Merch success poll - CD, download, vinyl, shirts?

I am also very interested how will
musicians with merch experience vote. My guess is that nothing beats the simple T-shirt and CD combo.

 

Vinyl is pricey to produce and doesn't leave much room for profit, but in the right scene, it will sell like hotcakes.

I came up in the underground metal scene, where collecting vinyl is huge. People will go nuts for a small one-off vinyl run in multiple colors. Some collectors will even buy multiple copies of the same record in every color available.

Also, trucker hats seem to sell really well. Every music fan has hundreds of t-shirts and might opt for something else if its available... trucker hats sell for about the same price as a t-shirt, but are usually cheaper to have made.

 

Shot glasses. Seriously. You can get decent shot glasses with your logo on them for a couple bucks each and then sell them for $10. They fly off the shelves for us.

 

Good one. Pint glasses, koozies, and bottle openers as well.

 

CDs and t-shirts seem to be the winners in my experience, at least in terms of the local rock/metal scene. We probably sell 10 CDs or more for every digital download we sell, and t-shirts seem to be the second item that most people request.

In my opinion, vinyl tends to be a good item for a band that already has a pretty good following, but it is too expensive for the typical local band.

Our most successful "unusual" items were a limited run of custom designed USB flash drives loaded up with a couple of our EPs. We were able to get a pretty decent markup on them and sold most of them fairly quickly when we came out with a new EP, but I don't think that would be something that is likely to sell in any large quantities over time.

 

We did a run of stickers that sold really well. Keep the numbers small though, then change it to match the design of each CD you release.

Tshirts HAVE to look really good to sell well, esp girls Shirts. An Understated design sold better to the hipster crowd that supported us.

A CD needs an accompanying booklet of lyrics, discussion, etc. A few cryptic comments, quotes, or in-jokes make for a more interesting read.

 

CD's are done. Only parents have CD players anymore.
I'd suggest selling a t-shirt, hat, whatever, then collecting an email and sending a free 3 song download from your full album with the purchase via email. I would probably do something like that.

 

vinyl is about the only thing we have been able to sell and not lose money on

 

Not much experience here. If your a bar band on heavy rotation, I always thought that ladies panties with the band name across the back side would go over well.

 

Posters. Preferably with cool art, not just a band photo or album cover on cardstock. And if it has the date and venue of the specific show you're selling it at, even better.

My wife and I started collecting Hatch Show Prints from The Ryman about eight years ago. And now, they've become a lot more common at shows elsewhere. I think we're pushing 30 of the things at this point. And more importantly, I've seen them sell out at more shows than I can recall.

There's a letterpress printer somewhere in your town. Find it.

 

Patches are still popular for people that listen to our genre.

 

Oh, also, enamel pins seem to be having a bit of a renaissance. A...pinaissance.

C'mon. A pinaissance? That's worth a like. Go on. Do it. Do eeeeet.

 

while that is true in the big picture of music sales, they still sell at shows. its been my experience, doesnt matter if youre a known band or not, that its an item people will buy to get an autograph on. its hard to sign a t shirt

 

Back in the old days, we sold vinyl and tee shirts easily.

 

T-shirts, gimme caps, and hoodies. I can’t give away CDs. I love caps—one size fits all. There is some interest in warm-up jackets, but those are big $$$.

 

I don’t carry cash with me anymore so don’t be like most bands and take cards too.

 

mugs.

 

These days I find that apparel and the above mention shot glasses and the like are what sells.

Word of advise, make sure your shirts are catchy and appeal to people who really are not just buying it because it has the name of your band on it. Make it a shirt people would want to wear anyway and you will sell more of them.

Also, make women’s shirts and tank tops. Rarely do bands do this but once you do you will sell many more shirts.

We do make CDs. However, we give them away and leave them out on the merch table. People don’t buy CDs anymore.