07/25/2015
3 Tips For Funding Your Shirts/CD's For Your Band
Money, damn, everyone wants it for things they want and need and not a lot of working or young musicians have it. Having a merch table at shows is sadly becoming a rarity. It's funny how many times I've been at a show and wish the band that just melted my face with their tasty jams didn't have a CD, Shirt, or even a stinkin' button for sale or to have. I can also attest to the lasting power of band merch. How many of you can pull out of your drawers or closets that one local band Tee that doesn't play anymore, or that the band blew up to national act statuses? Merch, it matters, even for the youngest(amount of time they've been around) bands. Here are some super obvious tips on how to help you put the foot on the gas and make your band shirts. Shirts people want. Shirts you don't have. Stop wasting time and pull the trigger. Here's how.
Saving Money:
Saving money is the easiest and most logical solution to coming up with the funding. It is also thee most difficult in our opinion too! It means you have to show restraint and control over your impulses. It means you will HAVE to live lean on your fun and entertainment budgets, BUT only for a short period of time. Think about exactly how much you spend on "Fast Food", "Drinks" at your favorite bar or "Tallboys" for practice and to hang out, and other items nonessential to your livelihood and well being. I asked a guy once "where do you spend all your money" and his response was "comic books and w**d", pricey items that never satisfy you and you keep wanting more, right?! lol. Tally up how much you spend on the good things in life, and compare that to the amount you need to equal YOUR part of the split needed to buy shirts. You'll more than likely see you do have enough to add your share. Will it be easy not having something in your hand to drink at shows, barbeques, and other social gatherings? No. Will it be easy not enjoy that #5 at Whataburger after a long day at work? No. Will it be easy not catching that new movie with Batman fighting Wolverine in Iron Man vs. Captain Planet part 3? No. Can it be done? Abso-fu***ng-lutely. Is it worth it in the long run? F**k Yes! Will you be able to do it, and not JUST you, but your whole band?! ...eeeeh, maybe(*shrugs)? Which leads us to...
Pre-Orders:
Come up with a design for your shirts or Cd's and make a mock up of it. Try and make the image in the highest resolution possible so people can get a better understanding of how your shirts(or Cd's) will look like. I would recommend using a site like Bandcamp to set up your sales. Bandcamp has a function that you can designate for a available date and ship date. We suggest starting your Pre-Order campaign at the beginning of the month and have it land on the last weekend of the month on the following Monday. This is generally when folks get paid and have income available to them. This enables your band or organization to take payments for your shirts prior to you having them ready. This gives you the funding you need not only to make the shirts for the people who have ordered from you, but additional funds to produce more shirts for future sales at your events/shows. We recommend selling your shirts for $10-15 dollars. In other words, if the shirt costs you roughly $5 to make(and hopefully you make them with us), you'll have and additional $5 or so to make a second shirt. Every shirt sold means you have an extra shirt to sell later! Make an eFlier with your shirt design and some ordering info and post that on your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and other social media outlets. Possibly sponsor a Facebook post from your music page for $5 or $10 to get the word out to your fans. For your first batch of shirts, hit up all the homies, all your families, and all those super cool promoters that always ask you to play their shows. They owe you favors and some love. The likelihood of you being able to capture between 15-30 people is very likely, and your giving them enough time to pay for them. Once you end your Pre-Order campaign, shop around and find a shop that will make your shirts with the quality and quantity that fits your needs. Again, talk to us, we make your favorite local bands shirts!
Sponsorships:
Getting someone to buy your shirts for you usually entails you having to cut in the second party on your profits. I assume if anyone one person or label/organization does this for your band, they'll want to recoup their investment. If you're considering "signing" to a label try and negotiate merchandise as being part of the deal. This will take some smooth talking and being really smart about paying attention to the details of the verbiage of your contract. If you're getting a person, bar owner, church group, or any other type of organization to buy your shirts, make sure you ask how and by when you have to pay them back, if at all. There isn't a lot of businesses or local indie labels that are knocking on most bands doors nowadays, no matter how good they are, but they're out there. Approach these labels and don't be afraid of being told no. Just the fact that you grew a pair and confronted them with the notion of sponsorship proves to them that you're wanting to get serious with your band. It might lead to an investment in your merch, or a "No, sorry not interested". It won't kill you and at the very most only hurt your pride, but hey! Go back up this list and try Tips 1 & 2!
Talk to us, inquire about making merch with us. We'll walk you through a game plan on getting the ball rolling. We can help you get started.
Call or Text us:
210-973-9714
915-215-2737
E-Mail:
[email protected]
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