How every musician can (and should) be part of Band Shirt Day 2023

The second annual Band Shirt Day has been announced for Friday, September 15th, and every musician can participate in this global charity fundraising event which celebrates the iconic band t-shirt.

Band Shirt Day brings artists together to sell merchandise through their official sales channels and donate a percentage of proceeds to the charitable organizations of their choice. Like Record Store Day, Band Shirt Day encourages artists to create and sell unique, limited-edition merch items while using their platform to cause change.

Artists already signed on include Portugal. The Man, Blondie, Billy Strings, The Tragically Hip, The Format, Grace Potter, Urge Overkill, Meat Puppets, SPELLLING, Flipper, Dead Kennedys, Monophonics, A PlaceTo Bury Strangers, The Estate of Jóhann Jóhannsson and more

Partners in the initiative led by MerchFriends include Spotify, Bandsintown, Hello Mech, Rough Trade NYC, and WASTOIDS.

In New York City, Band Shirt Day is partnering with Rough Trade to curate the free Artist Merch Market at indieplaza, Rough Trade’s festival at Rockefeller Center on Saturday, September 9th. The market will feature limited-edition products from Hello Merch, Rough Trade vinyl bins, artist signings, and more.

How To Participate In Band Shirt Day

Band Shirt Day encourages artists to donate proceeds from merch sales to causes of their choosing, including the official Band Shirt Day Fund in partnership with gofundme, which will distribute money to Planned Parenthood, Project Hope, The Ally Coalition, MusicCares, ACLU, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

To move more merch and raise more funds, artists should list their merchandise on their Spotify artist profile and raise donations using the Fan Support tool, reach out to their Bandsintown followers, and post on social media.

Any artist can register to participate and be included in the Band Shirt Day directory here.

“Independent music has a deep history of sustainability through community focus, fundraising, street teams, and guerilla marketing,” said MerchFriends and Hello Merch co-founder Sam Means. “MerchFriends, through Band Shirt Day, is bringing together communities to help solve problems we face every day.”

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.