolls on a short landscape screen, like a laptop zoomed to 200%, and that its button stays on screen under WCAG's text spacing.
• A player test. It checks that the sign-in and access code controls are at least 44 pixels tall, that Tab, Enter and Space reach and choose both ways in, that errors raise an alert, that shortcuts stay quiet while you type, that the Play and Pause button stays on screen, and that on a phone a button reached by keyboard is moved clear of the station preview card.

Automated scans miss some barriers. In the words of the Department of Justice:

A “clean” report does not necessarily mean everything is accessible.

U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA, Checking for accessibility, read October 12, 2026

What can you use on the site and in the player?

• Each site and policy page starts with a skip link, and the site and the player outline whatever you reach by keyboard.
• The phone menu opens with Enter or Space and closes with Escape.
• On the site, station previews are labeled buttons that announce when they play, and nothing plays until you press one.
• Tables that scroll sideways sit in a labeled area you can reach with Tab.
• In the player, the sign-in and access code fields have visible labels, errors are announced, and pasting is never blocked.
• Player shortcuts: Space or K pauses and plays, N skips, Escape closes a panel and ? shows the hint. They never fire while you type, and media keys work too. How eleMusic works has the full list.
• When your device asks for reduced motion, the site and the player stop animated scrolling.
• There is nothing to caption: the music has no vocals, and each station's page describes its music in words.

What are the known limits?

• Pages other companies run. Checkout and Manage billing are Stripe's pages, and the Google button opens Google's sign-in, so we cannot change them. You can sign in with an email and password instead, and cancel by emailing us.
• Device pickers. The Cast and AirPlay lists of TVs and speakers come from your browser or operating system, not from eleMusic.
• Testing so far. We test in Chrome. We have not yet run these checks with a screen reader, or in Safari on an iPhone or iPad.
• The legal pages. The Terms, the Privacy Policy and the other policies have their own layout, which the site test does not open yet.
• The player's sign-in screen. With no skip link yet, the keyboard passes up to 12 links before the form.

How do you report an accessibility barrier?

Email hello@elemusic.fm and include:

• the page, or what you were trying to do;
• your device and browser;
• any assistive technology you use, such as a screen reader, magnifier or voice control.

We aim to reply within 1 business day. That is a target, not a promise. Our contact page lists the other ways to reach us, including the mailing address.

Sources

1. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024, accessed October 12, 2026
2. U.S. Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (March 18, 2022), accessed October 12, 2026