Band Merchandise

The feeling that you get from performing in front of a super charged crowd has no parallel. The flicker of the lights, pound of the speaker, and hum of the people as the music pours from your mouth like water from the river. There are few musicians who wouldn’t love to perform for a living. The problem most people run into when it comes to music is finding a way to monetize their efforts, and chances are good that you are in the same boat. So how can you do what you love, and make a good living doing it? The secret is in finding ways to get people involved with your music, and provide them with opportunities to spend some of their hard earned money in order to get involved.

Every musician who performs for a crowd has the dream of a record deal. The idea of touring the world playing your music has its allure. The problem you most likely face is in finding methods for turning your art into cash. Most gigs, especially when you first get started, pay little to nothing. As your reputation grows, it becomes a little easier to charge more for each show, but you must develop a business oriented mindset if you have any chance of creating a steady cash-flow now.

The good news is that there are a number of ways you can promote your band while at the same time create an income stream. Most bands and musicians often fail to provide adequate merchandise for their loyal fans. Taking the time to focus on the business side of your music can quickly and easily provide you with a steady stream of money that goes far above and beyond what you get for each gig.

The first place to start is with the products themselves. There are a number of products that you can create and sell on a regular basis. Having items printed with your band name and logo gives you merchandise that you can offer people through a number of avenues. Clothing, CD’s, banners, and cards are just a few of the options available.

Promotional cards are cheap and effective way to accomplish a number of things. Cards can be printed at extremely affordable rates. They also allow you to create full color, double sided promotional cards that you should be giving out to everyone you possibly can. Creating unique designs and cards for each show you do also creates memorabilia that people will keep. The trick to using this technique properly is to create eye catching promotional cards that are unique for each show. This gives people something that they cannot get again because you will create new designs for every show.

If you aren’t taking the time to record your shows and music, you are missing out on a great opportunity to promote your band while also creating an income stream. With the technology that is available today, it’s extremely easy to record video and audio of your shows and practice sessions. Having custom printed covers for your cases, as well as the CD or DVD themselves, creates a professional image while also creating a product for you to sell to your loyal fans.

Clothing is another method that can be very profitable. People love to wear shirts and clothing of their favorite bands. This offers you a chance to create some income by selling custom clothing with your band on it. It also creates a walking billboard that advertises and markets your music. Loyal fans would gladly pay for custom printed shirts from your band.

If the cost of getting these items printed is too much at first, there are options available to help cut cost until you are able to generate enough money. Custom t shirt printing companies often offer significant discounts when you order in bulk. It may be a bit more up front to order in bulk, but the overall discount makes ordering in bulk worth biting the bullet at first. You also have the option of using less colors in your design or only printing on one side. At first, this could be a useful method for saving some money, yet still have the ability to provide fans access to material related to your band. There are many different garment printing methods and the best option for you will be based on the amount of shirts you are ordering and the amount of colors in your design. Screen printing is best for larger orders, Direct to garment is best for smaller runs or for complex artwork with a lot of colors, while vinyl applications are best suited for 1-2 color designs. Embroidery is a bit more expensive but provides you with a great look and is best suited to certain type of garments.

Another method to save some money at first is to order shirts that are unisex. Eventually you will want to expand and offer a variety of clothing for both men and women, but ordering unisex clothing at first will save you some money. Long term you will want to consider offering a variety of shirts including sweat-shirts, hoodies, t-shirts, sweat pants, hats, towels, totes and more. The more product options you have available, you are more likely to appeal to a variety of people in order to increase your sales.

Consider offering people package deals. This can be a powerful tool that can quickly increase sales. Providing people with the option of getting a shirt with a CD at a discount can allow you to move more product and have people spend a bit more than they would have otherwise. It also allows you to create a variety of packages which creates the image of having more products available for people to purchase. We are able to print custom hang tags that you can attach to the garments which has a unique code that will allow the client to go to your website to download your CD, a song or whatever you choose. This will allow you to sell the t shirt at a higher cost because the client will be getting the CD with the purchase of the t shirt. It also allows you to not have to actually have the cd’s pressed, instead it is a simple digital download.

Now that you have an idea of the products you can easily have printed, the next question is how to promote and sell these products. There are a number of options available, and with a little bit of ingenuity it won’t be difficult at all to move your products.

If you don’t already have a band website, get one. A website costs a few dollars a month to set up and run. If you know how to build websites yourself, you can save thousands on getting one created. Even if you don’t know how to build a website, there are countless programs and websites available which will allow you to get a website up at an extremely affordable price.

You also want to have social profiles available. All the major social outlets allow you to create a page for your band and that should be a key part of your marketing plan. All of these sites should offer your products as well as point people back to your website which also should have every piece of merchandise you have available for sale.

You will also want to offer all of your merchandise at every show you perform at. This alone could quickly create a few extra hundred dollars for every show you do. You will also want people to be aware of your social pages and website. It is a good idea to add your website and contact information to each shirt so people who purchase them are a walking promotion for you.

Take videos and audio that you create from your band and post it on every website you can. You should have video samples of your shows available on your website and social networks as a minimum. Also consider printing sample CD’s that you give away to people. Give these to fans as well and ask them to give these away to friends and people they know.

If you aren’t currently taking advantage of having shirts and merchandise printed, you are missing out on hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in profit from every show you perform. Take the time, put a merchandising plan together, and get those products out there to help promote your music and bring in some extra cash.