How to create high quality, low-risk merch FREE

Historically, creating artist merch has been something of a gamble, requiring a significant investment with no guarantee of a return. With the advent of print-on-demand, however, artists could be look at a new low-overhead era of merch sales.

Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix

Investing hundreds of dollars into merch that may or may not sell is a thing of the past!

Every musician dreams of seeing someone wearing their merch in public. For many, spotting their merchandise in the wild is as close to ‘making it’ as they will ever get. But making merch is traditionally a risky investment. Musicians typically spend hundreds, even thousands, to print merch that they hope fans buy. Recouping those production costs can take time, and that potential wait has forced many to shelve their merch dreams until they feel more established in the music community.

But that is a remnant of the old way of music entrepreneurship from the days before everyone was doing business online. Investing money in merch is still part of most artists’ financial plans, but other options exist. Believe it or not, musicians who are still establishing themselves and those more concerned about raising awareness than making money can now make merch without spending a dime.

Allow us to introduce you to print on demand merchandising.

Print on demand is a process where you work with a supplier to customize white-label products (like baseball hats or tote bags) with your designs to sell them on a per-order basis under your brand. Nothing is printed until someone orders a product, so you (the artist) only pay to produce what people buy.

There are several reasons that print on demand services are popular with musicians:

• You don’t have to spend any money to get started
• You can upload as many designs as you want
• You don’t have to handle production
• You don’t have to handle shipping
• You can offer merch on high-end fabric
• You can offer more unique merch items than any artist would otherwise be able to produce

There are drawbacks as well:

• Print-on-demand services cost more per unit, which means your total revenue may be lower than if you purchase merch in bulk.
• You do not control shipping, so there is no way to include “thank you” notes or bonus merch items.
• You do not control production, so the product is made and shipped when the company handling your orders can fulfill the request.

In his latest Music Biz update, host James Shotwell walks through the print-on-demand business model. He argues why using such services may be a better alternative for certain artists than the traditional merch approach. He also recommends one printing company that we at Haulix Daily use regularly. Check it out:

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.