MerchFriends has teamed up with Spotify to launch the first-ever Band Shirt Day, which will take place on September 16th.
MerchFriends is “a coalition of merchandise makers working to build a sustainable independent music merch ecosystem,” according to a release. Now, they’ll be working with Spotify to celebrate the “band tee” as a global fundraising initiative. Band Shirt Day will be an annual event, where artists come together to sell merchandise and donate proceeds to their choice of charity.
This year, big-name acts like Blondie, Mac DeMarco, Tori Amos, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Tragically Hip, and more are set to raise funds on behalf of their selected charitable organization. Thus far, artists will be donating to charities like Planned Parenthood, Children of Ukraine, The Ally Coalition, MusicCares, ACLU, TransLifeline, and more.
“I’ll be donating to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies,” artist Tex Crick says. “The songs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is the knowledge of our land transmitted through thousands of generations.”
Artists will participate in Band Shirt Day by listing their special, limited edition merchandise through their Spotify artist profile and raising donations.
“As a queer artist, protecting trans lives is extremely important to me. I’m so glad to have an opportunity like Band Shirt Day to highlight Trans Lifeline,” BEGINNERS adds. “Every BEGINNERS “L.A. QUEER” shirt purchased not only allows you to celebrate queerness, but it also allows you to contribute to protecting trans kids.”
