San Francisco – Once again, calling all Bay Area musicians! San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) is soliciting submissions for its free music streaming platform Bay Beats. Starting March 1 through May 31, 2025, the Library will accept music for consideration in all genres, from jazz to soul, rap to rock, classical to world, New Age to noise and everything in between. 

Musicians currently playing or recording in the nine Bay Area counties are eligible. Submission guidelines can be found at baybeats.sfpl.org/faq. Bay Beats will pay selected musicians a $250 honorarium for their participation, but artists are not required to grant exclusive rights to music on the site. Artists are encouraged to share their music as much as possible.  

SFPL received 600 submissions from artists when it put out its call for music in 2023, and more than 420 submissions in 2024. While other U.S. and Canadian public library systems have similar music streaming platforms, San Francisco carries the distinction of having doubled the number of submissions previously received by a library system and is on track to offer the most robust catalog of its kind in the country. Musicians from all nine Bay Area counties have submitted tracks for consideration. In addition to nine community jurors—whose backgrounds range from a musician who moonlights as a queer cabaret performer to an African thumb pianist—a team of Library staff select the music for Bay Beats.  

“After the incredible success of our first couple years, and the enthusiastic welcome that we’ve gotten from the Bay Area music community, I’m thrilled that we’re accepting submissions for Bay Beats once again,” said librarian Brian Weaver, who oversees the project. “This is an integral way that the Library supports the local arts scene.” 

"Bay Beats gives local musicians the spotlight they deserve, making their music accessible world-wide. It's yet another amazing innovation and public service from the library system that the world desperately needs right now. I am endlessly amazed by the free services the Library provides. It brings communities together and improves individual lives,” said Audra Wolfmann, Marketing Director for Amoeba Music, San Francisco.

In 2024, SFPL expanded the Bay Beats program by offering free live music shows at its locations, including ambient music performances in the Main Library’s expansive atrium and a music showcase at the Richmond Branch, featuring Grammy Award-winning bluegrass outfit Kathy Kallick Band, eclectic Mandarin pop group Howan, Latin lo-fi artist Peña and psychedelic cabaret rock band Grooblen.  

"Bay Beats is important—it gives voice to singers, bands and musicians who would have not been listened to,” said Emmanuel Nado, host of KALW’s AfricaMix program and a community juror for the platform. “Bay Beats is responsive to local musicians and is en route to discover the next big music act out of the SF Bay and help them thrive.” 

Anyone across the country and around the world curious to hear the sounds of the Bay Area can stream music on Bay Beats. More than 300 albums from top-rated solo musicians and bands from a variety of genres are available for anyone to listen, with or without a library card. San Francisco Public Library cardholders have the added benefit of being able to download music. Additionally, the platform allows artists to curate their own band pages, so they can let their fans know the latest about upcoming gigs and new releases.  

To take a listen, visit baybeats.sfpl.org.  

Bay Beats is proud to partner with Amoeba Music and White Crate.