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.
The streaming age has given virtually everyone immediate access to music, but at what cost to creators?
Streaming is the new normal. Just last month, Spotify revealed it now has 232 million monthly listeners, including 108 monthly subscribers. Apple Music, the company’s closest competitor, now boasts 60 million monthly subscribers. Those two platforms alone help more than a quarter of a billion humans access music every month. That results in a lot of streams generating a wealth of cash, but for who?
Most artists love the amount of access streaming allows consumers, but hate the pay structure. That is due to the fact the majority of musicians make $0.006 per stream or less depending on the platform. With a high enough volume of streams, anyone can make a comfortable living but reaching that many streams (millions of plays per month) is difficult unless an artist has a celebrated catalog or a consistent presence in top songs charts.
While She Sleeps, a British metalcore band that releases music through their own label (Sleep Brothers) in collaboration with UNFD and Spinefarm Records, is tired of relying on streams to make a living. The band tours heavily, and through their accounting have discovered that music is no longer the primary way they support themselves. Creating and performing music is what they do, but at the end of the day, selling merchandise is how the members of While She Sleeps support themselves.
The band is responding to this discovery by releasing a new t-shirt design that makes it clear how fans can support the artists they love. Check it out:
You can order the shirt on the band’s official website. The group is also making the design available for other musicians to use, for free, on their own merchandise. Click here to grab the file.
In a letter released with the design, While She Sleeps wrote “The majority (76% in fact) of music in 2019 is streamed. Probably by you, definitely by us, and there is nothing bad about that. But if bands and artists are to survive and win the battle of art vs money, we need to find new income to keep afloat.”
You can read the full message below:
While She Sleep’s latest release, So What?, is available now.
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 careers like a great hook or brilliant melody. This is not a theory or a thought, but instead 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:
BASIC TIPS
Two-sided designs cost 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 for the design to stick
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Large designs can make a significant impact.
Why incur the cost of creating a two-sided shirt design when you can make a more meaningful, more cost-effective impression 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 before moving forward with any plan.
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 merchandise. 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 number of shirts up front (500+) the upfront cost may be more than some are willing to pay for a few extra colors. 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 more 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 rise, 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 virtually 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 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 choice 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 a demand for high-quality material, and if you meet that demand you will give listeners another reason to consider purchasing your
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.
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.
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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.
