2023 PRESS RELEASE

Second Annual Band Shirt Day Friday, September 15th, 2023 

Portugal. The Man, Blondie, Billy Strings, The Tragically Hip, Meat Puppets, The Format, Grace Potter, Urge Overkill, Flipper, SPELLLING, Dead Kennedys, Monophonics, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Estate of Jóhann Jóhannsson & More Confirmed to Participate 

Band Shirt Day invites artists to donate proceeds directly from merch sales to causes of their choosing, including the official Band Shirt Day Fund in partnership with GoFundMe and GoFundMe.org, which will distribute funds to Planned Parenthood, Project Hope, The Ally Coalition, MusicCares, ACLU, and Animal Legal Defense Fund & many more. 

PHOENIX, AZ – August 16, 2023: MerchFriends, a coalition of merchandise makers working toward a sustainable independent music merch ecosystem, has once again joined forces with Spotify for the second annual official Band Shirt Day (#BandShirtDay) on Friday September 15th. Celebrating the iconic “band tee,” this celebratory holiday drives a global fundraising initiative, uniting artists, fans, and the music industry at large. Additional event partners include Hello Merch, Bandsintown, Rough Trade NYC, and WASTOIDS. 

Band Shirt Day brings artists together to sell merchandise through their official sales channels and donate proceeds to charitable organizations of their choice. Like Record Store Day or AUS Music T-Shirt Day in Australia, Band Shirt Day invites artists to create and sell unique, limited-edition merch items while using 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, with proceeds going directly to the Band Shirt Day fund. 

Today the organization reveals the first round of participating Band Shirt Day artists including Portugal. The Man, Blondie, Billy Strings, The Tragically Hip, The Format, Grace Potter, Urge Overkill, Meat Puppets, SPELLLING, Flipper, Dead Kennedys, Monophonics, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Estate of Jóhann Jóhannsson & more joining forces to raise funds on behalf of their selected organization. This year’s Band Shirt Day Fund recipients in partnership with GoFundMe and GoFundMe.org includes Planned Parenthood, Project Hope, The Ally Coalition, MusicCares, ACLU, Animal Legal Defense Fund. 

"Growing up in Alaska we became connected to the native people and their communities and as we traveled the world we noticed that there was a lack of attention and funding for Indigenous causes," explain members of Portugal. The Man, returning for their second Band Shirt Day campaign. "We felt that we were in a good position to help raise the profile for their causes and decided to start PTM Foundation. We cover all the costs for the foundation so that 100% of the money we raise can go directly into the communities we support. We hope that we can be helpful in elevating their voices as we tour the world. Buying a shirt from our Foundation is an easy way to help.” 

A full list of participating Band Shirt Day artists, merch, and causes can be found here. 

Artists can register to participate in Band Shirt Day here.

“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 MerchFriends and Hello Merch co-founder Sam Means (The Format) on the inspiration driving the initiative. 

"Since the earliest days of people creating DIY t-shirts for their favorite artists, merch has been a physical and personal representation of fandom. It's an expression of identity, community, and support for the music makers and creators who add color to our world,” shared Heather Ellis, Product Marketing Manager for Spotify for Artists. “Band Shirt Day celebrates those creators and provides an opportunity for artists and fans to come together in support of the causes they care about most." 

For those in New York City, Band Shirt Day is once again partnering with Rough Trade to curate indieplaza's Artist Merch Market at indieplaza, Rough Trade’s and Rockefeller Center’s festival on the plaza at Rockefeller Center on Saturday September 9th. The market will feature limited-edition products from Hello Merch, plus Rough Trade vinyl bins loaded with goodies. Fans can participate in artist signings, DIY family fun, interactive games and more. indieplaza is free and open to the public. More information here. 

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About MerchFriends 

MerchFriends is a new 501(c) 6 organization that's bringing together some of the top names in the merch business to produce content, events, and educational material aimed at influencing and supporting a healthy independent music merch ecosystem. Led by Hello Merch co-founder Sam Means (The Format), MerchFriends' mission is to unite independent merchandise makers to support and sustain the industry and artists that they serve. https://www.merchfriends.org/ 

About Band Shirt Day 

Band Shirt Day is a global fundraising initiative, where artists come together for a single day to sell merchandise on their official sales channels and donate proceeds to charitable organizations of their choice. https://bandshirtday.com/

About Spotify Technology S.A. 

Spotify is the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service with a community of more than 433 million Monthly Active Users and 188 million Premium Subscribers. With a presence in 183 markets, and more than 80 million tracks including more than 4 million podcast titles, it has transformed the way people access and enjoy music and podcasts. 

About Rough Trade 

First opened in 1976, west London, on the doorstep of punk, Rough Trade soon came to define what it was to be an independent music store, being as much a hang-out for like minded

independent artists as it was a place to purchase music from the emerging DIY music scene. Over the next forty years, Rough Trade never lost sight of its independent ethos, accruing a trusted and respected reputation across the globe for championing exciting new music. Today, Rough Trade operates stores in New York, online (www.roughtrade.com), and the UK. Follow @RoughTradeUS on Twitter & TikTok; @RoughTradeNYC on Instagram and Facebook. 

About GoFundMe.org

GoFundMe.org is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81-2279757). Its mission is to provide fast and effective relief to victims of disaster, and to fund education and other charitable initiatives. Since 2017, GoFundMe.org has raised over $150 million, for distribution to nonprofit organizations serving the same mission, and to individuals in need. It strives to eliminate the paradox of choice for donors by providing a centralized place to give, knowing that those dollars are disbursed to many verified organizations and people.

About GoFundMe

GoFundMe is a community-powered fundraising platform dedicated to helping people help each other. Founded in 2010, GoFundMe combines storytelling and fundraising to make it easy for people to ask for help, connect with supporters, and reach their goals. GoFundMe gives people a way to make a meaningful difference for the causes and communities that are most important, urgent, and relevant to them and society.

About indieplaza 

A celebration of independent music, merchandise, and workshops lands in the center of New York City on September 9th 2023, co-hosted by Rough Trade and Rockefeller Center. The second-annual indieplaza will feature a thoughtfully curated lineup of artists, a band merchandise market, hands-on workshops, family and kids programming, artist signings, food and beverage, and more. Nation of Language will headline in advance of their highly anticipated third album Strange Disciple. indieplaza will also spotlight some of the most buzzy, up and coming artists in music today including Shoegaze Punks; Narrow Head; indie rock & pop duo, Video Age; Cali garage rockers, Death Valley Girls; Long Island hardcore band, Crime In Stereo; Electronic pop chameleon, DEBBY FRIDAY, and many more. 

About Bandsintown 

Top global live music discovery platform Bandsintown.com has more than 80 million registered users, up 10 million in the last year alone.  More than 590,000 registered artists use the free Bandsintown For Artists platform to build an audience, drive ticket, merch and music sales, and manage their fan relationships. For more information visit corp.bandsintown.com.

About WASTOIDS 

WASTOIDS is the audio/video channel from Hello Merch, creating television-ready live sessions, music videos, and an expanding array of music-focused podcasts. For more information, visit WASTOIDS.COM. 

MerchFriends Media Contact: Jason P. Woodbury jason@hellomerch.com

Spotify Media Contact: Brittnee Walker brittneew@spotify.com 

Media Tools: https://bandshirtday.com/graphics