No matter where you are from, you have definitely seen some band merchandise, or “merch” for short, featured either online or in-venue. And if you are a part of a music band, you must have been thinking about the best merch ideas you can sell to your fans.
Talking about merchandise, it’s the top-notch collection that lets all bands better promote themselves. Whether the bands follow pop, rock, indie, or any genre, their cool merch items can boost their popularity to a huge number of audiences.
While making the band name visible to the public, merchandise can help bring some extra revenue as well. This is in fact one of the only money-making methods that keeps the bands’ music coming besides selling music online and in physical copies.
There are multiple custom band merch having been tested and brought to the market, but do all of them fit your fans’ taste? Only your band’s music can answer the question. Now, put everything down and look at these 6 timeless band merchandise ideas that I’m sure all fans will love:
1. T-shirts
It is undeniable that band shirts are the most popular DIY band merchandise items. This is because not only do these tees provide much space for your band to get creative, but they are also comfortable and stylish for your fans to wear around.
What’s better than having your band name featured everywhere and raising money at the same time than some perfectly-designed shirts? Be ensured that all music fans will get excited when you, as a band, custom your own Hawaiian shirt, hoodie, or any upper-part apparel for them to put on.
There is a range of band shirt ideas, but first, let’s start with the most basic item: a t-shirt.
If you are wondering how to immediately attract the music fans, start with your band spirit in mind and apply it to these trendy concert shirt ideas:
Make your shirt a simple one so that it can stay timeless and reach a wider audience.
Have a unique image on the front of the shirt. It should be either your band name, logo, famous lyrics, or a graphic of how you and your bandmates look. Pay attention to how you can combine the fonts for the best look.
State on the back of the shirt tour dates to specify your authenticity. Your fans can use it to show off to their friends too!
2. Posters
These are the classic items to be seen hanging in the teenagers’ rooms and CDs stores. But in modern days, we can also see posters in retro-style coffee shops, clothing boutiques, or some nostalgic guys’ collection.
While being appealing to the music and decoration enthusiasts, posters are some of those merch ideas that save you lots of money.
Easy to create, cheap to produce, tempting for the fans, posters can be your greatest promotional tools if you know when and how to release them. Consider giving away some for free, feature them in public places, music studios, tea shops, your merch tables, etc.
However, all of this won’t work if you don’t have a poster design that rocks. Make sure to put effort into designing one that stands out from a field of colorful posters.
3. Tote bags
Don’t underestimate the power of a tote bag when it comes to promoting your band!
To the fans, tote bags are affordable, fashionable, practical, and trendy all at once. Not only can they show their love for music and fashion, but also protect the environment without worrying about messing up their belongings.
Therefore, music bands should consider featuring their logos on tote bags and sell them everywhere.
Just as the concert shirt ideas, keep your design simple with a white, beige, or black background. Your fans won’t hesitate to carry your band’s logo to shopping malls, grocery, movies, etc. for ages (as long as the fabric you choose is durable enough).
4. Stickers, patches, pins, key chains, and guitar picks
It is 100% certain that all music fans love these famous yet simple merch ideas!
You can let your creativity fly and create as many items as you want. Whether it is cute, spooky, or hot crazy merchandise, a set of cool stickers, patches, pins, etc. will cost you just a few. The more you make, the less you have to pay (because you can always buy these small-scale branded items in bulk).
These are definitely effective because not all fans want to show off their musical side with big stuff like t-shirts or posters. Their enthusiasm can be as lowkey as a small guitar pick.
Also, everyone loves things that are portable, and also free stuff. Don’t hesitate to make stickers and patches an attachment when your fans purchase a bigger merch. This is sure to boost your fan loyalty and excitement to the next level.
Even if you don’t make these some free items, small pins, key chains, patches, etc. still attract your fans’ attention for its affordable price and variable designs. After that, be happy and proud that your band logo is with their everyday objects all the time.
Depending on your budget and your fans’ taste, choose your most suited options to design and sell around.
5. CDs and vinyl records
Although these may sound old, CDs and vinyl records are the cool merch items that many bands have brought out for their fans.
Since it can be costly to make a collection of custom CDs and vinyl records, you may want to make limited editions and keep them for some certain occasions. For example, a special song release or the best album will do. Your loyal fans will love to have a physical representation of those.
Moreover, all collectors love to have some custom colored vinyl records in their collection. So don’t worry about how much you have to spend on production, it can really pay off!
6. Hats
Last but not least, merch ideas are just never enough without all the hats.
The most popular hats your band can consider making are bucket hats, beanies, or baseball caps. Take notes of your fans’ preferences and see which kind suits them the most.
Like tote bags, it is easy to design a hat and make your band logo visible to the world. Again, design matters. If your hats are cool enough, even the ones who don’t like headwear in general will want to put them on.
Don’t forget to do some research as well, various printing techniques can make your graphics and embroidery feel different. But once you have chosen the most suited option for your print, be prepared to see your hats everywhere on the street.
So, above are the best merch ideas for all music bands out there. What’s important is that you understand your fans, be creative and unique with the designs and maintain the merch’s quality. After that, you are sure to build both the loyalty of your fanbase and band revenue.
Have fun making music and spreading all the merch!