Emily recently worked with Reverb.com editor Joel Handley to put together a list of ways fans can support musicians in particular during the COVID-19 shutdown. Read an excerpt below and click here to read the whole article.
Merch sales can often represent a significant portion of artists’ income while they’re touring. With tours cut, buying a t-shirt or poster now can be just as helpful, especially since many artists had just bulk-ordered merch, gearing up for the spring and summer touring season.
As just one example, Chicago-based band Ratboys released their newest album on Feb. 28, 2020 on Topshelf Records. They planned a tour around the release and printed up their first-ever tour shirt complete with cities on the back. Now, they have boxes of merch that they’re trying to sell on social media.
“[We] make 99.9% of our income on the road,” they wrote on Instagram, “… but, looking on the bright side, now we have lots of time to listen to music we love and get inspired.”