Can Merch Save Music?

With record company advances and regular royalty checks a thing of the past, I know many bands for whom selling merchandise on the road is the difference between a profitable tour and no tour.  Others survive between gigs because of online sales. For some selling t-shirts and CD’s provides the extra cash they need to run their digital marketing campaigns or upgrade promo.

Recently the Wall Street Journal ran a piece on how some marketers want to take the "rag trade" to a whole new level:

"What does the Beatles fan who’s already shelled out $62 for a carefully aged "Help!" T-shirt do for a second act? Lyric Jeans Inc., a year-old Los Angeles start-up, has a suggestion: How about paying $350 for a pair of jeans with the words to "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" written on the leg in a swirl of crystals? "

Then there are the pictured Cher "Gypsies Tramps & Theives" inspired jeans. (more)
Is this sad or just another dose of reality?