Celebrate and Honor Pride With LGBTQIA+ Artists, Creators, and Curated Playlists on Spotify’s GLOW Hub
From the rise of disco in the 1970s to the current wave of hyper pop, queer creators continue to shape trends, styles, and creative expressions in music and beyond. Last year, as part of Spotify’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and diversity within the audio industry, we launched GLOW, our year-round global music program amplifying LGBTQIA+ artists and creators.
Through GLOW, Spotify uplifts LGBTQIA+ creators and ensures that their contributions to music and culture are heard and celebrated year-round. That includes Pride Month, an annual time celebrated around the world to honor the community, raise awareness of issues and injustices, and advocate for LGBTQIA+ equality.
This year we’ll continue to celebrate the vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and its rich history, culture, and achievements. Through our GLOW artist spotlights, curated playlists, and more exciting content, we can feel proud supporting and streaming LGBTQIA+ creators.
We recognize the power of our platform to elevate, uplift, and spotlight voices that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented, and we’re committed to using it to continue to drive cultural change. Since GLOW launched in January 2023, Spotify has added more than 10,200 LGBTQIA+ artists to GLOW playlists globally.
GLOW artists received more than 140 million editorial streams within the first month of joining the program. In total, GLOW playlists have racked up more than 280 million streams and enabled more than 62 million discoveries.
LGBTQIA+ creators who GLOW
On Spotify, listeners in more than 50 markets can visit the GLOW hub. The hub serves as a dedicated space to highlight audio offerings from LGBTQIA+ voices year-round, with curated selections and monthly campaigns supporting spotlight artists. We’ve collaborated with stars like Tove Lo, Arlo Parks, Troye Sivan, and Villano Antillano, to name a few.
This month, we’re highlighting Orville Peck from Canada and Karin Ann from Slovakia as our GLOW spotlight artists; they are receiving increased support as part of our global program.
Karin Ann
Orville Peck
Our flagship GLOW playlist has also been refreshed with tracks from talented LGBTQIA+ artists and contains recorded stories from Karin Ann, Joya, Nemo, Lelowhatsgood, Fanny Hultman, and Catz ‘n Dogz.
The hub spotlights specific music genres, from folk to house music, and includes a selection of playlists cocurated by GLOW artists and LGBTQIA+ influencers for Pride. Check out Vogue Beat, cocurated by Duda Dello Russo and Félix Pimenta, and Club Resistance, cocurated by Catz ‘n Dogz, Tove Lo, and SG Lewis.
Additionally, this year we launched GLOW Tapes in the U.K., a new playlist series from LGBTQIA+ storytellers dedicated to enhancing connection through music. The series aims to capture the multifaceted human experience of queer creators, giving each playlist curator full control over their theme. For instance, Scottish fashion designer Charles Jeffrey, of the label Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, created a playlist under the theme PUTTY SATIN BLUSH.
“I was super thrilled to put together a playlist for GLOW,” said Charles. “I included a mash-up of my favorite music right now, ranging from queer cult classics to post-punk jewels and some cinematic music that will make you laugh or cry. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!”
For podcast fans, the LGBTQIA+ Creators We Love hub includes a selection of shows and episodes from the community, including Handsome and Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. This Pride Month, audiobooks are also making their debut on GLOW. Featuring seven playlists across all six Audiobooks in Premium markets spanning everything from memoirs to sci-fi and fantasy, this list displays the depth of storytelling within the LGBTQIA+ community.
GLOW here, there, and everywhere
With so much incredible talent to highlight and celebrate, GLOW continues to evolve and expand. In addition to LGBTQIA+ songwriting camps, GLOW has hosted talks, panels, and events around the world to bring together artists and creators from across the LGBTQIA+ community.
We even brought GLOW to Spotify Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona, in May 2023. We celebrated queer artists and creators with a full stadium takeover, reinforcing the message that the more diverse our communities are, the richer they become.
Dive into this year’s Pride celebrations by streaming our flagship GLOW playlist.
