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.
Investing hundreds of dollars into merch that may or may not sell is a thing of the past!
Every musician dreams of seeing someone wearing their merch in public. For many, spotting their merchandise in the wild is as close to ‘making it’ as they will ever get. But making merch is traditionally a risky investment. Musicians typically spend hundreds, even thousands, to print merch that they hope fans buy. Recouping those production costs can take time, and that potential wait has forced many to shelve their merch dreams until they feel more established in the music community.
But that is a remnant of the old way of music entrepreneurship from the days before everyone was doing business online. Investing money in merch is still part of most artists’ financial plans, but other options exist. Believe it or not, musicians who are still establishing themselves and those more concerned about raising awareness than making money can now make merch without spending a dime.
Allow us to introduce you to print on demand merchandising.
Print on demand is a process where you work with a supplier to customize white-label products (like baseball hats or tote bags) with your designs to sell them on a per-order basis under your brand. Nothing is printed until someone orders a product, so you (the artist) only pay to produce what people buy.
There are several reasons that print on demand services are popular with musicians:
You don’t have to spend any money to get started
You can upload as many designs as you want
You don’t have to handle production
You don’t have to handle shipping
You can offer merch on high-end fabric
You can offer more unique merch items than any artist would otherwise be able to produce
There are drawbacks as well:
Print-on-demand services cost more per unit, which means your total revenue may be lower than if you purchase merch in bulk.
You do not control shipping, so there is no way to include “thank you” notes or bonus merch items.
You do not control production, so the product is made and shipped when the company handling your orders can fulfill the request.
In his latest Music Biz update, host James Shotwell walks through the print-on-demand business model. He argues why using such services may be a better alternative for certain artists than the traditional merch approach. He also recommends one printing company that we at Haulix Daily use regularly. 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.
Special edition and limited-run merchandise can engage fans and bring in extra cash as the end of year holiday shenanigans begin.
October is here, which means spooky season has officially begun. In just over four weeks people everywhere will celebrate Halloween. You can tell me Christmas is the best holiday, but just know that doing so would prove how little you know about Halloween. October 31st is the only day of the year where self-expression and all the creative possibilities it entails are openly celebrated. For one short period, everyone is welcomed (and encouraged) to be themselves. There’s also candy.
In short, everyone wins during Halloween.
Musicians can leverage America’s love of Halloween for personal through smart marketing and limited edition merch. Those needing proof of this need only look to the biggest brands on the planet. Target, Wal-Mart, and Amazon have all dedicated space to Halloween themed merchandise, as have countless other chains. They may have “terrifyingly low prices” or “ghoulish offers,” but varying puns aside, the idea is always the same.
The everyday 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. I recently purchased hand soap that has a seasonal theme!
Halloween is the perfect time to release limited-edition merchandise. Not only does this give your core audience the chance to purchase something special, but it provides you the opportunity to express yourself in new ways. You can try your hand at large prints or scary prints, with beanies or socks. Halloween merch is as merch a treat for your fans as it is a treat for you, the creative people tasked with keeping an audience engaged all year long.
Chicago’s Real Friends understand how to make great Halloween merch.
As with any item 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 are 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:
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.
Order your product in time for it to ship 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
There are many ways to get attention for your band, but regardless of what tips and tricks you may have picked up throughout your experience in music there is nothing that can impact your career like a great hook or brilliant melody. This is not a theory or a thought, but rather proven fact that has worked for artists trying to make it in every corner of the music business. Everything else that follows, from touring to merchandise, must take a back seat to songwriting.
All that aside, artists still need to make money. Music sales have dipped across the board over the last decade, and with streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music on the rise it seems like the amount of money most artists see from their new releases will continue to dwindle for the foreseeable future. Great music still sells, yes, but only a fool would rely solely on the strength of their music sales to support themselves in the entertainment business. Merchandising beyond albums and singles is an absolute must in today’s music business, and the one item every artist can use to generate income while trying to craft that perfect song is a t-shirt. There are a billion ways to customize shirts, some far more expensive than others, but by considering the following tips you can keep costs low while furthering your marketing
SUPER BASIC TIPS:
Two-sided designs costs more than those with a design appearing on either the back or front.
Shirts requiring the use of many inks (colors) will cost more than those created using a single ink.
Dark fabric often costs more than light fabric because more layers of ink must be applied in order for the design to stick
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Large designs can make a big impact
Why incur the cost of creating a two-sided shirt design when you can make a bigger, more cost effective impact with a large, single side design. The vast majority of printers charge the same rate for a design measuring 3”x5” as they do for those measuring 12”x12”. That said, not everyone is a fan of big designs, so it would be wise to check with your fan base prior to moving forward with any design.
Stop printing on both sides
The occasional two-sided shirt design can be cool, but trying to cover both sides of every shirt you create will only raise the overall cost of merchandising. Using the knowledge you gained from the tip above regarding design sizes, artists should think twice before incurring a potentially unnecessary extra expense.
Use fewer ink colors
Fans of alternative and punk music have been one of the leading forces behind a recent trend toward more color-heavy shirts. Bands like A Day To Remember and Asking Alexandria have found great success with shirts featuring cartoonish designs and many bright colors. Similar branding efforts may work for smaller artists as well, but those musicians should first consider the additional costs incurred from use of multiple inks. The number rises with each color, and unless artists plan on ordering a large quantity of shirts up front (500+) the up front cost may be more than some are willing to pay for a few extra color. Our advice is this: Keep it simple. Try and use one color whenever possible unless you know the idea you have is going to be a hit with listeners.
Order larger quantities of shirts
We touched on this a bit in the tip above, but one way musicians can lower the cost of their merchandise is to increase the number of shirts they order at one time. The price due up front will increase, but the cost per unit will drop, which in turn raises the revenue potential for your order. 100 shirts are better than 50, but 500 shirts at a time would be an ideal place to start. Of course, if you don’t have an engaged audience large enough to support such an order then you should keep things small.
Consider offering shirts for a limited time only
One way to cut out essentially all costs from merchandise orders is to create the exact number of items needed. Most print shops will tell you the per unit cost on whatever design you wish to print, as well as the number of units you must purchase in order to lower that cost. With this information in hand, artists can launch shirt designs that are available for a limited time as pre-sale only items. Once the purchasing period ends, artists can order the exact amount of shirts needed without having to make any investments out of pocket.
Think twice about upgrading your shirt choose to a fashion brand
One determining factor in how well your merchandise will sell is how comfortable that item is perceived to be. There was a time not that long ago when artists with shirts printed on any type of fabric would sell, but in an age where brands like American Apparel exist this is no longer the case. There is demand for high quality fabric, and if you meet that demand you will give listeners another reason to consider purchasing your
