We’re in a privileged position. We have the influence to make a real impact. And we’re using it to shape a better future for society.
Driving change
Our initiatives
Paying it forward
Quick links:
Driving changeOur initiativesPaying it forward
Reimagining our future
As a global brand, we impact the world, our employees, our industry, and our listeners every single day. And influence comes with responsibility. We’re choosing to show up for society, act with purpose and use our platform for good. We want to help shape a world that is welcoming for people of all backgrounds and identities, that centers justice and equity in everything we do and brings wellness and joy to all.
Play your part
From current affairs to social equity, be part of the important conversations happening on our platform right now.
People drive change
Through what they purchase, how they vote, and most importantly, what they say and share. Our work empowers people to drive social change. To use our platform to uplift marginalized voices and amplify important causes. To educate and motivate. To get behind the big social issues and raise awareness of the solutions.
As a leader in responsible and impactful storytelling, we’re advising our creators and partners on how they can achieve ambitious social goals – pushing culture, acceptance and truth forward.
A unique opportunity
As the world’s largest audio streaming subscription service, Spotify has a unique opportunity to connect underrepresented and historically marginalized artists and creators to more fans around the world and to put a spotlight on the issues they care about.
We continue to use our platform to amplify and celebrate creators from underrepresented and historically marginalized communities all year round and to uplift these communities and their causes.
Explore our initiatives
We’re using the power of our platform for storytelling and inspiration, and to increase awareness of today’s most pressing issues.
Empowering the next generation
We’re committed to removing the barriers that make it harder for creators from marginalized groups to flourish. This is how we do it.
Hub
Title:NextGen
NextGen is Spotify’s ongoing program designed to infuse, activate, and grow podcast culture on college campuses and make a career in podcasting more accessible. The program is focused on building opportunities in audio and career pipelines for underrepresented students.
Paying it forward
Giving guides all aspects of how we show up in the world.
Our external philanthropy work aligns with our internal work on climate action, civic engagement, mental health, employee wellbeing, and gender and racial equity. Since we launched our giving program in 2020, we’ve committed over $20 million to support non-profits around the world through our employee match program and corporate grant making.
Spotify Gives Back
Our internal program, Spotify Gives Back, enables employees to contribute to causes they care about and amplify the positive impact of their activities. For us, supercharging the charitable impact that employees can make is one way we foster a sense of belonging within the company and wider community. Through this program, employees can support their favorite nonprofit organizations and participate in company-wide community impact activities.
The program has three components:
Title:Donations Matching
We match donations made to eligible charities either on a 1:1 or 2:1 basis. Every full and part time employee has the ability to get up to 15k USD in donations matched by Spotify.
Title:Dollars for Doers
Spotifiers who volunteer with eligible organizations earn a donation for their service to the organization.
Title:Impact Day
One paid day a year for each employee to volunteer at a nonprofit of their choice.
Partnering up
We can’t drive meaningful change on our own. That’s why we choose to support partners doing amazing work around the world.
UNICEF and Ukraine
Since October 2021, Spotify and UNICEF have worked together to explore ways to use digital media and the power of music and audio to alleviate the mental health distress of young people around the world. Starting with Ukrainian youth and refugees and expanding to other communities in the near future, the goal is to promote psychosocial wellbeing in the long term.
Inevitable Foundation
Inevitable Foundation is committed to shaping a world where disabled storytellers are able to create projects about anything they want, regardless of whether their stories contemplate disability – just one part of their complex identities. Podcasting creates a fruitful starting point for the next generation of disabled storytellers, and this is where Spotify comes in.
Participants in the Elevate for Podcasters program receive the funding, mentorship, equipment and accommodations they need to level up their careers. The program also includes ongoing support through quarterly check-ins with the Inevitable Foundation team, as well as community-building events where members can expand their professional networks and meet other disabled creatives in podcasting, film and television.
4A’s Foundation x Spotify Pulse Fellows
Unleashing the full scope of creative potential at Spotify means giving as many people as possible a seat at the table. That’s why we partnered with the 4A’s Foundation to launch The Spotify Pulse Fellowship. The initiative sees us partner with programs that are already doing inspiring work supporting, developing, and empowering Black creatives like MAIP(Multicultural Advertising Internship Program), D&AD Shift, Marcus Graham Project, ONE School, and our newest program partner, BLAC Internship.
By tapping into organizations already created for and by Black creatives, we’re able to find talent for the Spotify PULSE Program and initiate opportunities for individuals in underrepresented communities to gain access to careers at the top.
Civic and Community Engagement
As our world experiences unprecedented shifts, our commitment to making a positive social impact grows ever stronger.
As a global institution, we have the responsibility and the opportunity to show up in a meaningful way for people, culture, the audio industry and our band members.
Responsible storytelling
For Spotify, media responsibility means supercharging the impact of our audio platform through accurate, trustworthy and progressive storytelling. We prioritize stories from historically marginalized communities and focus on issues that resonate with our listeners.
We do this in three ways:
- Increasing the reach of potentially impactful content
- Connecting stories to opportunities for listeners to take real action
- Showcasing positive depictions of historically marginalized and underrepresented communities in order to shift narratives
Participating in the democratic process
We bring messages about civic engagement to our audience wherever they are – and from the voices they trust the most. Our campaigns are nonpartisan and focus on making voting easier and more exciting for our audience.
We’ve been running voter engagement campaigns since 2016. Initially, we focused our efforts on the US and in the EU, expanding into more countries every year. Over that time, we’ve reached nearly 57 million listeners worldwide, encouraging people globally to play their part in their local elections. These campaigns drove nearly 4 million visits to resources on civic engagement so far.
