Like almost every industry right now, the music industry is struggling because of the coronavirus outbreak (officially known as COVID-19). Since many concerts and music festivals have been canceled, Spotify has announced new efforts to aid musicians in need.
Musicians will soon have the option to fundraise directly from their Spotify artist profile pages so that their dedicated fans can donate to them or a particular cause based on their request. All donations will go directly to the artist or the artist’s organization of choice, and Spotify will not take any cut. We reached out to Spotify to find out when this direct donation feature will be available and will update this story when we hear back.
Another way the streaming service is helping struggling musicians is by partnering with organizations such as Help Musicians, the PRS Foundation, and the Recording Academy’s MusiCares to encourage its 113 million subscribers to donate. The streaming service pledged to match donations up to a collective total of $10 million.
In today’s streaming world, a majority of musicians make their money from concerts rather than from selling their music, but with shows either canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future, many of your favorite artists have no way of making money.
“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spotify has engaged partners across the industry to discuss how we can support artists and the creative community who have been deeply impacted by the effects of the virus,” Spotify said in a statement. “Though streaming continues to play a key role in connecting creators with their fans, numerous other sources of revenue have been interrupted or stopped altogether by this crisis.”
Aside from Spotify, other tech companies like Amazon Music, Facebook, SiriusXM, and YouTube Music have also partnered with organizations like MusiCares to support music industry workers in need. Depending on the organization, donations will help musicians, production crews, technicians, and other industry workers with essential living assistance.
There are other ways you can help your favorite artists besides donating money, which include buying their official merchandise or buying a vinyl, CD, or digital purchase of their albums. You can also keep streaming their music on platforms like Spotify to increase their total number of streams.
And for those music lovers that are missing the live music scene, many artists are using Facebook Live or YouTube Live as platforms to perform mini at-home concerts for fans. Artists like Diplo, Sofi Tukker, and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard are using social media platforms as a way to connect with fans during this time of social distancing.
