Globally, at least 40% of bird species are in decline and one in eight birds are on the verge of extinction. To solve such a big problem, as the salvation of the birds, WWF needs the ongoing financial support, rather than a one-time infusion of funds. But the charity sector in Russia is still in its infancy.  In 2018, less than half of Russians made donations. Most people provided targeted financial assistance and did it on a 'one-off' basis. Only 2% of the population is subscribed to a monthly charity donation.

To create a sustainable income for WWF birds protection, Yandex.Music and Universal Music transferred the streaming model to the charitable sector with the campaign Birds Records - record label monetizing birdsong. Birdsongs of endangered species were made music samples that are available for everyone, on condition that all money earned from streaming tracks go to the WWF to support birds. 

Birds Records was launched with the track 'Dich' from Ivan Dorn. It burst into the charts and went viral on YouTube soon after release. After this initial success we received more than 500 tracks with birdsongs samples from different artists. The best of them was selected for the first Birds Records album. Streaming revenue from the album also generates money for birds via WWF.

Birds Records got over 1B impressions and helped to build awareness of the issue of birds becoming extinct. So far people have streamed over 130K hours of Birds Records music. Russia’s most popular late-night show dedicated the whole segment of the show to the project. The results are more than impressive: traffic to the WWF website increased by 50% resulting in a steady growth of donations. For the first two month we got over 1 million rubles, it’s 65% more than the previous most successful WWF campaign for birds.

Birds Records changed the donation model itself, making it as simple as clicking the 'play' button on a streaming service. It provided WWF with a stable flow of money to protect rare bird species. Samples with birdsong will remain available on the website so music artists will be able to use them. Streaming of all Birds Records music will generate money for as long as people keep listening to it.