pounce
December 2nd, 2006, 03:51 PM
The live sound experience is going to have a number of threads/stickies/primers about things relating to live shows, band, and other live show issues. I'm taking the tack that instead of just writing things as an article with only my experience, i'd rather get some things started as a thread so that all of our input can be put into these subjects. I'll make them a sticky, or otherwise feature all of the info in one place.
Merchandise - your band might make more money on this than you do on gigging. T-shirts, videos, cd's, stickers, whatever you can sell at shows or in stores.
as a slightly pedantic side note, merchandise is any of the above items that are being sold. swag is promo items given away for free. it was explained to me that swag was an acronym for stolen without a gun, an old pirate term. now it's used for any materials given away for the sake of band promotion. usually tshirts, stickers, cd's, or posters. these may be the same items that are sold as merchandise otherwise, but the terms merchandise and swag are not interchangeable as one has to do with free and the other is about making some money.
bands selling merchandise in live shows often have their own person, perhaps a touring manager, to watch the merch table. venues don't provide staff for selling band gack, so it's up to the band to have that covered. relatedly, having something to hang posters on, a table to put out, and some means of handling cash (or credit) is the bands responsibility - i wouldn't count on the venue having any of this. bringing your own folding tables with merch samples and easily readable labels for pricing is recommended. if you have a video, having an intergrated tv/video player running the video is recommended. some larger venues get a cut from merch sales (not typically bars or clubs, but large scale touring). so keeping good accounting is recommended.
companies like cdbaby.com not only do a great job helping folks sell their cd's ( i highly recommend all bands get connected with them), they also do something great for bands at venues playing live shows. they let bands get credit card machines to use at the venue so that you can accept credit card payments for merchandise. i say make it as easy as possible for folks to buy stuff from you. in this day and age, you can expect credit cards as the payment norm more and more.
so with these few ideas to get us started, perhaps folks can add to the discussion. where do you get merch like band tshirts? how many do you sell or give away? do you have a video? how do you display your wares at the shows? any other merchandise or swag comments are welcome. let's get into this topic.
Merchandise - your band might make more money on this than you do on gigging. T-shirts, videos, cd's, stickers, whatever you can sell at shows or in stores.
as a slightly pedantic side note, merchandise is any of the above items that are being sold. swag is promo items given away for free. it was explained to me that swag was an acronym for stolen without a gun, an old pirate term. now it's used for any materials given away for the sake of band promotion. usually tshirts, stickers, cd's, or posters. these may be the same items that are sold as merchandise otherwise, but the terms merchandise and swag are not interchangeable as one has to do with free and the other is about making some money.
bands selling merchandise in live shows often have their own person, perhaps a touring manager, to watch the merch table. venues don't provide staff for selling band gack, so it's up to the band to have that covered. relatedly, having something to hang posters on, a table to put out, and some means of handling cash (or credit) is the bands responsibility - i wouldn't count on the venue having any of this. bringing your own folding tables with merch samples and easily readable labels for pricing is recommended. if you have a video, having an intergrated tv/video player running the video is recommended. some larger venues get a cut from merch sales (not typically bars or clubs, but large scale touring). so keeping good accounting is recommended.
companies like cdbaby.com not only do a great job helping folks sell their cd's ( i highly recommend all bands get connected with them), they also do something great for bands at venues playing live shows. they let bands get credit card machines to use at the venue so that you can accept credit card payments for merchandise. i say make it as easy as possible for folks to buy stuff from you. in this day and age, you can expect credit cards as the payment norm more and more.
so with these few ideas to get us started, perhaps folks can add to the discussion. where do you get merch like band tshirts? how many do you sell or give away? do you have a video? how do you display your wares at the shows? any other merchandise or swag comments are welcome. let's get into this topic.