Musicalchairs responds to just criticism

We published a report yesterday on how the BBC has farmed out the screening process for jobs in its orchestras. Here is a reponse from the company we named:

Dear Slipped Disc,

I am dismayed at the article on your website today “BBC is hiring 3 violins by proxy”.
I wish that you had taken the trouble to write to us first. The matters that you raise are of course of public interest and deserve scrutiny. But as responsible journalists running a widely read website, I feel that you should have sought to establish facts before publication.

To answer your points:

musicalchairs does not have a monopoly on BBC musician jobs. There are several other platforms available to the BBC including muvac, GetAcceptd, Tribepad. musicalchairs (developed by and for professional musicians) is popular with managers for 2 reasons – it has the best and most flexible ATS (Application Tracking System) and is the cheapest.
Our details and backgrounds are readily available on our website (https://www.musicalchairs.info/about/directors)
This is not an undeclared commercial relationship. I, John Bradbury, as a member of BBC Staff, have been assiduous in formally declaring to my managers any potential conflict of interest at every stage and development of the service musicalchairs affords the BBC. Indeed, as a member of BBC Staff, I am acutely aware of the importance of value for money for the Licence Fee Payer. The musicalchairs GDPR declarations also embrace any potential challenge that I may face concerning BBC (and for that matter, clarinet) jobs on the website.
Yours sincerely,

John Bradbury