Spotify Commits $200k To The Push As Part Of New Multi-Year Partnership

Global streaming platform Spotify has announced a first-of-its-kind, multi-year partnership with Australian youth music organisation The Push.

The new partnership is accompanied by a $200,000 donation from Spotify – the largest single donation ever received by The Push, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Announced during a flagship event in Sydney on Wednesday, February 25th, the new partnership is described as another step in Spotify’s commitment to Australian music, and aims to assist The Push in building credible, visible, and measurable youth pipelines into the industry, spanning areas such as education, access, advocacy and discovery.

The launch event also bolstered by an exclusive performance from Robert Baxter – a previous alumni of The Push – who was also joined onstage by Spotify’s latest RADAR artist MAY-A.

The $200k donation will also directly support The Push’s new ten-year strategy, A National Plan For Young Australians And Music, which serves as a roadmap that ensured every young person – regardless of postcode, income, or identity – can both participate and thrive within the Australian music scene.

“This is about empowering young Australians to connect meaningfully with music – having seen the deep impact and respect The Push has here in Australia, this partnership was a no-brainer,” says Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, Dustee Jenkins.

“Spotify’s support comes at a defining moment for The Push as we launch A National Plan for Young Australians and Music — a ten-year roadmap shaped by young people across the country,” added The Push CEO, Kate Duncan.

“This donation directly supports national music programs that build confidence, friendship and belonging, making participation simple and social for every young Australian.

“As we enter our 40th year, this partnership strengthens our ability to remove barriers and expand real-world opportunities, ensuring young people aren’t locked out of Australia’s music future, but elevated to help shape it.”

Spotify’s three-year partnership also aims to deliver access, education, and real-world pathways into live music and the broader industry; mental health, wellbeing, and safe cultural spaces; and equity, representation, and inclusion, particularly for under-represented communities.

While The Push has spent the past four decades largely focusing on Victoria, Duncan tells The Music that the next 40 years will see a concerted push around the rest of the country.

“The plan is really a plan to see youth music programs delivered across the country,” she explains. “We're really hopeful that the plan will give opportunities for more partners across the industry and for governments of all levels to invest in this work, because it's so important right now.”

When it comes to the partnership itself, Jenkins explains that a partnership such as this is vitally important not just to The Push, but Spotify as well. “We are always thinking about that next generation of artists and in order to ensure that Australia is not just healthy today, but long into the future,” she explains.

“We want to know that there is lots of opportunity, and so we're really proud of programs that we have like Glow, and Radar, and Equal, and those programs focus on creating those opportunities. But in addition to that, you get an organisation like The Push, which is 40 years old.

“They know how to find the talent, they are trusted within the industry, and then on top of that, we're not thinking about this as a one-and done-partnership; this is a multi-year partnership,” she adds. “That's key because driving change, making an impact, it takes time, and we want to have the patience for it.

“When Kate said that it was the largest donation we've ever had, it gets so meaningful to do that for an organisation and then to see what we can do together. And I was just chatting with Kate after the announcement and I said, ‘Let's talk in six months, 'cause I want to know how it's going.’

“Then I'll come back out in a year and I want to see where we are and how do we build on that. And so this is the beginning – beginnings are always exciting. There's no question that we'll learn through this, but I can't wait to see where we're going to go.”