Organisers have detailed this year’s incarnation of Ausmusic T-Shirt Day, announcing a suite of ambassadors, new merchandise, and the official date it’s set to take place.
Returning for its ninth year, Ausmusic T-Shirt Day will take place on Friday November 19. As it has been since 2017, this year’s event is a collaboration between triple j and Support Act, “raising awareness to celebrate Australian music and raise urgently needed funds for music workers in crisis”.
Ausmusic T-Shirt Day encourages punters to snap a photo of themselves wearing a local act’s merchandise, upload it to social media with the hashtag #AusmusicTShirtDay, and support the initiative financially through a range of fundraising avenues (which include straightforward donations, merch sales and a team-based fundraising drive).
Last year’s November event raised more than $327,000 for the charity. It was the second Ausmusic T-Shirt Day held in 2020, with a supplementary special edition held by triple j that April. By way of that one-off bonus event, an additional $26,000 was raised.
Donations for this year’s event opened this morning (October 5) alongside the announcement, with a line of exclusive merch released to support the initiative.
In addition to a new version of its own design (which features a non-binary echidna behind a drum kit, inked by First Nations artist Bree “Little Butten” Buttenshaw), the line includes shirts highlighting artists such as Genesis Owusu, G Flip, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Spacey Jane, Tones And I, Powderfinger and Tame Impala.
Supplementary partners include SoundMerch, Warner Music Australia, Artist First, Merch Fan, CrewCare, Sony Music and Merch Jungle, all of whom have launched their own lines of bespoke Ausmusic T-Shirt Day merch.
The event’s ambassadors have also been announced, with 16 acts linking up directly with Support Act. Such names include Jessica Mauboy, 5 Seconds Of Summer, Amy Shark, Lime Cordiale, Mo’Ju, The Amity Affliction, Ngaiire, Peking Duk and The Teskey Brothers, as well as the original line-up of The Wiggles.
“Our industry is in crisis like never seen before,” Mauboy said in a press release. “We’ve lost work and livelihoods due to the pandemic, and for many this is our hour of need. Ausmusic T-Shirt Day is a simple and fun way YOU can help raise funds to get our beloved Aussie artists and music workers back on their feet.”
Support Act CEO Clive Miller added: “While there is now light at the end of the COVID tunnel, thanks to the massive uptake of vaccinations across Australia, there is still a long way to go before the music industry is operating at pre-pandemic levels.
“We know just how much the Australian community loves and misses their live music, which is why we are asking everyone with a passion for Australian music to get behind this year’s Ausmusic T-Shirt Day to help raise the funds we urgently need to continue providing our support services to music workers in crisis.”