Blondie, Mac DeMarco, Tori Amos & More Confirmed For Inaugural 'Band Shirt Day'

MerchFriends, a coalition of merchandise makers working to build a sustainable independent music merch ecosystem, has joined forces with Spotify to launch the first official Band Shirt Day (#BandShirtDay) on Friday September 16th.

A celebration of the iconic "band tee" and a global fundraising initiative, MerchFriends and Spotify have partnered to establish this annual tradition of merch and giving, uniting artists, fans and the music industry at large. Additional event partners include Hello Merch, Bandsintown, Rough Trade NYC, and WASTOIDS.

The inaugural Band Shirt Day will bring artists together to sell merchandise on their official sales channels and donate proceeds to charitable organizations of their choice. Similar to Record Store Day or the existing AUS Music T-Shirt Day in Australia, Band Shirt Day invites artists to create and sell unique, limited edition merch items while encouraging them to use their platform to create change. Artists can participate by listing their specially designed merchandise on their Spotify artist profile and raising donations using the Fan Support tool, through HelloMerch.com, or existing sales channels with proceeds going directly to their selected charity.

Today the organization reveals the first round of participating Band Shirt Day artists including Blondie, Mac DeMarco, Tori Amos, Sargent House, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Maine, Tragically Hip, The Format, Urge Overkill, Flipper, Monophonics, The Estate of Jóhann Jóhannsson & more joining forces to raise funds on behalf of their selected organization. This year's recipients include Planned Parenthood, Children of Ukraine, The Ally Coalition, MusicCares, ACLU, TransLifeline with more being added everyday.

"I'll be donating to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. The songs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is the knowledge of our land transmitted through thousands of generations," says artist Tex Crick on the decision to participate in Band Shirt Day.

"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, says BEGINNERS. "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."

Knights of the Abyss adds "With the recent supreme court ruling concerning Roe vs. Wade, we figured the opportunity to use our platform to donate to Planned Parenthood only made sense. Women should have the right to choose."

"Independent music has a deep history of sustainability through community focus; fundraising, street teams, and guerilla marketing. MerchFriends, through Band Shirt Day, is bringing together communities to help solve problems we face every day," says Merch Friends and Hello Merch co-founder Sam Means (The Format) on the inspiration driving the initiative.

"Spotify is proud to partner with MerchFriends for the first ever Band Shirt Day," adds Heather Ellis, Product Marketing Manager for Spotify for Artists. "By pairing our merch listing and Fan Support tools, participating artists have the option to sell merch and raise funds for a cause they care about directly on their Spotify artist profile. Band Shirt Day is a celebration of merch, fandom, and the collective power of artists for good, and we are thrilled to support this initiative."

For those in New York City, Band Shirt Day will extend through the weekend. MerchFriends is partnering with Rough Trade to curate indieplaza's Artist Merch Market and establish a Band Shirt Day presence at Rough Trade's two-day festival on the plaza at Rockefeller Center on Saturday September 17th and Sunday September 18th.

The Artist Merch Market will feature limited-edition merchandise from Hello Merch, Low Level, Favorite Vegetable, plus Rough Trade vinyl bins, live screen printing from Upstate Merch, live art demonstrations from the legendary Steve Keene, Jose Berrio, artist signings and festival merch, DIY family fun, interactive games and more!

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