potify is steadfast about its commitment to highlighting women artists thro-ugh its initiative, EQUAL Pakistan.

The initiative highlights one specific woman artist every month and gives their music a significant push through its app via playlists and a digital billboard on Times Square, New York City (NYC).

To that end, the latest EQUAL Pakistan ambassador is Maria Unera, an artist who has been working in the industry for several years but is often considered emerging.

Whether Maria Unera’s music is known to you or not can change in the New Year. With the Spotify push, it will be easier to find and listen to her discography.

Maria is the EQUAL Pakistan’s latest ambassador and so apart from the billboard in NYC, her song ‘Feel’ has found a spot (after careful selection) on EQUAL Pakistan’s playlist this month.

Maria made some serious buzz when she – along with an all-girl band – performed a cover of ‘Love Me Again’ by John Newman years ago as part of Nescafe Basement. Some of Maria’s other well-known songs include ‘Strong’ which is “a stirring ode to her mother who passed away after battling cancer” and collaborative songs including ‘Aaja Na’ with Qurram Hussain and ‘Options’ with OCL (produced by Dotxb).

On becoming Equal Pakistan’s latest ambassador, an excited Maria said in a press statement: “Super grateful and thrilled to be Spotify’s EQUAL ambassador for this month. This program is exactly what women artists need around the world and I look forward to sharing my voice through EQUAL.”

In the New Year, Spotify will soon enter its second anniversary of operating in Pakistan (February). And, it has slowly become home to glorious Pakistani music of every genre.

You can find majority of artists from the international music community in addition to local acts. Spotify has also made downloading (legal or illegal) nothing more than a tedious task.

As for its EQUAL Pakistan initiative, other past ambassadors (in no particular order) include Shae Gill, Hadiqa Kiani, Natasha Noor-ani, (the late) Nazia Hassan, Arooj Aftab, Eva B, Momina Mustehsan, Natasha Baig, Mehak Ali and Zoha Zuberi.