Merchandising for the Unsigned Band
Strategies and Considerations for Musicians’ Logo Items
Nov 5, 2009
The art of merchandising is an excellent way for an unsigned band to make money it needs to invest in its goals. Taking the merch table along on tour can make or break a band when it may already be taking a loss to play new venues. (See Getting Bands Out of Their Own Back Yards for information on touring resources.)
There is a balance in merchandising that must be maintained, however, in order for the band to make money, rather than lose it. Basic business principles must be applied to maintain the correct level of inventory, price the product appropriately, and maximize sales. A bit of competitive analysis must also be applied – what are similar bands doing to sell logo items?
It will also take a healthy dose of innovation to come up with unique products and an attention-getting method of selling at them.
Sell the Music
Without question, the band’s music must be present on the merch table. The band’s packaged EPs or CDs will sell at live shows. (The process of putting together a CD will be discussed in an upcoming article in this series.)
If all the band has is a decent MP3 recording, it should consider copying it onto portable memory drives imprinted with the band’s logo and selling them in lieu of a CD. This can be a relatively inexpensive replacement until the band has a CD with polished packaging to sell.
Load Up the Merchandising Table
After CDs, the most standard merchandising item is a t-shirt with the band’s logo or CD cover art, and along with the music, should be a staple. The band will need to decide on the design and select a local print shop or locate a reputable printer on line. (Hoodies and women’s shirts sometimes do very well [depending on the season], but a band should use a conservative approach and evaluate the sales of its t-shirts before taking that next step.)
It is common to see merch tables that offer only CDs and t-shirts; however in the world of commercial merchandising it is important to be able to outdo the competition. An unsigned act that can apply some creativity and a little mathematical ability could come up with the perfect product -- one that its fans will want and will be able to afford.
Paper products, such as stickers and posters are commonly used as band logo products, and some bands even offer key chains or coffee mugs. A band should consider its audience and what products will be most attractive to them.
A short survey (one or two questions) can be posted on the band’s home page, inviting fan responses. Questions such as, “Would you consider purchasing a t-shirt from the band? If so, how much would you be willing to pay?” The band’s fan base may offer surprising responses that assist the band with its merchandising efforts.
The more successful the band, the more ridiculous the items it can sell. (Consider for a moment the Pantera Flaming Guitar Blanket: Cool? Yes. Economically efficient? No.) The band will need to determine how to price its items in order to generate profit, or at the very least, break even.
Select a Vendor for Logo Items
Word of mouth referrals can point the band to a quality supplier/printer that they can work with locally, and many bands prefer this method as it provides them with a little more control. Local printers will generally offer a ‘proof’ that the band can see and approve before any quantities of items are printed. If there is an error on the proof, it can be corrected before the band loses money on products that it cannot sell.
When selecting an on-line supplier/printer, some research is in order to avoid scams and fine print that is difficult to fight and leaves the band with unusable merchandise. The band must take some time to check out the experiences, warnings, and recommendations of other bands that have used the proposed supplier, particularly other bands that have posted on music sites, blogs, customer feedback, and forum threads.
Research into cost should allow the band to select four or five on-line printers that it can research further. Comparisons among those companies should be made not only in the area of price, but also shipping and handling costs, minimum quantities that must be ordered, how returns will be handled, how customer service works (will it be necessary to “chat” with a representative on line or correspond via e-mail, or is it possible to call?) and, of course, the word of mouth considerations.
(A template spreadsheet that can be used for this purpose can be downloaded free from Microsoft Office Online – the categories can be renamed to reflect the criteria the band wishes to compare.)
Once a company has been chosen, a call should be placed to the phone number (if there is one) on the site to ask any questions about ordering. This also provides a layer of protection by allowing the band to confirm the actual existence of a company and to get an idea of how company representatives treat their customers.
Keep it Together
All records related to the purchase of logo-items should be printed and kept together in a file in the event they are needed to resolve a problem or dispute. The supplier may also need copies if a return is necessary. Finally, the band may need merchandise purchase records for tax purposes.
There are several methods of pricing and selling band merchandise. Internet sales can be a big part of the band’s merchandising portfolio and pricing for the Internet and the venue should be done using different formulas. Future articles in this series will discuss Internet selling and pricing for both the merch table and the Internet.
 |
