Being a musician can be a high-cost endeavor. From the expense of buying instruments and equipment to recording costs, marketing and promotion, touring, and management fees, without a holistic approach you could find yourself spending more money than you're taking in. For emerging artists, streaming revenue often falls short of covering even basic expenses, let alone sustaining a career.
Did you know that the average musician is likely to earn more from selling merchandise at gigs than by selling music online? This raises the question: are you maximizing your potential revenue from artist merch? In this article, we'll explore the importance of music merchandising for independent and emerging artists and provide insights on how to create, sell, and market your merch. We'll also cover the legal considerations to ensure you're on the right track.
What is Music Merchandising?
In today's music industry, independent and emerging artists often focus heavily on online marketing, networking, and sales. However, it's crucial not to overlook the importance of selling physical products as a vital revenue stream. The sale of music merchandise can make a significant difference in navigating tough financial moments and sustaining your career as it grows to meet your ambitions.
While there are many ways to sell your music online, most of them don't pay very well. This is even before considering the impact of online piracy, which has significantly dragged down artist incomes since the internet's arrival. That's why it's essential to utilize as many revenue streams as possible - and physical sales should be an indispensable part of every artist's revenue mix.
When thinking of 'physical' sales, emerging artists often consider vinyl. While vinyl sales have indeed rebounded and continue to grow, it's important not to forget other options such as CDs, T-shirts, clothing, buttons, and even cassettes (remember those?). The potential for income from these items is legitimate, and the profit margins can be substantial when selling directly to consumers.
Remember, as an artist, you're not just selling music. When you build a fan base, consumers often buy products as souvenirs or shows of support. An autograph can be as much a piece of memorabilia as a vinyl record, if not more, as it demonstrates a personal connection and shows you're part of a tribe. Essentially, when someone buys and wears your brand, they're paying you to advertise it, which can expand awareness of who you are and increase the number of people listening to your music, attending your concerts, and buying more music merchandise.
Obviously, not everyone will buy a T-shirt, CD, or bumper sticker online or at one of your concerts, but some will. So why miss out on that opportunity to connect with fans, advertise who you are, and put some much-needed cash in your pocket?
How did it all start?
There was a time when people might have asked the question, what is music merchandising? It started in the 1950s, when rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley's manager, Colonel Parker, signed a deal with Special Products, Inc. to produce merchandise such as T-shirts and hats, marking one of the first major commercial ventures in artist merchandising.
From that point, the concept of band merchandise continued to evolve with promoters like Bill Graham—a legendary concert promoter and music impresario. Graham managed iconic venues like the Fillmore West and Fillmore East, which became proving grounds in the '60s and '70s for legendary rock bands, including acts that Graham managed, such as the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.
Indeed, the Grateful Dead became pioneers in band merchandise, selling a wide range of items at concerts to fans known as ‘Deadheads’ who embraced merchandise as a way to show their support.
In the 1980s, metal bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica took artist merch to another level with elaborate designs and high-quality products becoming synonymous with their tours. This trend spread into the mainstream, driven by the success of major rock and pop acts, and continued into the late 1990s and early 2000s.
It’s fair to say that the internet became an extended avenue for growth until it began to affect traditional vinyl sales, which significantly changed the landscape for the sale of physical products. However, as e-commerce began to reduce revenues from traditional album sales, artists have been prompted to seek out alternative income sources, resulting in a much-needed resurgence in physical merchandise.
Getting Started with Your Merch
So, how do you get started when it comes to choosing the right merchandising for your brand and understanding what your audience actually wants? First and foremost, it’s crucial to understand your fanbase when it comes to designing and manufacturing artist merchandise.
When creating T-shirts, hoodies, posters, vinyl records, or other forms of artist merch, there's immense potential for creativity, and the possibilities are endless. However, you first need to reflect on your identity, musical style, and values before committing to the message you want to convey. Are you an edgy and defiant performer, or are you the more introspective type?
Furthermore, who are your fans? What do they like about you, and what sort of merchandise is likely to resonate with them? Understanding their preferences will help you design merchandise that specifically appeals to them. This may require some research, so feel free to engage with fans on social media to get their input on merchandise designs. This added engagement will make them feel involved and ensure you're creating items they'll want.
Whether you’re an emerging artist or more experienced, you should have already developed a sound brand strategy and have a firm understanding of how to market yourself. In those terms, you’ll have already defined your visual style and brand story, which will help when deciding the colors, fonts, and design elements to represent your music and personality. Consistency is key to creating a recognizable brand. Therefore, a memorable logo will be an essential and central element of your merchandise, aligning with your brand's visual identity.
Once you have a clear idea of what appeals to your audience and have worked on designs that define your visual style and story, you should look to provide a range of products catering to different preferences. Any ideas or feedback your fans have provided are likely to be wide-ranging, encompassing various forms of merchandise. From apparel such as T-shirts, hoodies, hats, caps, patches, and pins, to accessories like posters, tote bags, stickers, buttons, and badges - the wider the range you offer, the more likely you are to increase your sales potential.
While you may have a very specific brand identity, your merchandise is also likely to reflect various music campaigns across your career. With that in mind, it’s a great idea to create exclusive, limited-edition items to generate excitement and a sense of urgency around a specific release, especially as these can often become collector's items. Once you've run a campaign or several campaigns, consider offering merch bundles that combine different merchandise items at a discount.
Lastly, high-quality merch will reflect positively on your brand. Invest in good materials and printing techniques to ensure your items have longevity.
Marketing Your Merchandise
Marketing your merchandise offers a fantastic opportunity to get creative and find new ways to captivate your fans. Online marketing can truly shine here, allowing you to craft and share a compelling story around any merchandise launch, closely tied to your music, experiences, and brand narrative.
To support you on this journey, you may want to consider partnering with other artists, designers, or brands to create unique, limited-edition items. These short-term collaborations not only extend your reach but generate heightened awareness, making the merchandise even more desirable.
When it comes to selling merchandise online, building significant hype is essential to generate excitement and boost sales. Start by giving your audience sneak peeks, sharing teaser images or videos of new merchandise on social media - the key is to reveal just a little at first and build anticipation by only showcasing small parts of the designs.
Offering discounts for fans who pre-order merchandise can encourage early sales and build momentum, while autographing a select number of items will provide something unique and engage your fans further. You could even host a giveaway where fans can win new merchandise to encourage fan interaction.
To create a sense of pre-launch excitement, using a countdown timer on your website or social media can create a sense of urgency. This approach emphasizes that an offer is only available for a limited time and taps into the consumer's fear of missing out (FOMO), prompting them to make a purchase decision before it's too late. Announcing the launch to your email subscribers with enticing visuals and details about the new merchandise can also help.
By applying these strategies, you can generate excitement and anticipation for your merchandise launch, ultimately driving interest and sales.
Sales Channels for Your Merchandise
One-off shows and events provide the ideal setting for artists who do bring their merch to concerts, providing a unique and immersive experience that connects deeply with fans that are already in a highly excitable and engaged state of mind. These fans are there because they love you as an artist, and purchasing merchandise is a perfect way for them to show their support and remember the experience. Unlike online shopping, buying merchandise at these shows and events offers a sense of instant gratification in an atmosphere that encourages impulse purchasing.
These environments are also perfect opportunities to feature exclusive merchandise that's not available online. Fans are more likely to buy these unique items due to their limited availability, and being able to touch the products before buying can increase the likelihood of a purchase if they appreciate the quality and design.
For more experienced artists on tour, there is a significant opportunity to maximize merchandise sales and make them a major part of your live revenue stream. However, the most vital aspect of selling merch on the road is ensuring you can fulfill your orders when you arrive at venues. Creating a proper lead time is essential to ensure that manufacturing and shipping are ready prior to a gig. The earlier this is organized, the more likely you are to avoid potential supply chain issues and secure the materials you need.
Selling concert merchandise on tour requires considerable logistic planning. Depending on the tour size, selling merchandise can be a full-time job that might require a tour merchandise manager to help with storing, shipping, and managing inventory. There will also be the expense of setting up a merchandising stall that requires various preparatory items such as tables, lighting, extension cords, gaffer tape, zip ties, clips, price tags, bungee cords, credit card readers, security locks, and money bags.
To maximize sales in the locations where you're playing shows and events, you may want to consider collaborating with local businesses or pop-up shops—a temporary retail space that 'pops up' one day and disappears the next. This could involve setting up a pop-up stand inside a local businesses’ store or a shared booth at an event. This collaboration method is a win-win situation for both, helping you reach new audiences who may not be familiar with your music but are loyal customers of the business you're working with. Sharing resources with a local business can also reduce the costs associated with setting up and running your own merch stand.
To identify potential partners, reach out to local businesses that align with your brand and values, such as music stores, clothing boutiques, or cafes. Approach them with a clear proposal outlining the benefits of the collaboration for both parties, which could include co-hosting an event to cross-promote each other’s products, or even creating exclusive merchandise together. For further engagement, plan events such as meet-and-greets, live performances, or Q&A sessions at the local business premises to create a personal connection with fans and drive traffic to the pop-up shop.
Online sales channels
Your official website and social media are the most obvious channels for the sale of artist merch online. However, there are several websites designed for a global audience that specialize in selling music merchandise and offer various integrated payment options, inventory management, marketing tools, and analytics. Here are a few of those resources:
- Shopify: A highly customizable e-commerce platform that allows you to create your own e-commerce store where you can list and manage products, process orders, and handle payments, Shopify’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to set up and manage a customizable storefront, even if you're not tech-savvy, offering a wide range of themes and apps tailored to selling merchandise, from t-shirts to exclusive bundles.
- Bandcamp: Renowned for its artist-friendly model, Bandcamp allows you to sell both digital music and physical merchandise from a single platform, making it easy for your fans to support you in multiple ways. Like Shopify, it also allows you to create a personalized storefront to showcase merchandise and is known for taking a more reasonable percentage of sales compared to other platforms, allowing you to keep a larger portion of the profits.
- Merchbar: As the name suggests, Merchbar is a platform that partners with Spotify and other music streaming platforms, alongside artists, labels, and merch companies to sell official merchandise directly to fans. It’s basically a single destination for fans to discover and buy official merchandise from their favorite artists, allowing the seamless listing and management of products. Optimized for mobile users, Merchbar supports multiple currencies and languages, making it accessible to fans worldwide with customer support to handle orders, returns, and any issues that may arise.
Other platforms for selling merchandise directly to fans online include Sellfy, Big Cartel, and Etsy.
Managing Inventory and Fulfillment
Whether selling online or in-person, understanding the basics of inventory management is essential to efficiently oversee and control the ordering, storage, and use of your merchandise inventory. Depending on the scale of your operation, you might want to use an inventory management system to track stock levels, locations, and movements. With an efficient system in place, you can calculate the reorder point for each product and get a better understanding of lead times and average sales rates.
Fulfillment - the process of managing and delivering a customer's order from start to finish - can be done in-house or through a third-party logistics provider. In this model, the retailer doesn't keep products in stock. Instead, when an order is placed, the retailer purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer.
Dealing with returns effectively is vital for maintaining customer satisfaction and trust. Handling items in person is a little different to managing returns online, but with a little preparation you can ensure the process is smooth and efficient. Before a live show or event, establish a clear returns policy and communicate it to customers at the point of sale, displaying it prominently at your booth. For online sales, you should look to develop an equally accessible, transparent and easy-to-understand policy on your website. Ideally, you should look to handle refunds quickly and keep close communications with customers regarding the status of their return and refund. Excellent support can turn a negative experience into a positive one, so keep people informed throughout the returns process via email notifications or updates. You might also want to offer customers alternatives to returns, such as exchanges, store credit, or discounts on future purchases.
Monetizing Your Merchandise Effectively
Setting the right price for your merchandise can initially be quite challenging, but it helps if you have a firm understanding of your production costs, including raw materials, labor, overheads, and shipping. Once you've determined these, you'll have a baseline for your product pricing to ensure profitability.
Next, examine what competitors charge for similar products to gauge the market rate, while considering the value your product offers in terms of quality, special features, and brand positioning to decide if a higher price point is justified. Psychological pricing tactics, such as setting an item at $9.99 instead of $10.00, can be effective, but test different price points with your consumers to see what works.
Although you might view the sale of bundled items as a response to slow sales, it's actually a smart strategy. Bundling simplifies pricing and purchasing decisions for customers, who often perceive it as a better deal, encouraging higher sales volumes. Thoughtfully bundled products make customers feel they’re receiving value, and bundling lesser-known products with bestsellers can introduce them to new items. Additionally, bundling can reduce packing and shipping costs and help clear out unsold inventory.
Always track your merchandise sales to analyze which items sell best. For small-to-medium-sized businesses, Point of Sale (POS) systems, are excellent for tracking physical and online sales in real-time, while affordable inventory management software willhelp you monitor stock levels and track sales trends.
Legal Considerations
An important factor to be aware of when creating and selling your own merchandise is copyright and trademark infringement. To avoid these issues, it's crucial to respect copyright laws and ensure your merchandise designs are original or properly licensed.
Ignoring copyright infringement can lead to severe consequences. Additionally, your account on important online marketplaces could be suspended costing you valued business relationships and creating negative publicity that might damage your reputation and affect how customers perceive you.
The best way to avoid these consequences is to create your own unique designs and ensure you have full ownership and control over your merchandise.
Conclusion
In summary, merchandising has become an essential revenue stream for both emerging and established musicians, especially in a world where streaming sales alone are insufficient to sustain a career in the music industry. If you’re new to selling merch, start small, experiment with different products and strategies, and use customer feedback to refine your offerings over time.
A successful merchandising strategy begins with the artist understanding their fanbase and creating high-quality items they’ll love, while being unique in your approach will allow you to avoid the pitfalls of copyright law and trademark infringement while supporting your music in a highly creative way. These methods will help you to build a meaningful, long-lasting connection with fans and help financially sustain your career as it grows to meet your ambitions.
