How to Make Merch for Your Band
Custom merchandise is a key aspect of any band or solo artist's branding strategy. It allows musicians to connect with their fans beyond live shows, adds hype in a creative and fun way, and brings in another revenue stream. Let's dig into the popularity of band merch, why everyone loves it, and how to put together a standout merch line and start a merch store of your own.
Why Is Band Merch So Popular?
There are 3 main reasons why band merch is a big deal:
It lets your fans rep you
Merchandise is such an effective way of connecting with fans beyond the music itself. It allows fans to get involved with you and represent your music, showcasing their support to the world - think of your fans as miniature billboards, promoting you!
Fans wear their band's custom merch products to shows, on social media, and in day-to-day life, representing the artist/band's brand wherever they go. There are also collectible/trading elements to band/artist merch - buying the poster that shows the exact tour date you attended, collecting all variants of a specific T-shirt design, finding the quirkiest piece of merch in a band’s collection, or trading tote bags with other fans so you can collect 'em all.
It ramps up your revenue
There are few better additional revenue streams for musicians and bands than custom merch. As the music industry shifts, record sales decline, and revenue from streaming services (while often good in the long run) proves to be a waiting game, career musicians need to find alternative ways of making money.
Merchandise can be a profitable and rewarding source of income, especially for independent artists who may end up relying on merch sales as their primary source of revenue. POD, or print-on-demand, is an excellent way to have a large selection of music merch designs available for your fans, so you can keep making music and make money.
And if you can do the graphic design work yourself (or learn how), your investment in your own merch line will be little more than time, effort and creativity (acquiring those skills also enables you to create your own album art!). Your profit margins will be higher, and your audience will have lots of ways to rep you and your music. Worth it!
It solidifies your brand
Having a merch line is also an excellent way to enhance an artist/band's visual identity and brand. Use it to create a consistent image across all platforms and make it easy for fans to recognize your brand on-sight. With the right merch products and designs, bands can effectively communicate their image to fans and the public - if your audience already likes your music and wants to support you, your merch will likely become must-have purchases for them.
How to Make Band Merch in 6 Steps
Making band merch can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. Here are five steps to making merch that will really connect with your fans!
1. Brainstorm ideas
The first step in making band merch is to brainstorm ideas that reflect your band's image and brand. Start by thinking about the type of products that would appeal to your fans - would they be more hyped about band tees and phone cases, or keychains, stickers and mugs?
Then think about the kind of musician that you are. Put on your artist hat and sketch out some slogans and designs that represent you. Consider what makes your band unique and what things your fans are already excited about (album artwork, specific songs or lyric phrases, upcoming gigs) and use that to guide your ideas, and to create merch that will resonate with your fanbase.
Your existing designs, like logos and album covers, can also be repurposed into merch - album art looks great on shirts, and can be framed as print wall art. Out-of-sleeve vinyl records look great framed, too, so if you decide to print vinyl, consider doing something special with colored designs on the actual record. Fourthwall offers even more options so you can really cast your merch net wide, like digital downloads, live event tickets, and exclusive music content.
2. Design your merch
Once you have your ideas, it's time to design products. You can hire a graphic designer at this stage - but you don't need to be a design expert to create merch that looks great and reflects your brand. Use tools like Canva (which also offers design templates) or Adobe CC to create designs that capture the essence of your music, and of yourself as a solo artist or band. Remember, your merch and your artist/band logos should be a reflection of your brand identity.
Build a color palette for your merchandise that is unique, thoughtful, and leans into your brand and vibe. If you're designing multiple merch lines (for instance a separate merch line for each specific single, album, special event gig, or tour), keep each set of merch cohesive to the brand identity and personality you want to convey. Consistency and uniqueness are two keys to designing and building your brand - you want your fans/audience to easily recognize your logos and imagery.
3. Find a merchandise supplier
There are several options available when it comes to sourcing merchandise suppliers. You can still go old-school and just order your products in bulk, if you choose. But the easiest way for musicians to sell band merch is by teaming up with a print-on-demand company, or "POD." The way a POD works is you create designs for as many products as you'd like, and your POD fulfills those orders by printing your merch and shipping it directly to your customers, usually with no order minimums. You can still place the occasional bulk order if you're playing live at an event, so you can bring your merch with you to sell on-site.
One excellent option for this is Fourthwall, which allows musicians, solo artists, and streamers to create custom merch products that they can sell directly through their Fourthwall online store. Fourthwall is the perfect, reliable solution for independent artists looking to create quality merch products without having to worry about product fulfillment or shipping costs. Other print-on-demand options you can integrate into your standalone website or other shop include Bandzoogle, Printful, Shopify, and Teemill; make sure you explore how each works before you choose, to find the best fit for you, your fanbase, your merch store, and the profit margins you're aiming at.
4. Choose an e-commerce platform
When choosing an e-commerce platform (which will serve to host your online store), it's smart to maximize what you're getting. Fourthwall sites are great for musicians, because they aren't limited to only merch - they're professional websites showcasing you/your band, your music, your livestreams, your social links, and your products.
Combining everything into one site is excellent for gaining fans, as you're making it easy for them to learn more about your music, and giving them multiple ways to support you all in one location, without having to jump from website to website. This gives you even more opportunity to make a mark on the music industry by sharing your music, growing your audience, and letting them shop your merch so you can make money!
5. Set up your online store
Once you have your merch products designed and ready and have chosen your e-commerce platform, it's time to set up and customize your online store to make it easy for fans to purchase it all. A POD website or online store is a relatively easy solution that allows bands to sell their merch worldwide without the overhead costs, shipping costs, and fulfillment hassles associated with physical stores.
Customize your store with branding and imagery that reflects your music, make it welcoming to your fans, and add your products, making sure to offer a wide range of items, sizes, and prices (Fourthwall, in particular, allows you to add and manage your merch products, including size and color variations, with ease.) You can even poll your fans to ask what they'd like to see in your store, so you don't stock only band tees and mugs when they're clamoring for hoodies and album art wall prints. At this point in the process, you might also consider ordering a few sample items from your own merch line, just to get a first-hand look at what you’re presenting to your fans.
6. Launch and promote your store!
Now that your band merch is all ready and your new online store is set up, it's time to launch your shop and promote your merch. Get creative with marketing and use social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook to get the word out to your audience. Embed your merch store on Spotify, shout it out with a Discord announcement, chat up your new shop at your live and streaming gigs, and perhaps even do a few giveaways so some of your fans can get a peek at your merch close-up. Fourthwall even offers optional Twitch product gifting if you’re livestreaming on Twitch, so your chat can gift your merch to each other!
Fine-tune your music marketing skills by thinking up fun ways to offer exclusive promotions that will help incentivize fans to buy your merch. Showcasing bundles in your merch promo photos is a great way to drum up additional sales. You could have one model wearing a band tee and slinging a custom backpack, and another drinking out of a custom water bottle while wearing a custom shirt. Offer bundle deals with combinations of items where you can; these can help increase order values and your profit margins.
4 Fast Tips For Your Band Merch
Start small and scale smart
When it comes to creating band merch, it's essential to start small to avoid any significant financial risks; Fourthwall, for instance, doesn't require any money up front. Begin by creating a few merch products that showcase your band's personality and music, as this will allow you to gauge the demand among your fans while testing the waters. As you gain more experience, you can scale up your inventory. Print on demand is perfect, as you can design and upload as much as you want, with your only investments being creativity and time.
Focus on quality
This one's pretty simple - quality first. The quality of your merchandise is crucial in ensuring your fans are satisfied with their purchase. Quality merch - think nice thick hoodies, sharply-printed band logos, weighty keychains, beautifully printed shirts and album art - will make your band look more professional, and fans will regard you as reliable and worth their hard-earned dollars. In addition, high-quality merchandise will last longer, creating a greater sense of loyalty among your fans.
Embrace pre-orders
Pre-orders are an excellent way to test audience engagement and demand before creating your merchandise. When launching a new merchandise collection, gauging fan interest will help you to decide which products to produce and how many. If you’re bulk ordering instead of using POD, pre-orders will also help cover the upfront costs of production, ensuring you don't lose money if a product doesn't perform well.
Offer unique value
Offering unique and valuable merchandise that fans can't find anywhere else is the key to success in the music marketing industry. It will make your brand stand out, will get your band logo splashed all over the place, and will help create a more enthused, participatory fan base. Using promotional tools like limited edition releases, special drops during specific events, and autographed/signed versions of your merch can make it even more desirable to your audience.
FAQ
Is it legal to make your own merch for your music/band?
Yes, making your own band merch is generally legal, as long as you have the necessary rights to use any copyrighted material (including stock images, any photos not taken by yourself or your team, and fonts) in your designs or products. Original merchandise designs win, because then you'll never have to worry about copyright claims.
What are the most popular types of band/musician merch?
The most popular type of band merch varies between different bands and artists, but t-shirts remain the number one classic band merch favorite. Right after tees are special music releases (on vinyl, colored vinyl, or cassette); hats, caps, and beanies; hoodies and sweatshirts; posters and wall art; buttons, pins, stickers and keychains; mugs and glasses; and tote bags.
Some more unusual options with lots of potential include patches, water bottles, home goods like candles and tea towels, USB drives preloaded with special songs or demos, postcards, handwritten lyrics or setlists, drumsticks or picks, and "mystery boxes" filled with a grab bag assortment of items.
And don't forget digital merch possibilities - digital wallpapers, guitar tabs or sheet music, sound or loop sample packs, concert videos, or even custom video greetings to your fans.
How much does it cost to make music merch?
The cost of creating and producing band merch varies widely based on the items selected, the quantity produced, the quality of the product, and the complexity of design. Make sure you consider the cost and your potential profit margins when selecting which merch to sell. Print on demand services can get you started easily with zero or very little up-front cost.
Make and Sell Your Band Merch with Fourthwall!
Fourthwall offers musicians and bands a complete solution to creating and selling band merch. The platform's integrated store builder and inventory management tools ensure that your merchandise is beautifully showcased, and your fans are engaged directly from your website.
In addition, Fourthwall allows musicians to offer exclusive content, pre-orders, and limited-edition merch through their website (so many choices!) All of your merchandise sales can be tracked and managed through Fourthwall’s user-friendly dashboard, so managing your store is easy mode.