Beatport, the world’s leading destination for electronic music, today announced that its 34-hour live stream “ReConnect” in partnership with Twitch, raised more than $180,000 for the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and the AFEM Members’ COVID-19 Hardship Fund. Set up specifically to administer donations from this event to help struggling AFEM member companies retain lower earning workers who would otherwise be let go, and to direct funds to individuals within the membership in most need of urgent financial help. Donations are still being accepted here: https://tiltify.com/@beatport/reconnect
Beginning on Friday, March 27th, this global DJ extravaganza featured an A-list line up from the world of electronic dance music, with artists including Carl Cox, Bonobo, Pete Tong, Nina Kraviz, Griz, RÜFÜS DU SOL, A-Trak, Nicole Moudaber, Chris Liebing, ANNA, Nora En Pure and many other renowned DJs performing from their homes, with the expressed intention of reconnecting the global dance community during this unprecedented pandemic crisis.
Amassing over 8.5 million views from more than 150 countries across Beatport.com and Beatport’s Twitch and social channels, and over 6,200 donors, this unparalleled online DJ event provided the perfect platform for music fans to dance away their isolation blues for the very best of causes. In addition to partnering with Twitch, Beatport collaborated with several industry partners including Pioneer DJ, Native Instruments and Denon to give away dozens of music products to viewers.
“We are deeply grateful for all the talented artists and their teams that made the ReConnect event possible, and equally impressed with the dedication and passion shown by the global electronic music community that tuned in for over 34 hours this past weekend to reconnect with their favorite DJs”, commented Robb McDaniels, Beatport’s CEO. “The generosity of our entire community, including so many great industry partners that donated products to give away, is what resulted in a large donation to two non-profits that can ensure the health and stability of our world and our industry in the months to come.”
“A huge THANK YOU to all involved in delivering this epic event and to everyone who made a donation. The phenomenal response from the electronic music community has shown a glimpse of what we can achieve through collective passion for our scene to support, connect and inspire each other with acts of generosity, innovation, love and unity. AFEM will ensure everyone’s generosity reaches those members in most need of urgent financial help and the World Health Organization (WHO) global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic”. commented Greg Marshall, General Manager, AFEM (Association For Electronic Music)
The leading donor was Pioneer DJ with an incredibly generous private contribution, as well as many products to giveaway during the livestream. There were also generous donations from Landr and Loopmasters.
As well as providing a 34 hour feast for the ears, Beatport provided track IDs as songs were played on Twitch, so fans could purchase music live, supporting the independent artist and label community directly.
The ReConnect event was powered by Beatport’s Creative Services team, who will be bringing more exciting initiatives, live stream and festival alternatives to the DJ and electronic music communities throughout 2020.
#globalreconnect
ABOUT BEATPORT:
Founded in 2004 as the principal source of music for DJs, Beatport is today the worldwide home of electronic music for DJs, producers, and their fans. The Beatport Store offers music in premium digital formats and provides unique music discovery tools created for and by DJs. Each week, Beatport's music collection is refreshed with hundreds of exclusive tracks by the world's top electronic music artists. Beatport has offices in Denver, Los Angeles and Berlin. ABOUT AFEM: ASSOCIATION FOR ELECTRONIC MUSIC
AFEM is the global voice for the electronic music industry, representing our community, culture and commerce. Our membership spans industry sectors from Labels to Live, Managers to Media, Retail to Rightsholders, Technology to Talent Agencies. We have over 200 company members across 25 countries ranging from key industry leaders such as Mixmag, Boiler Room, WME, CAA, Mixcloud, Toolroom, Soundcloud, Traxsource, FUGA, Beatport, Pioneer DJ, Pandora, Native Instruments, !K7 through to brand new start-ups. We connect our worldwide membership to develop opportunities and enable change. ABOUT WHO: WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. It is part of the U.N. Sustainable Development Group. The WHO relies on assessed and voluntary contributions from member states and private donors for funding. As of 2018, it has a budget of over $4.2 billion, most of which comes from voluntary contributions from member states.