TOTALLYT-SHIRTS.COM

Gigi Swanson at Music Business Marketing writes a great article on how concert t-shirts are useful for selling an experience and not just a t-shirt

When you think of tour merchandise you might envision major label artists playing large arenas and selling everything from tie-dye T -shirts, bumper stickers, embroidered baseball caps and in the case of the Rolling Stone’s famed Voodoo Lounge tour‹a custom motorcycle.

But even if you are an independent artist you can run your business like the big acts by utilizing an added revenue stream source‹custom merchandise. As an artist/performer you are selling an experience and fans will buy a souvenir of that experience in the form of a CD, clothing, buttons, posters, etc. As music fans we have all come home with something more tangible than a ticket stub and it’s usually something we can wear.

The custom wearables market has plenty to choose from, but let’s focus on the long held wardrobe staple—the T-shirt. What better promotion is there than a walking billboard to advertise who you are and what you do. It’s generally inexpensive to produce and if made with good-quality materials it can last a very long time. But better than that, there is a healthy margin of profit in the sales of wearables, which can at least offset or even cover your travel expenses.

You can package CDs with a T ­shirt for an “added value” sales incentive such as offering them “half off” with a CD purchase. You can use them as door prizes or as a thank you for the sound guy or the waitress at the clubs you play. The same applies for coffeehouse, church and house concert gigs. Even when you play for free you can earn money and build goodwill and name recognition.

Don’t think selling T- shirts is for more visible and established acts. If you are playing out and selling CDs you can sell shirts. But before you jump in, here are a few pointers to make your promotional dollars work for you.

The most popular T- shirt is the basic crew neck. Not only is it low in cost, it’s a style people are familiar with. As far as color options are concerned, the sky is the limit with the least expensive being the standard white, then the heathers/naturals, and then the darker colors. Besides the basic tee, you can branch out with different styles such as ’70s retro ringer tees, baseball raglan tees and new styles made for women such as scoop necks, baby-doll tees, and the new layered looks.

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