Though you’ll be forgiven for pondering that Nationwide Band Shirt Day is only a day when music followers leap on the alternative to take a selfie of their favorite band tee (which hopefully hasn’t been sourced from Primark or H&M), the annual occasion is now a lot greater than an excuse to bask in self-importance and search validation.

In 2022, Band Shirt Day grew to become a world charity initiative. The initiative noticed many well-known and iconic acts taking part. Angel Olsen, Blondie, Tori Amos, Sonic Youth, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard had been only a few of the bands that signed themselves up for the initiative by agreeing to donate proceeds from merch gross sales to charity.

Whereas there aren’t any official figures on how a lot cash was raised in whole for the taking part charities, together with Kids of Ukraine, Deliberate Parenthood, TransLifeline and the ACLU, loads of benevolent music followers reached for his or her wallets to help charities and get their palms on limited-edition merch objects.

Wherever you’re on the planet, and have 500 followers or 500,0000, you’ll be able to participate in Band Shirt Day. This yr, it can fall on Friday, the 15^th of September.

Extra initiative companions are becoming a member of by the day. To date, they embody Bandsintown, Spotify, MerchFriends, Tough Commerce NYC, WASTOIDS, and Good day Merch. Tough Commerce is even going so far as curating a free Artist Merch Market, which is able to pop up on the Tough Commerce pageant, Indieplaza, on the Rockefeller Heart on September 9^th. Attendees will be capable of snag limited-edition merch objects made by the truthful palms at Good day Merch, rummage by way of vinyl bins, and get the possibility to satisfy their favorite artists at artist signing stalls.

How Bands Can Take part in Band Shirt Day 2023

Collaborating in Band Shirt Day 2023 couldn’t be simpler. Merely register at BandShirtDay.com. Promote your merch through your common official channels. Determine on which charity you would favor to help, after which donate a share or all of the proceeds from gross sales made on September 15. You might be in full management over how a lot of the proceeds out of your merch gross sales you need to give. In any case, merch is likely one of the greatest money-spinners for unbiased artists!

Though it’s not crucial, creating limited-edition traces of merch is very inspired by the charity organisers to create an occasion much like Document Retailer Day to make as many music followers as excited in regards to the occasion as doable. Everybody within the music world has seen how a lot hype surrounds Document Retailer Day. Folks flock to file shops in droves and even go so far as queuing in a single day to get their palms on a limited-edition merchandise. With sufficient promotion and participation from artists, Band Shirt Day 2023 has the potential to be simply as huge as this yr’s Document Retailer Day, which was reportedly larger than ever.

For those who don’t have the time, cash, or assets to create new traces of merch, you’ll be able to all the time try to clear your outdated merch inventory by letting your followers know that you’re taking part within the charity occasion through your social media channels.

For those who can’t resolve which of the charities you need to donate your proceeds to, you’ll be able to all the time select the official Band Shirt Day Fund, which has been arrange by GoFundMe. The official fund will evenly distribute cash to Undertaking Hope, Deliberate Parenthood, the Animal Authorized Defence Fund, The Ally Coalition, Music Cares, and the ACLU.

To maximise your merch gross sales, and in flip, elevate extra funds for charity,  promote your merch in your Spotify artist profile and think about elevating donations through the Fan Assist Instrument. Bandsintown has additionally made it straightforward for artists to announce their participation through their platform and create eye-catching posts for social media.

There aren’t any restrictions on which artists can take part in Band Shirt Day 2023. So there’s no cause why it is best to sit this annual occasion out!

How Music Followers Can Get Concerned with Band Shirt Day 2023

Along with setting apart some money to spend on band tees on the 15^th of September, music followers can even help Band Shirt Day by spreading the phrase in regards to the occasion to make sure as many individuals realize it as doable. As it is just a yr from the inaugural occasion, the worldwide charity occasion has some strategy to go to achieve the mainstream dialog.

Right here’s how one can assist:

• Subscribe to the Bands Shirt Day e-newsletter by visiting the official web site.
• Tag @bandshirtday and use the #bandshirtday hashtag in your social media posts.
• Inform your family and friends in regards to the charity occasion.
• Urge bloggers, radio stations, and podcasters to advertise the occasion.
• Attend a Band Shirt Day occasion or organise one in all your individual.
• Donate to the Band Shirt Go Fund Me.

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For extra recommendation on band merch concepts and gross sales, take a look at our weblog on how unbiased artists can maximise merch gross sales in 2023.

Article by Amelia Vandergast