Gauntlet Gallery
What is Shepard Fairey’s piece called “Good Music (First Edition)”?
Artist Statement
I’m excited to share the cover art and poster that I designed for “Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy,” a compilation of previously unreleased recordings from some of the most important names in music! It features never-before-heard new songs, covers, remixes, live versions, and unreleased demos from incredible artists across many genres. The album and limited edition poster (signed by me) will be available exclusively for 24 hours only, starting NOW, Friday, September 4th via Bandcamp as part of their Bandcamp Fridays initiative. 100% of the net proceeds from the album’s sales will go to Fair Fight, a voting rights organization that promotes fair elections around the country through voter education, election reform, and combating voter suppression. Net proceeds from the limited edition poster (signed by me) will go to Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Support this important movement and get your hands on some GOOD MUSIC while you’re at it! Thanks for caring. -Shepard 18 x 24 inch screen-print on thick cream Speckletone paper. Signed by Shepard Fairey. Net proceeds go to Color of Change. Limited to 1000 prints. $75 each.
Summary
Good Music is a 2020 Shepard Fairey screen print created as the cover art and poster for the compilation 'Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy.' Printed on thick cream Speckletone paper, it measures 18 x 24 inches, is signed, and was limited to 1000 prints. Released exclusively for 24 hours via Bandcamp as part of Bandcamp Fridays, the album gathered unreleased recordings from major artists. Net proceeds from the signed poster went to Color of Change, the largest online racial justice organization, while album proceeds supported the voting-rights group Fair Fight.
Why It Matters
Good Music captures Fairey at the convergence of his music and political work during the high-stakes 2020 election season. As the designed identity for a star-studded benefit compilation explicitly titled to 'avert the collapse of American democracy,' the print is inseparable from a coordinated activist effort linking music, voting rights, and racial justice. The structure of the release is itself significant: a 24-hour, Bandcamp-exclusive drop timed to Bandcamp Fridays, with album proceeds directed to Fair Fight and net proceeds from the signed poster going to Color of Change. That dual-charity model and the urgency of the limited window make the piece a document of how artists mobilized cultural capital around the 2020 vote. For collectors, it bridges Fairey's two most collected categories, music and political activism, in a single object, while carrying a substantial edition of 1000 that kept it accessible at $75. It exemplifies Fairey's practice of using design as connective tissue for activist coalitions, turning a record cover into a tool for civic engagement and fundraising at a pivotal national moment.
Collector Perspective
This print appeals to collectors at the intersection of music memorabilia and political art, two of the most active areas of Fairey collecting. The link to a notable benefit compilation and the documented support for Fair Fight and Color of Change give it a strong cause-driven story. At 18 x 24 inches it is a standard, easy-to-frame poster size, and the $75 issue price and edition of 1000 made it broadly accessible. Collectors who pursue Fairey's election-year output, his Bandcamp and music collaborations, or charity-tied releases will find it a natural fit within a politics-and-democracy grouping.
Historical Context
Good Music sits squarely in Fairey's intensive 2020 election-year activism, when he produced numerous works tied to voting rights and democratic participation. Its release through Bandcamp as part of Bandcamp Fridays connects it to a broader, pandemic-era movement to channel music sales toward social causes. By designing the cover and poster for a benefit compilation supporting Fair Fight and Color of Change, Fairey extended his long practice of fusing music and political messaging into organized fundraising. The work reflects how, during 2020, he repeatedly used graphic design to lend visual coherence to coalitions focused on the election and racial justice.
FAQ
What is this print connected to?
It is the cover art and poster Fairey designed for 'Good Music To Avert The Collapse Of American Democracy,' a compilation of unreleased recordings from a wide range of artists, released exclusively for 24 hours via Bandcamp on September 4, 2020.
Where did the proceeds go?
Net proceeds from the signed poster went to Color of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization. According to the source, 100% of net album sales went to Fair Fight, a voting rights organization.
What are the size and edition details?
The screen print measures 18 x 24 inches on thick cream Speckletone paper, is signed by Shepard Fairey, and was limited to 1000 prints at $75 each.
How was the release structured?
The album and signed limited-edition poster were available exclusively for 24 hours via Bandcamp as part of Bandcamp Fridays, beginning Friday, September 4th, 2020.
Related Works
About the Artist
Shepard Fairey (b. 1970, Charleston, South Carolina) is an American street artist, graphic designer, and activist, and a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. His 1989 “André the Giant Has a Posse” sticker grew into the global OBEY GIANT campaign — an ongoing experiment in propaganda, obedience, and visual culture. He reached worldwide recognition with the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, now held by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Across screen prints, stencils, murals, and collage, Fairey channels propaganda aesthetics toward themes of peace, justice, environmentalism, and civil rights. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and LACMA.