June 1, 2021 — This Pride, Spotify is encouraging the queer community to make noise, make their presence known and make their own rules with a single rallying cry: CLAIM YOUR SPACE. With a series of month-long activations, this global campaign is aimed at creating space both physical and digital for the LGTBQIA+ community.

To celebrate, Spotify UK/IE is bringing back its annual, hotly anticipated Pride hub - collaborating with the UK and Ireland’s most fabulous LGBTQIA+ creators, venues and culture brands on a host of takeovers across some of its most popular playlists. The hub will include the launch of a new flagship playlist PRIDE: UK & Ireland which will amplify LGBTQIA+ voices from the UK and Ireland all year round. The playlist invites listeners to ‘Claim your space this Pride’.

Some of the exciting playlist takeovers include:

• For the love of huns x: The meme machine that is @loveofhuns will be taking over the Out Out playlist. Out Out is for those nights like no other.

• Jamaican singer Alicai Harley is curating DanceHall Queen - the best in dancehall vibes for the gyaldem!

• Glitterbox - the legendary disco night, Mother - the old school club night for the disco-loving LGBTQ+ family and friends, and Big Dyke Energy - the queer car park rave with no rules, will all be taking over Queer Spaces with tunes from the heart of the queer underground.

• Fiorious, friends of Glitterbox taking over Queer Spaces alongside Horse Meat Disco, said, “Amplifying queer voices and queer spaces is important not just for artists and club nights, but especially to help queer kids find voices and stories that reflect their own. Pride is a reminder of our collective struggle of the last 50 years, and also of the important work still to be done to protect our community around the world.”

As the world’s most popular audio streaming service, Spotify has the unique ability to inspire and drive positive change through the power of audio. For Pride 2021, Spotify UK/IE is using that power to amplify and support queer creators and venues across four major cities in the UK/IE: London, Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin. Each city will have its own dedicated playlist within the Pride hub.

Spotify is also partnering with and highlighting trailblazing queer venues, clubs and spaces from across the UK that have been historically underrepresented, to create their very own Pride playlists for the first time including:

• Queer womxn, Trans, NB and Intersex POC club night and collective Pxssy Palace
Manchester Diskotek revolutionary Homoelectric

• Bristol-based underground punk rock LGBTQIA+ club Punka

• Global venues also include LA based Casita del Campo, Alibi Lounge in New York, and the popular A League of Her Own in DC

Punka said, “At Punka gigs I wanted to create a safe space for people to see diverse lineups and queer bands. Punka has been one of the official after parties for Bristol Pride since 2018 and all of our shows have this incredibly loving sense of community and safety that I’m so ridiculously proud of. Being part of Pride is a way to make sure everyone is represented no matter what their taste is. I’ve always wanted it to be the rockin’ badass night out that treats you like family!’

Spotify will continue to celebrate Pride throughout the month of June with additional global initiatives, including:

• Pride Singles: Continuing the Pride Singles program launched last June, Spotify is working with queer artists Dua Saleh and Lido Pimienta to create a new set of Pride original recorded singles.

• These will be dropping later this month.

• Social Share Cards: On social, users can express themselves with Pride cards -- filling in the blanks to show off what Pride sounds like to them in their own city, country or community.

• At the heart of this global campaign is a desire to permanently create more space for queer representation both on our platform and in our culture.