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Thread: Band Merch

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    Band Merch

    This is something I have been thinking about lately and thought I would throw it out there for discussion. These days bands don’t make much if any money from recordings, so have to make the majority of their income from playing live and selling merchandise. When I go to a concert I will often buy a t-shirt to help support the band. I typically like having a “tour” shirt that either has the dates on the back or at least says something like 2022 tour, or something similar. Although the big bands usually have plenty of shirt options (often overpriced), many of the smaller bands, who probably really need the money more, seem to be lacking these days on their effort to sell merchandise. A few examples from this summer:

    Thank You Scientist: I saw them about a month ago and was planning to buy a shirt. Not only did they not have any tour shirts, the few shirts they did have were pretty crappy generic band shirts (my opinion of course). They seemed to be selling very little of anything.

    Drive By Truckers: Just saw them Sunday night. They did have a tour shirt for sale, but all they had available were small or XXX large, so nothing even close to my size. I was in line with a bunch of people, who all turned away when they found out what was available, and did not buy anything.

    Umphrey’s McGee: I am seeing them in about a month and got an e-mail from their web site saying they were doing a sale on T-shirts. I went on the site and they had their 2022 summer tour shirt available, so I thought I would just go ahead and buy one from the web site instead of waiting for the show. I purchased the shirt, then yesterday got an e-mail saying “sorry, this shirt is sold out”. This is for a summer tour that has not even happened yet.

    In all 3 of these cases, I think these bands could have made some significant money had they had items available for people to buy. I realize it is difficult to estimate how many shirts will be needed for a tour, but in all 3 of these cases it was not like the tour was near the end. It just seems like a lost revenue opportunity for bands who probably need it and I find it strange that they don't take more advantage of pushing these merch items.

    Curious what others thoughts are on this?

  2. #2
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    I would imagine that any funds expended on tour merch would potentially take away from the tour budget. Bare bones does not give you any padding.
    With wacky gas and food prices , and the cost of the merch going up as well, depending on the spare cash of concert goers might be too much of a dice roll.

    The shark feeding frenzy of the Progday merch tables might be an outlier in the past.
    More than a couple of times the bands got cleaned out before they knew what hit them with many willing customers left empty handed.
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  3. #3
    Interesting Steve...all the bands I've seen were pretty well stocked up at the merch table. Once I was unable to get a t-shirt in the size I wanted, but it was a show in the later part of the tour so I just assumed it had sold out already. In that particular instance, I bought a HUGE XXXL shirt size instead because even if I can't wear it like a shirt, then it's going to be the most badass bedsheet ever
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    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    I often find that bands run out of my shirt size (XL) when I get to the merch stand. It's frustrating, but I understand (somewhat) that it's difficult to estimate how much they need to cart around with them, and they don't want to be stuck with too many left over.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

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    The older the audience, the more black XL and XXL they should stock.
    "I have not yet begun to procrastinate."

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    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rdclark View Post
    The older the audience, the more black XL and XXL they should stock.
    Are you trying to say us older guys are fat? Huh? Huh?
    Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)

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    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by battema View Post
    In that particular instance, I bought a HUGE XXXL shirt size instead because even if I can't wear it like a shirt, then it's going to be the most badass bedsheet ever
    You'll grow into it, John.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lopez View Post
    You'll grow into it, John.
    THAT IS NOT THE PLAN
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    Quote Originally Posted by Digital_Man View Post
    Are you trying to say us older guys are fat? Huh? Huh?
    Not me!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by markwoll View Post
    I would imagine that any funds expended on tour merch would potentially take away from the tour budget. Bare bones does not give you any padding.
    With wacky gas and food prices , and the cost of the merch going up as well, depending on the spare cash of concert goers might be too much of a dice roll.

    The shark feeding frenzy of the Progday merch tables might be an outlier in the past.
    More than a couple of times the bands got cleaned out before they knew what hit them with many willing customers left empty handed.
    I understand that it is somewhat a roll of the dice, but some bands always seem to have their act together when it comes to merch and appear to make significant money from it. Others……not so much.

    Regarding ProgDay, back when I was involved it was always a crapshoot as to how many shirts to order and what sizes. We wanted to have enough that everyone who wanted one would get one, but also be sold out by the end of the weekend. We typically based our estimation on previous year’s sales and advance ticket sales, but it was still a guestimate. I assume that is still the case today.

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    Quote Originally Posted by battema View Post
    Interesting Steve...all the bands I've seen were pretty well stocked up at the merch table. Once I was unable to get a t-shirt in the size I wanted, but it was a show in the later part of the tour so I just assumed it had sold out already. In that particular instance, I bought a HUGE XXXL shirt size instead because even if I can't wear it like a shirt, then it's going to be the most badass bedsheet ever

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    Quote Originally Posted by rdclark View Post
    The older the audience, the more black XL and XXL they should stock.
    Probably true, although the 3 bands I mentioned tend to draw a more mixed audience. At Thank You Scientist we were definitely the old people in the room.

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    Member clivey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    Probably true, although the 3 bands I mentioned tend to draw a more mixed audience. At Thank You Scientist we were definitely the old people in the room.
    Sad to say the cocktail of meds I take for my type 2 diabetes has me a stone lighter than I was just 6 years ago ,so I keep needing to pick a smaller size.

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    For me, this merch topic is more about pricing than sizes. I went to the ROGER WATERS concert in Montreal a couple of weeks ago, when we saw the soaring prices we dropped our jaws! Man T-shirts were an average $50, Program $45 and even a keychain was $30!! I know the Canadian dollar is lower than the USD but those prices are ludicrous :-(

    That bad thing is that most fans prefer to wait and buy bootleg T-shirts on the street like it happened that night, that is not a good thing for the artist that ends up losing but with today's economy and the desire to have a memento, it takes everyone in the wrong direction. T-shirts outside we $20, go figure..
    I may be older but, I saw live: Led Zeppelin, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Fish, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Marillion, IQ, UK, Saga, Rush, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Genesis with Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Triumph, Magma, Goblin, Porcupine Tree, The Musical Box, Uriah Heep, Dio, David Bowie, Iron Maiden, Queen with Freddie Mercury, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Steely Dan, Dream theater, Joe Satriani, you get the idea..

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    Quote Originally Posted by clivey View Post
    Sad to say the cocktail of meds I take for my type 2 diabetes has me a stone lighter than I was just 6 years ago ,so I keep needing to pick a smaller size.
    Yup, it can definitely go both ways as we age.

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by clivey View Post
    Sad to say the cocktail of meds I take for my type 2 diabetes has me a stone lighter than I was just 6 years ago ,so I keep needing to pick a smaller size.
    What meds have you been prescribed? If you don't want to post here, please pm.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rajaz View Post
    For me, this merch topic is more about pricing than sizes. I went to the ROGER WATERS concert in Montreal a couple of weeks ago, when we saw the soaring prices we dropped our jaws! Man T-shirts were an average $50, Program $45 and even a keychain was $30!! I know the Canadian dollar is lower than the USD but those prices are ludicrous :-(

    That bad thing is that most fans prefer to wait and buy bootleg T-shirts on the street like it happened that night, that is not a good thing for the artist that ends up losing but with today's economy and the desire to have a memento, it takes everyone in the wrong direction. T-shirts outside we $20, go figure..
    Good points. As I mentioned in my original post, the bigger artists usually have plenty of shirts and are often way overpriced. I have to admit that when I saw Genesis last fall I bought a bootleg T-shirt from a guy in the parking lot. The "Official" t-shirts they were selling were $65 if I remember correctly and there was just no way I was going to pay that much for a shirt. As we were coming out of the event there was a dude in the parking lot selling a shirt that had a better design for $20 so I bought it. It has remained a nice shirt and didn't shrink at all.

    The bottom line is we have bands that have no merch to sell, then we have bands that rip people off with their merch. Too extremes of a similar problem.

  19. #19
    I call it the "gas money fund", or the "Plane fare home fund". When I used to run the merch table for one of my friends' bands, if someone asked which album to buy, I'd say "Buy all of them, we need gas money home". I actually stole that from my friend Doug Walker, who'd say "You bought the new album? Great! Buy three more! We need gas money home". My friend Terri, who used to do the merch table with me got mad at me for saying that, she apparently didn't think it was very funny.

    But yeah, I usually try to buy SOMETHING when I go to shows, either a t-shirt or a CD or something. It doesn't always happen, especially these days, since it seems like I'm short on cash more often these days, but I do try to keep it in mind.

  20. #20
    I sort of expect to pick up some kind of merch at every show I go to, whether apparel (t-shirt, hoodie) or music. I'll even delay buying an album so that I can purchase it at the show. Plus the folks running the merch stand are likely connected to the band or even the band themselves.

    Big bands, small bands, long lines, high prices--I'm good with all of it, to be honest.

    I'll be seeing a bunch of shows in the next few months (Belew in Asheville, Elder in Raleigh, a bluegrass festival in Charlotte, Porcupine Tree in D.C.), and I'm sure I'll pick merch up at these shows.
    I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.

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    Member clivey's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    What meds have you been prescribed? If you don't want to post here, please pm.
    It's not a problem.
    Sitagliptin 100mg
    Empagliflozen 25 mg
    Metformin modified release 1 gram bullet
    + Another 6 items on script.
    We all have free meds in Scotland at the states expense. Thank goodness .

  22. #22
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    ^ Thanks. I'll do a little research and talk to my doctor. My Type-2 is making weight loss very difficult, and the meds my doctor has prescribed haven't made a difference in that regard. Cheers.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Since I slimmed way down over the last few years, I really needed to buy some smaller shirts to replace the XXXLs and XXLs I had, so I bought a lot of band shirts that I liked. Some of the newer ones I bought are already too large for me. The band that I found is the most on top of this is Phish. They've had lots of sales on older tour shirts, so I bought two that I really like, even though I'm not a HUGE Phish fan, though I do like them somewhat. But their designs tend to look really nice, and the shirt colors and quality are good too!

    Marillion sells a LOT of shirts, but in general I find their designs to be boring. I did get two from the designs for the new album (gotta represent my favorite active band!). One that's pretty cool is the artwork from the cover of the new album in the yellow and blue of Ukraine, with the words for PEACE in Ukrainian on the back. The two new Marillion shirts are some of the few band shirts I have that my wife actually likes!

    My son's friend gave me an awesome gift recently - two vintage bootleg Yes shirts from the Union tour! They're really cool. The only bootleg shirt I ever bought was at a concert where Kansas and Styx played a double bill, and the shirt was a mashup of the POKR and Paradise Theater covers. It was too funny - both attractive and ugly at the same time - to pass up!

    I have no time for the overpriced, official merch sold at concerts. Somehow, that doesn't tempt me at all. There are just too many better ways to spend my money. If a band can "afford" to sell a shirt for $40, $50, or $60 dollars, they're not in need of cash the same way that an indie band is, IMO.

  24. #24
    Member Ten Thumbs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rajaz View Post
    For me, this merch topic is more about pricing than sizes. I went to the ROGER WATERS concert in Montreal a couple of weeks ago, when we saw the soaring prices we dropped our jaws! Man T-shirts were an average $50, Program $45 and even a keychain was $30!! I know the Canadian dollar is lower than the USD but those prices are ludicrous :-(

    That bad thing is that most fans prefer to wait and buy bootleg T-shirts on the street like it happened that night, that is not a good thing for the artist that ends up losing but with today's economy and the desire to have a memento, it takes everyone in the wrong direction. T-shirts outside we $20, go figure..
    It's not unusual in Canada that at arena and theatre shows that the venue takes a 20% cut on the gross of merch sold, ie on a $30 shirt the venue gets $6. And if you pay by credit card, that's another $.93 the band ain't getting. I'm not sure how retail sales taxes are calculated or paid but that can be another debit on a shirt sale for the band ie @ 12% taxes, another $3.60 gone. Thus that $30 shirt nets the band $19.47 excluding production costs, shipping, merch guy wages or %.
    I remember tomorrow

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Since I slimmed way down over the last few years, I really needed to buy some smaller shirts to replace the XXXLs and XXLs I had, so I bought a lot of band shirts that I liked. Some of the newer ones I bought are already too large for me. The band that I found is the most on top of this is Phish. They've had lots of sales on older tour shirts, so I bought two that I really like, even though I'm not a HUGE Phish fan, though I do like them somewhat. But their designs tend to look really nice, and the shirt colors and quality are good too!

    Marillion sells a LOT of shirts, but in general I find their designs to be boring. I did get two from the designs for the new album (gotta represent my favorite active band!). One that's pretty cool is the artwork from the cover of the new album in the yellow and blue of Ukraine, with the words for PEACE in Ukrainian on the back. The two new Marillion shirts are some of the few band shirts I have that my wife actually likes!

    My son's friend gave me an awesome gift recently - two vintage bootleg Yes shirts from the Union tour! They're really cool. The only bootleg shirt I ever bought was at a concert where Kansas and Styx played a double bill, and the shirt was a mashup of the POKR and Paradise Theater covers. It was too funny - both attractive and ugly at the same time - to pass up!

    I have no time for the overpriced, official merch sold at concerts. Somehow, that doesn't tempt me at all. There are just too many better ways to spend my money. If a band can "afford" to sell a shirt for $40, $50, or $60 dollars, they're not in need of cash the same way that an indie band is, IMO.
    My two fave concert shirts I've purchased were both bootlegs.

    First was a Relayer cover (colorized! lol) on front with "Around the World in 80 Dates" Union Tour dates on back (with flying fragile 'fish') purchased at Continental Arena show. Still have this and fits better now than then.

    Second was a Rage For Order cover (white shirt) that I picked up at the QRyche Empire tour show at the Continental Arena. It got destroyed as I wore it very frequently back in the day.

    My fave official shirt I bought at a show:
    Dream Theater long sleeve shirt from Awake tour show in NYC. This I also still have / fits.

    Least fave:
    My Marillion Marbles ling sleeve tour shirt purchased at NYC show - disappointing album, disappointing show - so I never wear the shirt....

    One that got away (maybe?)
    I do not recall if DT sold WDaDU shirts at The Ritz gig w/ Marillion. Bought the casette that nite - shoulda bought a shirt...if available

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