Hello awesome people/bands!

Earlier this year when we were at SXSW, we went to talk on how musicians/bands are maximising and changing the ways they sell their merchandise to their fans. I think the main thing that came across in that hour was the fact that the music scene is really evolving in terms of the actual products bands are selling and how important band merch now is – not just as a source of income but to keep the band afloat.

Please note, this is not a sales pitch. We’re in the merchandising business but we’re more interested in helping you guys out with some ideas. Anyone in a band will know the CD sales are falling and it’s now imperative to maximise merch sales. The bigger record labels now tie bands in with 360 merch deals – (meaning bands have to pay a certain percentage of profits to the label). Labels are even looking at merch sales as a metric for bands that are doing well. It’s all involved in the modern music world. Taking time with your merch shows you care and it’s a reflection of your band/image. The bigger artists are now creating cohesive campaigns across all platforms – and that ties in merch with say a new album release. If your favourite band release a new album, you’re gonna wanna buy the shirt that matches it – whether it’s online or at a show. I think that SXSW was awesome, maybe not for making us think of innovative ideas but for reinforcing and reminding us what we already knew… so hopefully these next few points will help you and your band and establish some good ideas for you to make some money.

 • Fans love limited-edition merch. Number some CDs, print up some exclusive posters or maybe even a short run of t-shirts specific for a tour/release. Check out the above picture of the Paramore plectrums we printed a while back. The band won’t have made money from them but they look awesome and people will talk about them online. 

• Talking about limited-edition merch. How about limited merch bundles? Combine that new CD with an awesome t-shirt.

• Innovative and strange merch. Make yourself stand out from the pack! There’s loads of extreme examples in this Buzzfeed article. From action figures to snuggies to cycling jerseys – maybe your band can’t go that extreme just yet but even the influx of Christmas jumpers (EG: Slayer, Descendents, Blink 182) could easily be mimicked by a band of any size. The Green Day brain-shaped CD is the first CD that I remember as standing out as a unique piece of merch. 

• Know who you are selling to! Make a connection with your fans and make sure people know you have merch for sale online as well as at shows. Promote yourself!

• Photograph people buying merch at your shows. This can help with online sales as well as deepen fan engagement. Maybe ask your fans to send you pictures in of them wearing your band shirt?

• Give other bands or maybe even a famous band/person one of your shirts! Make sure you get a photo and send it out across your social. If you do the same for your friends’ bands, then you’ll soon start spreading the word about.

• Have someone personable work the merch table. If your drummer doesn’t like talking to people then make him go and count his sticks, whilst your extroverted bassist gets his merch on. Don’t forget to hang out at the merch stand for 1 & 1 with fans and maximise interaction!

• Make sure you’re running some sort of mailing list for your fans, so you can tell them about all your new merch ideas. E-mail lists are very important in terms of creating extra revenue (and keeping everyone up to date).

• Artwork! I think this is one of the most important things I’ve learnt. Please make sure your artwork is awesome! The better it is, the more likely it is that you’re gonna sell things. If you’ve got some money, pay an artist to create you something. If not, think of a good idea and get drawing!

• Similar to the one above but if you get a good artist to design you a gig poster, why not sell the poster on as merch? Maybe even screen print some posters… we all know how big the poster scene is at the moment. Check this out.

• Don’t just go for the cheapest merch about. You still want your fans to be wearing your shirts in five years time. There’s nothing more disheartening than seeing your band’s shirt in your local charity shop because you went for a cheaper option. Ahem.

• Build fan loyalty! Maybe if you use something like Big Cartel, then offer a 10% discount for loyal fans? Discount codes are an excellent thing to reward loyal fans.

• Maximise your online merch sales. Make sure you spread the word via your social platforms. How are people gonna know about your rad new shirt if you don’t put a picture of it on your Instagram?

We’ll leave it at that for now. We’ll be back with three more parts to this blog series where we’ll speak to people in the know – the bands, the labels and the music shops. Bands – before you do any of the above things, make sure you have some songs! Thanks for reading!

Jhon x

#BandMerchSales

PS: I think grunge pioneers The Melvins may have gone a bit too far with their Melvin meat!