The value of music diminishes further with each passing year, but merchandising lasts forever. Let’s look at why merch matters more than ever.
The value of recorded music is at an all-time low. Anyone making livable wages from music alone in 2021 is doing so through a combination of luck, talent, and utilizing every distribution method available to them. Artists are no longer looking for one paycheck for their music every month, but several. Musicians may make a little from physical sales, then a little more from streaming. There are also digital sales and revenue generated from music videos and other album components that exist on various platforms around the globe. The number of revenue streams varies from artist to artist, but the low payout rarely does.
It’s no great secret that most musicians making a living in music today do so largely through merchandise sales. You can include ticket sales if you want, but generally speaking, merchandise is where artists make the bulk of their income. A single shirt sold for $20 at a concert can generate more revenue for an artist than 10,000 streams of any single song on any of the leading streaming platforms. The sale of a sweatshirt can do even more.
While most musicians do a fair job of creating and making merchandise available to their fans, many are thinking too small when it comes to the possibilities of their brand. The digital age provides many opportunities for artists at every level of success to have robust merchandise options at little-to-no cost upfront. Some companies even offer print-on-demand merchandise. Those same businesses will also manage your online store, ship the merchandise, and allow you to set the price based on what you believe fans are willing to pay.
In the Music Biz update, host James Shotwell explains the growing importance of merch and identifies areas where many could do more to boost their bottom line. He also explores the growing online marketplace and provides examples of musicians who are already making big sales through various creative merch endeavors. Check it out:
Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.
Last week, UK metalcore group While She Sleeps made headlines around the world by releasing merchandise that explicitly aired their frustrations with streaming royalties. The shirt in question reads, “One t-shirt is the equivalent to 5000 streams on Spotify. 76% of all music in 2019 is streamed and not bought physically or digitally. Band merchandise is the most direct way of supporting an artist.”
While She Sleeps is not wrong. In today’s music business, merchandise sales matter more than ever. An artist who is capable of moving huge volumes of merch can turn industry heads faster than an artist with a viral single because executives know merchandise sales are where the most money is being made in 2019.
But how does an artist sell merchandise? There is more competition than ever for listeners’ attention, which means there is increased competition for their financial support. There are also no shortcuts to selling large amounts of merchandise. That said, there are ways artists can position themselves for success, which is what we’re going to discuss today.
In this episode of Music Biz 101, host James Shotwell details the increasing importance of merchandising in artists’ careers. He also offers advice for creating merch your fans will want to buy, complete with examples from artists with immensely dedicated followers.
For the better part of the last half decade I have been running a small record label out of my one bedroom apartment with the help of a few good friends. We haven’t made it big, and to be honest we never really thought we would, but we have had a few successful releases put out on cassette and vinyl. We recently got into CD production as well, but that’s a story for another time.
Whenever someone approaches us with questions regarding record labels and how to start them, we usually list off a series of lessons we learned during our initial releases. We talk about timelines, estimated costs, merchandise, contracts, and – perhaps most frequently – the need to properly understand how shipping works, including the cost of sending packages outside the United States. We like to think we have developed an easy and reliable workflow, but every so often we learn a new trick or path that causes us to regret all the hours wasted following the previous method. I don’t know that our specific setup will work for anyone reading this, but I do have a few basic tips to help improve your standard shipping operation. There are some costs associated, but as your label is a business you should know by now that improvements often require the investment of additional resources.
If you buy your shipping materials at Target, Staples, or even the post office you are spending way more than you should. Packs of six 4” x 6" bubble mailers can run $10 or more in stores, but if you buy in bulk from online retailers you can receive several hundred mailers for less than $100 total (shipping included). Everything you need to ship tapes, CDs, and vinyl can be purchased for a reasonable price in bulk from ULine. The company has a long history of customer satisfaction, and they have an incredibly quick turnaround. They also allow you to pay after receiving your order, so if you need mailers in order to generate the money needed to buy mailers they can help you with that as well.
Stocking up on mailers also prepares you for any situation. You may have slow sales from times to time, but you could also have a sudden boom in business when one of your artists hit it big. Buying in bulk allows you to cut down on order turnarounds while saving money. What’s not to love?
You can now buy stamps online
If there is one activity that makes me rethink launching a business it’s the many hours I have spent waiting in line at my local post office. I have to imagine other people feel the same, which is probably why the fantastic site ‘Stamps.com’ now exists. For the first time in the history of humans you no longer have to interact with another human when working to send out packages. You simply signup at home, input your shipping information, upload your credit card, and boom! You can now print postage labels from the comfort of your couch. You may use a lot more tape when handling shipping with this process, but I have solution for that as well…
Two words: DYMO Printer
All printers used to require ink, and anyone who has had to print a lot over their lifetime has learned by not that ink is not cheap. DYMO found a solution, and while I could get into the inner workings of their technology it’s suffice to say science can do really cool things. A DYMO printer does not use ink cartridges, but it does require a special kind of paper made specifically for postage labels. You buy a printer, which includes a free roll of labels, and then you only need to buy additional rolls of labels as need. Each roll can produce 200 shipping labels, and I believe you can order 3-packs of label rolls for under $40. Compare that to more than $60 for a single ink cartridge, not to mention the countless hours saved not having to visit the post office when shipping orders, and I think it’s clear why DYMO printers are worth the $200-ish investment they require.
Oh, did I mention DYMO labels are also self-adhesive? That alone will cut your tape-related shipping costs in half, if not more, moving forward.
Thank You notes are never overrated
There is something to be said for adding a personal touch to your shipments. While the consumer is excited to receive the package because it contains something they already paid for, you can further develop the connection they feel to your label with the inclusion of thank you notes and other extras. In the past we have added stickers, baseballs cards, candy, plastic spider rings, posters, and – most frequently – handwritten notes, to all our shipments. Sometimes we personalize the notes with each customer’s name, but other times we write thirty or forty notes in advance and stuff them in packages as needed. Whatever the case, the note is always written by a member of our staff and we always strive to make each note unique in some way. Maybe we add a phrase that is specific to that note, or maybe we draw the customer a picture. Anything that helps them better understand who we are and what we’re about works for us. The same will work for you, but you must figure out what items will best convey your personality to your consumers. Feel free to steal our ideas, of course, because they weren’t really ours in the first place. We were inspired by the labels we felt close to growing up, and it’s a tradition we hope to pass on to future generations.
Prep is everything
Whenever we know a large number of orders will need to be shipped in a small amount of time in we do our best to prepare by checking our mailer stock, writing thank you notes in advance, and generally doing anything in our power to streamline our workflow before the shipping process begins. That way, once we do need to act, everything is ready to go. Our goal is to make the window of time between when an order is placed and when it is shipped as small as possible. Some stuff is out of our control (record production, for example), but we do as much as we can with the power we do have and it makes a noticeable difference.
I’m not ashamed to admit that, at 28, there are times I get jealous of today’s young music fans. As someone who lived the majority of their teens and 20s wearing band, record label, and/or music-related shirts almost everywhere I went it’s hard to realize such behavior is frowned upon the older you get. Once you leave college and begin waking most days out of the week with the purpose of working to pay off the enormous debt you accrued becoming an adult the world demands you put a little more effort into your wardrobe than promoting whatever music you’re currently enjoy at that moment in time. It’s a hard realization, but one that must be faced nine times out of ten if you hope to get ahead in life. You don’t see many executives rocking t-shirts these days, and if they are they probably started their company at a young age and used their drive to become so successful no one would dare complain about they dress on any particular day. That is not the case for my life, and I’m willing to bet it’s not the case for many of you reading this, so please remember everything that follows is intended for those hoping to target younger demographics of music fans.
October is here, and with it comes the celebration of Halloween. Some people claim Christmas to be the best holiday, but they are wrong. Anyone who lives for the unforgettable experiences that make life great knows Halloween, as well as the various traditions associated with it, offer more potential for fun and excitement than practically any other global tradition. Kids love it because they get to dress up and receive candy while pretending to be the people they see on TV or in movies, and older folks love it because they get to escape the realties of adulthood while drinking in a disguise. Everyone wins.
You know who else wins on Halloween? Brands who are smart enough to capitalize on our culture’s obsession with all things kooky and spooky during the month of October. It doesn’t take more than five minutes in your local Target or Wal-Mart to understand what I’m talking about either, as every department store spends six weeks or more leading up to Halloween marketing everything from candy and costumes, to home furnishings with some kind of ghost or spirit themed sale. They may have ‘Terrifyingly low prices,’ or ‘Ghoulish Offers,’ but varying puns aside the idea is always the same. The products being sold are changed for the holiday as well, with everyone from Yankee Candles to the makers of Twix trying to cater to seasonal shoppers. In fact, it’s hard to think of a single product outside cleaning supplies and bathroom necessities that doesn’t have at least one brand with a Halloween themed item on sale this year.
As an artist, you too can cash in on the international obsession with Halloween by creating your own, limited run merchandise based on the holiday. Create a shirt that is only available a limited time, or perhaps a print featuring a seasonal design or image. Sell stickers and buttons with your logo slapped on jack-o-lanterns and ghosts, or perhaps record and release a cover of something from ’The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ These items won’t appeal to everyone, but they will give your core fans an opportunity to buy an exclusive, limited edition item that will serve to further their connection to your brand.
Here are a few examples of Halloween merch being marketed this year:
As with any item being sold, the key to getting a strong response from seasonal merchandise is executing a great idea people will be unable to overlook. As you see in the example above, the possibilities are seemingly endless as far as approaches to Halloween merch as concerned, so take that as a sign that creativity is encouraged. Find something you love about this season, or something about this season you feel reflects your music, and use it to create something unique your fans can cherish forever.
A few key things to remember:
1. Do not steal anyone’s design/copyrighted materials. Doing so could result in legal troubles whose costs far outweigh any benefit associated with seasonal merchandise.
2. Order your product in time to ship it before Halloween. Receiving a Halloween themed shirt in the middle of November or December doesn’t really do anyone any good. Fans won’t wear it, and worse – they probably won’t order seasonal merch from you again. Think and plan ahead.
3. Targeted marketing helps. No one likes paying Facebook to reach their fans, but doing so can help sell new/limited merch items. Even as little as $5 can double, if not triple the reach of your average post. As the saying goes, “You have to spend money to make money.”
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Want to make seasonal merch, but don’t know what to offer? Ask your fans. They’re the ones who will ideally be buying whatever you create, so you might as well ask them what they want and do your best to meet their demands.
5. Turkey merch is not a thing. While you might be able to leverage Halloween, Christmas, and even Valentine’s Day for merch sales, Thanksgiving doesn’t create the same market. You can try, but you will more than likely fail.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
Hello, everyone. As most of you probably know already we here at Haulix pride ourselves on the quality of this blog and the content featured on it. We do our best to bring you all the advice and guidance we can provide navigating the modern music industry, as well as first hand accounts of the day-to-day realities of dedicating your life to the world of entertainment. Most of this content is produced in house or through a series of close connections, but every so often we spot content created elsewhere that we cannot resist posting here. The following article is an example of this, and we hope you heed the advice being shared. Click here to follow the author.
I’m in a band. Actually, I’m in four, but that’s a whole other story about my own neurosis and obsessions. But no matter how many projects you’re a part of, it’s nearly impossible to make money as an independent musician by selling music. Being played on the radio and streaming services can result in mere cents monthly—and touring is pretty hard to do while working a day job. Life as an independent musician without a day job has a ton of sacrifices as well—like your grocery budget (though sometimes, quite frankly, your booze budget is a bigger worry). And so, whether you’re working during the day or not, you really have two ways of making money: playing gigs and selling merch. This is where the band t-shirt comes in.
A t-shirt is oftentimes an investment for the band. Depending on quality and count, you’re usually faced with an initial outlay of $100 to $250, and while markup is high,it can take a while to sell off stock unless your design or your band is particularly interesting. With services like Teespring, it’s possible to sell the shirts without having to make an investment, but then you don’t have them to sell at your shows, and unless you’re particularly well-known on the internet, it’s a bit harder to market them. Selling a round of tees can bring in enough money for a guitar repair or a few tanks of gas, or it can put you in the hole if you aren’t careful enough.
Band t-shirts are governed by a complicated set of rules—both how you wear them, and how you sell them.
Despite being a relatively simple way for a band to make a little bit of extra money, band t-shirts are governed by a complicated set of rules—both how you wear them, and how you sell them. First of all, it’s in poor taste to wear a band’s t-shirt while attending of one of their performances. It can make you seem too eager and too obsessive—and absolutely no one expects you to be a fan of the band that you paid to see play.
On a related note, never wear a shirt that you purchased at the merch table immediately after purchasing it. You carry that shirt over your shoulder and hope that you don’t lose it—or else you will definitely not look cool. A great way to expand your wardrobe is to look around for lost t-shirts on the floor where a mosh pit may once have occurred. You’re likely to find at least one shirt in an ill-fitting size that’s stained by being trampled on by dirty shoes.
These rules become even more stringent when you’re part of a band—especially if you happen to be the one tasked with designing a t-shirt. I’ve designed a tee for nearly every project I’ve been a part of. This decision falls on me because I have graphic design experience, and quite honestly I like to believe that everyone is envious of my sick sense of style.
Designing the t-shirt involves debating the color it will be printed on, the cut, and of course the graphic. I always make an effort to design the shirts to be something I would wear myself. Is this shirt wearable for both the people actively going to the band’s shows, and the band members’ mothers who hype their gifted children at the local farmer’s market? It’s a delicate balance trying to ensure that your shirt will in fact be marketable enough to bring in some form of income. Perhaps that’s the reason that there seems to be such touchiness regarding when it’s appropriate to sell or wear these tees. Or perhaps these rules are there to make it harder for everyone.
Right now we’re actively considering a shirt design created by my bandmate where the graphic is a clitoris with a witch hat and a smiley face.
First of all, it does not matter how much money you’re putting into recording your album or paying for gas to play out-of-town gigs—it’s unseemly to try to sell any merch before you’ve released any music. An over-merchandised band seems like they’re in it for the money, and not for the opportunity to share their creativity. You need to prove yourself as an act before you make any money. Think of your first five years as a very long interview process at that stuffy corporate job you loathe the idea of.
Often, the shirt acts as a statement associated with the band. One of my new projects is a band called Witch Lips. Right now we’re actively considering a shirt design created by my bandmate where the graphic is a clitoris with a witch hat and a smiley face. I’m not entirely sure what statement that graphic is making, but it seems like it will be hilariously empowering.
Sometimes it’s simply something that’s aesthetically pleasing and easy to wear. I’ve designed a shirt for my solo project that’s a cat in baseball gear. I don’t even like baseball but it looks cool and it’s endearing. Sometimes it relates to the artwork on your album art. There’s a variety of choices. But no matter what, it’s completely disreputable to wear your own shirt no matter how personal you make it. You’re in the band—you’re not supposed to like the band too. Definitely not your own shirts.
This is contrasted against the fashion industry. If I go into a boutique store and I purchase an item and ask to wear it out – that’s seen as a great compliment. It’s not uncomfortable to wear a designer’s clothes to their show. It’s not curious if a designer wears their own lines. In fact all of these actions seem to celebrated.
A band’s brand, at least initially, is as much about the community that surrounds them as it is about themselves.
Why have these rules evolved in such a way, and why are they so divergent between the two industries? Perhaps it’s about ego management. Unlike the fashion industry, a band’s brand needs to grow from the outward in. It’s not something that feels natural when it’s developed by a marketing department, where that’s often expected elsewhere.
A band’s brand, at least initially, is as much about the community that surrounds them as it is about themselves. If a band tries to project what they want to be to a crowd of local-music-lovers, they’re likely to come off uncomfortably and the crowd is less likely to be receptive to it.
There’s a disconnect between the band’s visual output and their musical output. Bands make music. The visual output of a band, whether it be a tee or even in many cases a music video, comes off as advertising. Advertising makes the youths uncomfortable, even if it can benefit the music community in the long run. We’ve grown accustomed to the image of an indie musician being so devoted to their music that they severely sacrifice their well-being in order to live their dreams. We don’t think of musicians as business people like we do for other self-employed creatives.
Maybe these rules don’t matter. Do I really care about whether people think that I like a band too much? That I’m simply wearing a shirt so that it doesn’t fall on the floor? Furthermore, am I so worried about my image as a musician that I can’t even display the visual art I’ve created, even if it supports my own musical projects? Will breaking these rules lessen the respect that other fans have for me, to the extent that it negatively impacts my career? In the end, it’s about being creative and supportive of the art that I love. This means that I need to ignore the voices of angsty teens and semi-retired punks in the back of my head and start wearing some of those hella dope tees that are sitting in the back of my dresser.
Would you buy stage-worn, still wet with sweat merch from your favorite artist? If so, how much would you be willing to pay?
Artists: Just to be clear – we do not endorse this kind of promotion, but it’s too odd to not highlight here on the blog. Have you ever sold something like this?
Hello, everyone! Thank you for finding time in your schedule to spend a few minutes with us. This week has focused heavily on ways artists can keep merchandise costs low while furthering their overall reach, and this post is a continuation of that effort. If you’re feeling burnt out on this topic, don’t fret. We’ll be back to our regular series of interviews and editorials next week.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Today is the day before Thanksgiving, which means we are less than two full days from the official start of the year’s busiest shopping season. Christmas is right the corner, and if you’re smart you’ve already begun putting thought into the various sales and discounts you are able to offer fans during this time. If not, there’s still time to get prepared, and we’re here to offer a little help.
We cannot guarantee a boom in sales this holiday season. In fact, we cannot guarantee a rise in the number of sales you see at all. What we can do, however, is help ensure your marketing and sales efforts are top notch. To do that, follow these tips:
Check your inventory. Twice.
Your goal with holiday sales should be to liquidate as much of the merchandise you have in stock as possible while still making a healthy profit on each product sold. Before you can do this to the best of your abilities you need to know what you have available, and how much of it is in stock. Running out of something during your holiday sale will cause headaches for everyone, and that goes double if you run out of something because you forgot to check your inventory prior to launching your sale. The back and forth required to straighten out orders that cannot be fulfilled may cause you to lose future sales, as well as those you are forced to cancel. Prevent this mess from ever happening and do inventory first. Do it twice, in fact, and ask someone else to check your work.
Promote your entire sale, as well as individual items.
You want people to use your discounts to buy more than they usually would, but often those attempting to promote a store-wide sale forget the impact that promoting key items one at a time can have on consumers. You should still mention store-wide discounts, of course, but you should also make room to highlight individual items. If you’re offering 25% off everything online, you should promote the sale as how it impacts items like shirts or vinyl. Create images for Instagram and other networks that highlight how the discount impacts the cost of single items, that way people can more easily understand what a great deal you are giving them. Likewise, you can use Twitter to promote various items and their price after discounts throughout the holiday weekend.
Speaking of promotion, think about paying for it.
I’m about to say something most artists hate to hear: Paying for promoted posts on Facebook and Twitter can have a positive impact on your reach, as well as your overall sales. It would be wonderful if this were not the case, and that those who could not afford paid promotion on social networks saw their sales work just as well, but years of research has made it clear that is not the case. Thankfully, the cost of entry into paid promotions is low. For as little as five dollars you can have a guaranteed reach to hundreds, if not thousands of people who have previously enjoyed your music enough to give you a Like/Follow online. Whether or not they take advantage of the message being conveyed will depend on how you choose to present yourself, but at least you know your efforts are reaching those who are most likely to jump on them.
Create specific Twitter search streams for particular items you sell.
This one is a bit more time-consuming than other tips, but it can help you bring in a lot of new consumers who may have otherwise not checked your store. There are numerous tools that allow you to create and save Twitter search streams. Find one you like and use it to track people tweeting about shopping/looking for things like ‘new vinyl’ or ‘cool band t-shirts.’ It’s likely these people already have an artist or genre in mind when they send these messages, but you can still reply with links to your store and music. If they don’t respond, oh well. If they do, you’ve got a potential new consumer/fan.
Make the most of SEO
We’ve talked about this before, but keywords are becoming increasingly important when it comes to how people find your content online. Use a tool such as the Google Keyword tool to better understand how your customers are searching, then modify your own store to reflect what you have learned. It is important to know which keywords are mostly used during the holidays, such as ‘sales,’ ‘top gifts,’ ‘cyber Monday,’ and ‘black Friday.’
Make sure everything is working before promoting your sale.
This one may seem obvious, but every year there are a handful of musicians who see their site, or at least parts of their site, crash amidst the sudden upswing in view brought on by the holiday shopping season. Before you push your sale live, make sure every item on your store is properly listed and that every sale is working correctly. If there is a code word needed, make sure you test it out prior to sharing it online.
—————————————————————————————————
We have plans to share additional merchandising tips for bands in the weeks ahead. If you have an idea for a column, or if you have a question about merchandising and branding that you want us to answer, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We look forward to hearing from you.
