As part of its 2020 Wrapped campaign, Spotify is donating $500,000 to the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).

The donation will be directed toward 30+ venues directly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdown, and the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund. The organization’s #SaveOurStages effort launched in October, raising money for our most vulnerable venues and iconic stages.

Co-founder and treasurer of NIVA, Stephen Sternschein, says:

As 2020 draws to a close, the live music industry enters month nine of no shows, no income, no federal support, and ever-mounting debts. Music is what connects us all – as Spotify shows us, it’s what helped our friends, our families and our communities get through this tumultuous year.

In addition, a new partnership will be rolling out in the coming weeks as major artists share their stories and emphasize the importance of saving the stages they’ve appeared on. The roster includes Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Childish Gambino, The Weeknd, and more.

Sternschein continues:

Everyone’s favorite artists started somewhere, and we’re immensely thankful to Spotify for helping us to tell these stories. The stories that artists like Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, The Strokes, and so many more began on the very stages that today are struggling to survive.

Learn more about the cause here.

Source: Pollstar