San Francisco Public Library Bay Beats streaming service.

The San Francisco Public Library is launching a new streaming platform, Bay Beats, to provide local musicians with a platform for expanding their audiences.

Starting today and running through July 31, the library is accepting submissions in all genres for consideration. Bay Beats will go live this fall will commercial-free, curated music to listeners online. The intent is to spread the reach of artists from the Bay Area

Musicians currently playing or recording in the nine Bay Area counties are eligible. Guidelines and rules are available at the San Francisco Public Library’s website.

A panel of jurors from the library and local music community will review the tracks and select albums for the site. Bay Beats will pay selected musicians $250 for their participation. Artists are not required to grant exclusive rights to music on the site. Anyone will be able to access the music. Listeners with a San Francisco Public Library card (currently about 450,000 in all) will be able to download albums for free.

The platform will include links to artists’ websites so fans can find out about live shows and buy music and merchandise.

“I’m very excited to get Bay Beats off the ground,” said librarian Brian Weaver, who’s played an instrumental role in planning and launching the platform, in a news release. “I think it will be a really great way to check out the variety of amazing local music that continues to be created in the Bay Area.”

With this service, the San Francisco Public Library joins other public library systems who’ve seen success with the launch of their own music streaming platforms, such as public libraries in Nashville and New Orleans. The goal of each streaming service is to capture the unique sounds of their local music scene.

If an artist is not selected for the streaming service, they will be able to apply again the following year during a yearly submission call.

The San Francisco Public Library system is made up of 27 neighborhood branches, the San Francisco Main Library at Civic Center and four bookmobiles.