metal merchandise

[opacity]

I wonder to what extent the merchandise sales influence the whole sales figures of a metal band? is the share higher than the actual album-sales? or has merchandise no considerable monetary effect at all?

 

[Jax]

I'm involved a lot with the merchandising that Symphony X does, & I can say that merch is where the money is for a band. Even in the best of record contracts, a band only gets so much per album sold, & out of that usually comes production costs, promotion costs, and so on, which in the end leaves the band not a whole lot. Merchandise is a gold mine because they can set their own profit margin (and sadly, some take advantage of this, hence the $50 sweatshirts you see at some shows..total rape IMO), and the profit goes almost completely to the band, depending on who is handling the merch.

 

[opacity]

that's interesting.
so that's the reason why some bands have like 10 different versions of shirts for only one album.

and if merch is the money bringer, then why not doing the fans (= buyers) a favor and print different sizes, not only XL, or L that in the end is like XL again?

 

[rahvin]

and if merch is the money bringer, then why not doing the fans (= buyers) a favor and print different sizes, not only XL, or L that in the end is like XL again?

my fellow dwarves thank you heartily for your suggestion.

@lady of the oracle: isn't merchandise a bit of an expensive investment for a band, though?

rahvin.

 

[opacity]

not when you take low-quality tissue
and I'm sure there are enough devoted fans who buy the same cloth again and again cos it's from their band

 

[Jax]

@lady of the oracle: isn't merchandise a bit of an expensive investment for a band, though?

That all depends on what merch is being bought. In the case of shirts, the initial investment can be substantial, yes, because the companies that create the merchandise usually have minimum order limits so you can't just go with a handful at a time. However, it usually doesn't take long to break even, if the merch is good quality AND stuff the fans want to buy.

 

[rahvin]

thanks for the info, i suspected something of the sort. a bit like in all industries, the more money you aim to obtain, the higher the initial investments required.

rahvin.

 

[Jax]

Yup, that's pretty much it.

 

[FailingAcension]

Hmm....Well I've got some really nice, high quality shirts and then a couple cheap ones, but I got them for cheap. Persoanlly, I wish all shirts were $20 at concerts. That seems reasonalbe enough. $25 is too much IMO. The cds at concerts are so cheap but merch....:Spin:

 

[Jax]

$25 is cool for a long sleeved shirt, but I hate paying that for a short sleeved shirt, unless it's a real intricate, multi-color design..then, maybe..

 

[Eating Your Skull]

$25 is cool for a long sleeved shirt, but I hate paying that for a short sleeved shirt, unless it's a real intricate, multi-color design..then, maybe..

I agree. I'll pay at most $16 for a t-shirt. But if I'm gonna buy a l/s shirt, there MUST be designs on the sleeves, otherwise it's not a real l/s. I might as well buy the t-shirt, and wear it over my plain black l/s shirt.