Seven Ways to Support The Local Colorado Music Scene on Black Friday

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Written By Sarah Shuel

Here we are… it’s the biggest shopping day of the year! Black Friday is that day we all wait for - waiting in line for hours (in past years) to snag a deal on a big screen TV, Apple Watch, new kitchen appliances, or clothes galore. Black Friday is also traditionally the day to get your Christmas shopping knocked out. Consider this: Though many aren’t having sales, you can spend less money to support your local Colorado music scene on Black Friday and still knock out your gift shopping and a little shopping for yourself. Here are seven ways how:

1) Buy Directly From Musicians

This is hands-down the best way for your dollars to support local musicians and bands. When you ditch the big box stores and corporations and go straight to the source of the music, you guarantee that the artist takes home the lion’s share of the profits. Plus, band tees, hats, coffee cups, keychains, lighters, CDs, records, koozies, and other goodies make great gifts under the tree or stocking stuffers. Your merch gift goes even futher when your loved ones wear their new local band swag out and about, giving the band or musician even more exposure. If you’re looking to buy some sweet new local music merch, head to your favorite local muscian’s website and find their online store. Not sure where to begin? The amazing local music and travel blogger Greeblehaus has a list here with links to where to purchase.

2) Support Independent Record Stores

Colorado’s entire musical ecosystem is struggling right now, and we can all help by shopping their wares on Black Friday. Consider supporting your local independent record store today! Everyone loves to find vinyl under the tree and music truly is the gift that keeps giving forever. Vinyl is not a one-and-done gift, but rather a sustainable option that lets your loved ones continue to listen for years to come.

I’ve done a fair bit of traveling in the name of music and I am always thrilled to find a local record store in nearly every community - big and small - that I’ve visitied. These shops are such gems because they often carry hard to find local music on vinyl.

Colorado Public Radio’s Indie 102.3 put together a wonderful list of local record shops for Record Store Day 2019, which you can find below. Many of these stores are open and having Black Friday sales in-store, but I added online store links for all that I could find.

(List and map courtesy of Indie 102.3)

3) Become a Patron to Your Favorite Local Artists on Patreon

For a small monthly donation, you can become a Patron of your favorite local musicians, bands, podcasts, radio stations, and more on Patreon. These subscriptions usually start from $5.00 - $7.00 and are an affordable, sustainable way to contribute to your favorite parts of the local Colorado music scene for the entire year - not just for the holidays. As a patron, you get lots of cool perks like early access to tickets and new music, exclusive access to online live streams and behind the scenes content, and the opportunity to buy merch you can’t get anywhere else.

4) Buy Gift Cards to Local Venues

Local venues have lost 95% or more of their annual income this year due to restrictions from the Covid-19 virus. This is utterly heartbreaking. Without these venues, we don’t have local shows. These places are the ones that give aspiring musicians a chance when they’re starting out. They’re the reason that, on a regular night pre or post-pandemic, we have so many options to see a show on any given night of the week. These venues aren’t open right now, but you can buy gift cards to many of them to redeem for tickets at a later date. This helps these independent venues keep their rent paid and their lights on during these hards times. Later, when you redeem your gift card for tickets, remember to buy a drink or two and some merch so that the venues don’t have an income hole post-pandemic as well. If they’re offering, you can purchase a gift card for your favorite local venue on their website. Keep in mind, these are a great surprise for stocking stuffers for your music-junkie loved ones!

5) Deck the Halls with Prints from Local Music Photographers and Live Painters

Art is such a thoughtful gift purchase for your loved ones. Instead of heading to the bix box store or a generic website to get a piece of art that was factory-made in the thousands, go for something more unique that supports the Colorado Music Scene. Many local Colorado concert photographers and live painters are out of work, losing most of their income with the shutdown of live music venues and the absence of live shows. Give your family members and friends a thoughtful piece of art this year by buying them a print of their favorite local musician shot by a local photographer. If photography isn’t their thing, you can buy beautiful, custom-made art pieces, clothing, or other gifts of the like that you’d find at festivals. Many local photographers, painters, and makers have online shops on their websites or on Etsy. If you don’t know where to begin, do a Facebook poll of your friends to find out who their favorite local concert photographers and artists are. This doubles up the benefit for the artist with exposure and a purchase.

6) Check Your List at Local Music Stores

That musician in your life is always going to need new strings, picks, or drum sticks, and some are looking to upgrade their equipment this holiday season. Instead of buying from the corporate spots, support local music stores by buying your gifts directly from them or by purchasing a gift card so your loved one can use it for whatever they need. A popular local music store chain that’s Colorado owned and operated is Music Go Round, but there are many more in your own community that can be found with a quick Google search. As with all of the other gift ideas on this list, buying local means keeping the doors open and lights on for your local music store, which, in turn, means keeping these resource available for local musicians and keeping the money in our local economies. When we shop local, the entire community benefits.

7) Give to Local Colorado Radio Stations

Have you ever found a new local band you now love on a local radio station? Have you ever attended a rad event sponsored by a local radio station? Our independent Colorado radio stations do so much for our music community, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention them in this article. They need your support now more than ever. Indie on the Move has put together an awesome list here of Colorado’s local stations and their websites. The list isn’t exhaustive, so you should search for your local community station. You can help by donating, becoming a monthly subscriber, or buying their merch if they have it available. Don’t forget about online radio too - stations like Tri-Lakes Radio and Music Mafio Radio who always shine the spotlight on local.

Sarah Shuel
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