Header for Spotify announces COVID-19 Music Relief project

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit every area of business, and we’re still realizing the entire scope of its effect on all industries. With live performances currently unavailable as a source of income, independent artists have been especially hit by the mandated shutdown of social gatherings to help slow the spread throughout communities. Over the past week we’ve been posting resources for indie artists to help through this crisis, and we will continue to do so as more become available.

The newest of those resources is Spotify’s COVID-19 Music Relief project. The streaming giant is linking to a list of organizations who are offering financial assistance to artists, and they have pledged to match any donations made to those organizations up to the collective value of $10 million.

A new feature for Spotify for Artists helps you raise funds

But that’s not all from Spotify. As part of the same Music Relief project, they’re also developing a brand-new feature for artists profiles that will allow artists to fundraise directly from their fans. This will give artists the ability to link their followers to a fundraising site of their choice right on their artist profiles.

While some services like YouTube and Twitch offer fan donations via a tip option, this new Spotify feature is different in two ways:

  • It sends listeners who click the link to an outside website, much like the existing ticket and merch links artists can add to their profiles.
  • Since the links are to external sites, Spotify cannot and will not take a cut of contributions made.

When will this be available?

There is no current ETA on when this new feature will launch, but artists who have claimed their profile on Spotify can head here to sign up in advance. Spotify will email all artists who have signed up when the feature is live.

And this would be a good time to remind anyone whose music is live on Spotify and hasn’t used Spotify for Artists to verify their profile to do so, for this new feature and a bevy of other benefits.

Is this just a temporary function?

While it is yet to be seen if this feature will become a permanent part of Spotify for Artists or is just temporary during the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s one of many examples of organizations innovating on the fly in the face of this crisis. While it’s a small silver lining, we’ll take any positives we can right now.