Play Your Part: Introducing Our Civic Engagement Toolkit for Artists

No one knows the value of being heard as well as an artist does. Every time a listener streams one of your songs they’re choosing you and what you’ve created. To be heard is to be acknowledged. To be heard is to have power.

This fall, Americans will have the opportunity to make our voices heard by voting in one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. Campaigns and non-profits are already working to get out the vote and you, the artist, can help inspire your fans to participate in the process too.

It’s not about voting red or blue or otherwise—it’s about voting, period. And because the whos, whats, whens, and hows of voting in a COVID-19 world can be confusing, we want to help you figure out how best to get the word out to your audience.

Spotify has partnered with best-in-class nonpartisan orgs HeadCount, BallotReady, and TurboVote, to launch Play Your Part, an initiative to help creators communicate the importance of civic engagement to their audiences. We’re supplying you with the info and tools you’ll need to spread the message to your fans that voting is a must.

“It's important [for us] to encourage our fanbase to register to vote because more than a third of eligible voters are under the age of 40,“ says indie rock trio Sunflower Bean. “We will be using our platform to remind people to register to vote, check their registration status, and have a voting plan in place.”

We want to help artists talk to their fans about voting. In our useful civic engagement toolkit, you’ll find resources that will help you answer state-specific questions like “When’s the deadline for voter registration?,” “How do I vote by mail?” and more. The toolkit will also equip you to talk about civic engagement with fans with examples of effective calls to action and PSAs.

As an artist, you have a platform and the attention of an audience that believes in you and what you do. Why not use that power to empower them? "I like to remind fans that they should immediately break up with their partners who do not register to vote," says singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sadie Dupuis aka Sad13. “Nothing is as romantic as an “I Voted” sticker.”

For more ways to help your listeners get to the polls and get their voices heard, check out the civic engagement toolkit: http://spoti.fi/s4aplayyourpart -Spotify for Artists