Spotify Introduces New Feature So You Can Donate To Struggling Artists Or Charities

Many artists rely on live shows for an income, album sales and streaming music doesn’t generally bring in substantial earnings. With social distancing in place around the world and concerts being canceled, several musicians are facing financial difficulties.

Spotify announced in a blog post the release of a new feature to the music streaming platform. Artists on Spotify can now choose to add a fundraising link to their profiles, allowing fans to support them directly, or donate to a selected charity. The new feature is called Artist Fundraising Pick, and payments can be made through GoFundMe, PayPal, and other options.

Besides helping artists balance lost revenues due to the pandemic, the company also promotes donating to charities COVID-19 related. Spotify says that it takes no money from the raised funds.

Spotify has shown support during these complicated times by donating to such organizations as MusiCares, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization. The company also started a $10 million matching fund through its Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief project.

Other online platforms already have features in place to help others facing monetary problems during the pandemic. Instagram recently added support for fundraising, to support small businesses using the app. Also, Facebook has made huge donations to WHO and has a chatbot-like service on Facebook Messenger, providing users with reliable, official COVID-19 information.