Which Merch Items Sell Best In Your Genre?

Selling merch is a great way for artists to pull in additional revenue while they're on the road, while simultaneously expanding their audience and growing their brand. But how do you know which items will sell? Here we help to take some of the guess work out of merch by breaking down some key data on what sells best in which genre.

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Guest post by Tarryn Meyers of the Symphonic Blog

As a musician, promoting shows and traveling to different venues takes a combination of willpower, love for the craft and of course, lots of money. Selling merch at your shows is the best way to take your visibility to the next level and get you some cash to make your future shows even better.

When it comes to selling your merch successfully, it’s essential to not put out products that look like everyone else’s. If you want yourself to stand out among all the rest, your merch needs to represent you and all you stand for, but it also needs to be represented in styles that people actually want to wear. Before you even start selling, be sure to make sure you’re creating goods that will sell the best among your respected audience. Of course you’ll want to have standard items like T-shirts, but what else are fans of your genre into?

Alternative

• Tank Tops
•  Sweatshirts
•  Zip-up Hoodies

Electronic/Dance

• Tank Tops
• Pullover Hoodies
• Shorts

Punk

• Tank Tops
• CD’s
• Hats

Rock

• Tank Tops
• CD’s
• Zip-up Hoodies

Country

• Tank Tops
• Long-sleeve Shirts
• Koozies

Pop

• Tank Tops
• Zip-up Hoodies
• Programs

Singer/Songwriter

• Zip-up Hoodies
• Posters
• Wristbands

Christian/Gospel

• CD’s
• Zip-up Hoodies
• Jerseys

Metal

• Tank tops
• Long-sleeve Shirts
• CD’s

Artists in the Hip-Hop game have been selling crazy good merch consistently for the past year. Every new drop seems to be sold out before you can even get your card out of your wallet. Kanye West sold $500,000 worth of ye merch in under 30 minutes when it was released back in June.

The merch offered in this genre has been so hot, it wouldn’t hurt to keep some of their methods in mind.

• Bright colors, bold graphics, and unique items like socks, water bottles, and even limited edition jean jackets can barely stay available during the time it takes to decide what you want.
• Keep your styles on trend and offer items like cropped hoodies rather than plain ones, beanies rather than baseball caps. Even the button up shirts Kanye offered during his Kids See Ghosts tour were gone almost instantly.

Festival goers know that if you want your favorite EDM artist’s merch before they sell out, you’ll have to be the first in line, ready to go. Take a hint from Illenium’s crazy successful merch. His items are always the first to go and for good reason. He’s got his logo plastered on everything he puts out in all different styles, including unique patterns with holographic detailing and popular items like his bold, signature jerseys and tank tops.

Be unique, up to date with the hottest trends, and true to your brand and you’ll have no problem emptying out your merch table by the end of the night.

May the merch gods be ever in your favor!

[Statistics originally appeared in a 2014 article by atVenu]