Musicians and industry employees across the globe are some of the worst affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being where the majority of their revenue comes from, live shows have ground to a halt.
Fortunately, several popular music companies are providing relief to those in the industry impacted by the pandemic. Music companies such as Soundcloud, Universal Music Group (UMG), and Spotify have announced various ways they intend to help. Below is a handful of companies involved in these initiatives.
Apple Music
Being one of the largest and most well-known tech companies in existence, Apple is in a great position to provide relief to musicians that rely on Apple Music for some of their revenue. They’ve opened a $50 million relief fund for record labels that have Apple Music deals.
To qualify, each record label with an Apple Music deal needs to have earned at least $10,000 during a fiscal quarter. From there, it’ll be up to the record labels to doll its relief money out to its artists and employees.
Soundcloud
As one of the best platforms for budding musicians to gain recognition, Soundcloud is making its services even more accessible during these trying times. For starters, they’re offering 50% off Pro subscriptions, which lowers the barrier-to-entry for new artists.
They’ve also partnered with video streaming platform Twitch to fast-track Pro and Premier Soundcloud users into the Twitch Affiliate program. Twitch Affiliates are able to place advertisements on their streams to earn extra revenue.
Additionally, Soundcloud recently released a direct donation feature. A direct donation button is added to an artist’s profile, allowing for an easy way to send money to them!
Spotify
On March 25th, Spotify announced its Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief project. Spotify will match up to $10 million in donations placed on its site.
Alongside that, the music streaming giant teased the Spotify for Artists feature. Creators will be able to directly link to a verified fundraiser of their choice from their profile.
Live Nation
Major event organizer Live Nation has partnered with charity organization Music Forward Foundation to form Crew Nation. Through Crew Nation, anyone will be able to donate to a relief fund meant to help artists and touring crews impacted by the cancellation of countless live shows.
Live Nation has committed $10 million to the fund initially. Moreover, it’s possible to donate money, buy merchandise, or apply for relief from the Crew Nation website.
UMG
It’s no surprise that UMG, one of the largest music corporations in the world, has the resources to provide immediate relief to those in the music industry. UMG has a plan to help its own employees and artists, as well as the music community at large.
Extra pay and employee benefits will be handled through the UMG All Together Now fund until the end of June. Record labels under the UMG umbrella can receive interest-free loans and fee waivers to help support their artists and songwriters.
With support from MusicCares’ and Help Musicians UK, UMG will provide direct support to employees in the music industry. They’ll also match donations made through other organizations.
Other COVID-19 relief funds
The full list of organizations chipping in to help with COVID-19 relief is staggering. Even if just out of necessity, it’s great seeing so many organizations step up to the plate during this crisis. Other notable causes are:
As avid music fans, we should be doing everything we can to help the industry thrive. Donating to some of these COVID-19 relief funds is a good option. And if you’re a struggling industry employee or artist, explore some of the funds above to see if you qualify for any! Also, check out how the EDM scene in specific has responded to this crisis.
Any music companies with COVID-19 relief funds we missed? Let us know in our comments on Facebook and Twitter!
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