Spotify 2020 Wrapped Campaign Includes NIVA Partnership, $500,000 Donation

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Spotify’s annual Wrapped campaign has kicked off by announcing a partnership with the National Independent Venue Association, with the music streaming giant taking over space on the marquees of more than 30 COVID-shuttered music venues and donating a total of $500,000 to those stages and the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund.

“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,” said Stephen Sternschein, co-founder / treasurer of NIVA, and managing partner of Heard Presents in Austin. “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.”

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The NIVA Emergency Relief Fund was created to support America’s most vulnerable venues to provide short-term relief for independent music venue owners and promoters struggling due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

“In a year that has taken on so many twists and turns, a first reaction might be to look forward and forget the challenging times. However, that would discount all of the amazing work that creators, fans, venues and activists have poured their hearts into this year,” said Dan Brill, Global Group Creative Director at Spotify. “That’s why, instead of turning our backs on 2020, we wanted to give our appreciation for those who gave us hope — the people who, despite challenging circumstances, found ways to infuse magic into our world and give us hope for a better tomorrow.”

The partnership is to be rolled out in the coming weeks, with participating artists including Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Childish Gambino, The Weeknd, Jessie Ware and venues including Riverside Theater, Milwaukee; The Ritz Ybor, Tampa; The Aladdin, Portland, Ore.; The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC.; and Center Stage, Atlanta.