Hello, everyone! Welcome to a very special edition of our ‘Industry Spotlight’ series featuring the first and probably only guest who will remain entirely anonymous. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
There is very little mystery left in the world of entertainment. Blame it on the internet or the near-universal desire many share to be famous, but there seem to be fewer and fewer professionals – artists or otherwise – who choose to keep their true identities secret. This is not a problem necessarily, but it does take a bit of the fun our of entertainment. Today’s guest is one of the last personalities to remain veiled in anonymity, and we’re beyond excited to share their journey with all of you.
Any aspiring industry professional with a Twitter account is probably already well aware of the person known as @TheMerchDude. Hailing from wherever the tour he’s working happens to be on that particular day, this individual has risen to prominence online thanks to a brutally honest, insightful, and often hilarious Twitter feed. His name and the artists he’s joined on the road have remained secret while his popularity online has swelled to well over 30,000 followers, not to mention the success of his own merchandise line, and in the interview below he explains how it all came together.
It may seem a bit unusual to take career advice from someone who could literally be anyone working in the touring industry today, but there are lessons to be learned from @TheMerchDude that both artists and aspiring professional can apply to their own careers. If you would like to learn more about @TheMerchDude and his thoughts on life in the industry, follow him on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: Hey there, thanks again for taking the time to work with us. Before we get started, please state your name, job title, and where you’re contacting us from on the road:
TMD: I go by The Merch Dude because I like to stay anonymous. My job is going on different tours selling artist merchandise at shows. Right now im sitting at a beach in Rincon, Puerto Rico on vacation before hitting the road for most of the 2014.
H: We usually ask for real names and information, but we respect your desire to stay anonymous. Have you ever given thought to revealing your true identity?
TMD: I have thought about it but doing my blog, tweets anonymously makes things a little more interesting. I can say what I want without offending any artist or their fans of an artist.
H: Has anyone approached you on the road because they knew ’The Merch Dude’ was your alter-ego?
TMD: Actually every so often I be working at a show and someone will ask me “Hey have you heard of this dude called themerchdude?” I usually say yeah I don’t think he is real!
H: We like to begin these features by learning a little bit about each person’s history with music. When you think of your most formative moments with music, what comes to mind?
TMD: Going to a famous producers/artist son’s first birthday party in Malibu, California the who’s who’s of rockstars were all there. Watching all these rockstars just chilling with their kids and them wanting to know about what my wife and I did was very surreal. My wife didn’t blink that whole afternoon. I also remember I never took out my phone to take a picture with any of them.
H: What was the first album you purchased with your own money, and how did you discover the artist responsible for its release?
TMD: It was ACDC I discovered it while at a beach with a group of friends.
H: What was your first gig in the music industry (paid or unpaid, either works), and how did you go about obtaining it?
TMD: Well I used to work doing consulting for hotels and restaurants. A kid would come at night and play the piano in one of the restaurants. Him and I became close friends, one day before moving to another city I told the dude when you become famous call me and I will work for you. Four years later I got a call to come on the road because my buddy have gotten a record deal. That same day I quit my job and hit the road. Because of that kid now a man keeping his word and good word of mouth I been touring for about 12 years non stop.
H: There has been a lot of talk on the internet in recent weeks about local scenes and whether or not they are important in the modern music industry when so many are rising to fame through platforms like YouTube. As someone who spends their life in venues, where do you stand on this subject?
TMD: Oh the Internet It’s amazing what a local band can do nowadays (if they hustle) they can basically have fan base even before they have a record out. You see many bands are very smart they are using their online footprint to create a buzz. That can (again if they are smart) get them better deals (if they even want to get one) because it seems that not having a record deal is the best deal they can have. They can even record on a Mac, sell on iTunes or give it away for free to promote a tour. YouTube, twitter, tumblr and sound clouds are great ways to get your band notice (again if you are smart)
H: Speaking of living in clubs, halls, arenas, and everywhere in between – do you have a favorite venue to visit? How about somewhere you hope to never visit again?
TMD: I love many venues because I have great friends working at them and as a merch person you can relax a little knowing they are true professionals handling the merch. I love Verizon amphitheater in Irvine (great merch team) I love Radio City Music hall because I have been there more than 25 times with many different bands and the catering is great. In the smaller club area I love the 9:30 club one of the nicest security guys loved by many recently passed away (RIP my brother) The one venue I dislike even though the merch people are great is Wolftrap in PA they charge bands a whopping 35% merch rate!
H: The reason you initially came onto our radar for this column is because of your Twitter account, which at this point has several thousand followers. When did you start the account, and at what point did you notice your following beginning to swell? I have to imagine the initial burst of new followers had to be a bit of a surprise.
TMD: Yeah it’s crazy it recently passed 32k followers. I think I started it about two years ago. I started it as a way to vent. Basically I would write what many merch people wanted to say. Then I started to talk about bands and fans interaction (good and bad) then started to write about ways to increase merch sales. Then more and more bands started following. Most would send me messages because sometimes I would say things they couldn’t say for fear of fan backlash. At this point I go with the flow. I write about specific interactions with fans using a lot of sarcasm. I’m very outspoken about my support for gay marriage, my disliking of racist people, fan and band entitlement. I do curse once in awhile but not as much as I used to.
H: Social media is something seemingly every company is desperately trying to master, but you seem to have a formula for engaging and entertaining followers that consistently works well. Do you have any advice for bands or brands hoping to amass a digital following on Twitter or other services?
TMD: You see you gain some you lose some Don’t be that concern with losing followers as long as You’re staying truthful to what You believe in. Read a lot of responses and reply to some. You see my twitter is not for everyone. It not a place to see pictures of band guys. Actually I give the artist I work for their privacy. Bands please stop retweeting every compliment (the people that see those RT are people that are already following you) stop tweeting every single person individually on the planet to listen to you song spend more time practicing instead of twitting that way your song would probably sound way better.
H: We’ve reached a point in our society where people are making money for tweeting, including people with far less followers than you. Have you ever been approached about monetizing your efforts?
TMD: I have but none of the products are things I would use or believe in. I also been offered money to review albums but I rather keep my credibility than start reviewing positively shitty music for money.
H: There are a lot of people reading this today who are hoping to pursue a career in the music industry. What advice would you offer to help get them started?
TMD: Have a backup plan touring sound very glamorous to many until they come on the road and find out its work, sometimes very hard work. You see not everyone is built for touring being away all the time missing important dates and love ones is hard. I see many kids saying I don’t want to go to school I want to tour. If they only knew how hard it is to make touring a career. It’s hard even for established bands. So don’t close the doors to an education if you have the chance. Touring is not a hobby and you don’t chose touring, touring chooses you.
H: As someone who works on the front lines of the business every day, what is one thing you would change about the current state of the music industry?
TMD: The way music is presented to the fans. I believe instead of waiting a year to release an album I would release singles every 3 to 4 months. People buy singles way more than they buy albums. Illegal downloads are not going away so it’s up to bands not record labels (most are 8 years behind the times) to find a way to repackage the music experience. Last thing look at porn! Yeah, look at the way the porn business has embraced. Porn is free online (I was told by a friend) they found other ways to repackage it. Bands find your way to make money.
H: The debate over piracy continues to wage between consumers and labels, especially with reports now claiming a drop in digital sales during 2013. Do you feel there is any solution to be found?
TMD: Again embrace it because it’s not going away, people think it their right to listen to music even if its illegally. Some people are just selfish so you can’t count on them to change. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a small piece on my tumblr called “the pizza analogy” where a guy made great pizza had great ingredients but people ate his pizza at the restaurant and didn’t pay for it so instead of standing there and complaining the guy started charging for drinks. Hope People get that.
H: At this point, would you say it’s safe to assume you’re an industry ‘lifer’?
TMD: I hope so it’s been 12 years and 30 more to go.
H: What career goals do you have?
TMD: I want to continue to do my own brand like I have been at www.themerchdude.com i wish it would grow enough so I didn’t have to tour as much. We focus a lot on the quality of the shirts and great customer service. We have a new logo, a hoodie and two more shirts coming by the end of January. So far we have a very high customers return rate all by word of mouth and online presence. Have in mind I’m an anonymous Merch dude selling his own merch. That pretty crazy! The amount of support we have gotten by lovers of music, rockstars, popstars and friends is amazing.
H: I think that just about covers everything. Before I let you go, do you have any final thoughts you would like to share with our readers?
TMD: The greater you are the less you have to prove. We also want to give anyone that reads this article a 20% discount code on any merchandise at our store just use code word “HAULIX”
Thank you guys for the time. Be safe and be strong.
