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Spotify Pride Playlists Celebrate LGBTQ Community

The launch comes as Spotify tops 100 million active users, up from 75 million in the last year or so.

 & Stephanie Mlot Contributor

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As the world continues to mourn those lost in last week's mass shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, Spotify is offering some music therapy.

The streaming service this week launched a new set of "Pride" playlists—30-plus compliations of tunes curated for and by the LGBTQ community. The category is led by the "Pulse" playlist, dedicated to the victims and survivors of the worst mass shooting in US history. Forty songs—spanning decades and genres—represent hope, love, happiness, recovery, and change.

But June 2016 is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, so Spotify is also turning up the volume with "Pride Classics" (ABBA, Village People, Right Said Fred, Cher, and plenty of disco), as well as music for every mood: alternative, electric, Latin, hip hop, romance, Broadway, and more disco.

Also look for the #PressPlayForPride tag, signifying playlists with personal commentary from LGBTQ artists and advocates like Adam Lambert, Tegan & Sara, Years & Years, Brandi Carlile, Troye Sivan, Kathy Griffin, MNEK, Kelly Osbourne, Rufus Wainwright, Dita Von Teese, Perez Hilton, and Conchita Wurst.

"We created #PressPlayForPride because we are a company that celebrates diversity and creates content that our listeners can identify with," Isa Notermans, Spotify global head of diversity and inclusion, said in a statement to PCMag.

"Given how popular Pride playlists are with Spotify's listeners, we believe the inspirational commentary and incredible music #PressPlayForPride offers will truly resonate with music fans and provide a soundtrack for their Pride celebrations all season long," Notermans added.

Spotify isn't the first tech titan to acknowledge the travesty in Orlando: Facebook last week activated its Safety Check feature for the first time in the US after a gunman killed 49 people in Florida.

The launch comes as Spotify tops 100 million active users, up from 75 million in the last year or so. The company has about 30 million Premium users, but it offers ad-supported free listening, a community that is now about 70 million strong.

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Stephanie Mlot

Stephanie Mlot

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  • B.A. in Journalism & Public Relations with minor in Communications Media from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)
  • Reporter at The Frederick News-Post (2008-2012)
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