Spotify launches new feature ‘Artist Fundraising Pick’

The mega streaming platform Spotify has developed and launched a brand new feature called ‘Artist Fundraising Pick’ that will allow fans to make donations directly to their chosen artists or worthy causes in order to help them in this tough period for the music industry.

Besides thousands of industries that have been damaged by this pandemic, our beloved music industry has definitely been one of the ones that came off badly. COVID-19 has supposed a massive negative shake for businesses and artists. Concerts and music festivals are being cancelled and there are no positive signs that tell us this will change in the near future. Tours and performances represent on average the biggest income source for any artist, which is massively harming their economic situation, especially for those that are not big stars.

In order to do their bit, Spotify has come up with this new initiative called ‘Artist Fundraising Pick‘ available for Spotify for Artists users that will allow them to connect with their fans and manage the fundraising through their profile. Among the different fundraising payment methods we must highlight Cash App, which incentives artists to use their platform by offering to pay an extra $100 to any artist that receives a donation through their app. However, there’re more options available including GoFundMe and naturally Paypal.

With this new feature, Spotify is expanding its Music Relief Project offer fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. This project not only involves artists but also organisations. The streaming platform is donating money to collaborative companies like MusiCares, PRS Foundation and Help Musicians. But that’s not all, they have also offered to match up the total amount of money (up to $10 million) raised through these companies they’ve joined forces with. So, if for instance these mentioned companies raised $5 million, Spotify would contribute with an extra $5 million.

Image Credit: Thibault Penin on Unsplash