Amidst all this uncertainty, we can be sure of one thing: your favourite local and independent businesses as well as freelancers, artists and contactors will struggle to survive without your help. We're urging our homies to be economiCools and offering some quick-tips on how to support those brave enough to go out on their own.
Our shared contribution will play a pivotal role in ensuring there's light at the end of the tunnel for everyone, not just the big dogs.
1. SUPPORT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Yep, you might not be getting cooked at Fisher's Beach Tour, Splendour In The Grass or Coachella until a bit later on in the year. Unfortunately, the only people getting cooked right now are the organisers, artists, food vendors and all those who work tirelessly behind the scenes. They've lost their source of income and any sense of financial security due to recommendations handed down by the Australian government.
Currently, the music industry has lost over $150 million in lost income according to the crowdsourced initiative I Lost My Gig Australia as a result... and apparently that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Here's how you can do your bit:
• Avoid asking for a refund on tickets where possible. It's looking unlikely you'll need your bender budget for the next couple of weekends at least, if you can, take the your cash hit and do your bit to keep the industry afloat. We owe it to these festivals for some of our fondest and loosest memories. Some cancelled festivals such as Groovin The Moo are allowing people to hold onto their tickets for next years edition as well.
• Buy some music and merchandise from your favourite artists. With gig cancellations happening left right and centre, your favourite artists have lost their major revenue stream. They need your help, and quaranstreaming their tunes just won't cut it. BandCamp are waiving their revenue share on sales this Friday which is a perfect opportunity to put some money directly in your favourite artists' pockets. Artists like Client Liaison do some rad merch as well.
• Donate to fundraisers. An easy, effortless and tax-deductible way to help our mates who have lost work. Australian charity Support Act kicked off a COVID19 Emergency Appeal this week with all money used for artists, crew, and music workers who have been impacted by the shutdown.
2. BUY GIFT CARDS
Inject some cash into your favourite local restaurant, store or business and cop a gift card for yourself or send one to a loved one you might not be seeing for a while. You'll be giving that business a vote of confidence and can cash it in once this blows over or spend it now online.
3. ORDER TAKE-AWAY
As more people stay home, your favourite local food joints need your business more than ever. Leave your upcoming groceries run on the back-burner (thank us later, there's people punching on over toilet rolls out there) and get dinner delivered. Services such as Uber Eats are waiving delivery and service fees on all orders from local restaurants in the US and we're hoping Uber AU will follow suit. They've also got a stack of hygiene procedures including contactless deliveries for your peace of mind.
4. PURCHASE A PRINT
With the likelihood of a lot more time spent around the house, it's not a bad time to pimp your pad with fresh print by a local Aussie photographer. Our Prints offers a wide selection of epic prints from Australian artists who have recently lost income due to the widespread cancellation of festivals, events and indoor gatherings for an indefinite period of time. All prints include postage across Australia, our favourite is this one of Denzel Curry by Pat Stevenson.
5. SHOP ONLINE
Like many other businesses, our digital doors remain open on the corona-immune internet. We'll continue to offer our homies more value, more often on the everyday essentials that you need most.
For this weekend, we're offering our crew 30% off full-price with the code AFTERCOOLS and extending our global sample sale with up to 70% off previous season styles.
6. STOCK UP FROM YOUR LOCAL DISTILLERY
In these crazy uncertain times, our locals are operating with a bunch of new measures in place for peace of mind including limited capacity, card only transactions and extra cleaning/hygiene precautions to name just a few.
If you're keen to sip on a cocktail while you self isolate, grab a bottle and give yourself some well-deserved couch G&T's for doing your bit. Our favourites Poor Toms sells online at a number of local retailers like DRNKS (another fave of ours).
7. SHOP LOCAL
We also encourage you to support our independent Cools distributors during this period. You can shop with them in-store:
