Tenth Planet Wins!

Congratulations to Tenth Planet for winning the Mrchgrl Christmas Giveaway!

They win a FREE mrchgrl custom T-shirt Design for their band!

Thanks to all of the bands who participated, and never fear, you will be getting something, too! Both Dr.Pants and the New Nationals will be recieving 10% off their first mrchgrl order for the year of 2009!

Congrats, Tenth Planet and Merry Christmas everybody! xo

Mrchgrl Giveaway Contest - VOTE NOW!

Thanks to the bands who've signed up. Please choose the band you wish to win the contest in the poll on the right. You can only vote once, so make your vote count!

If you are in a band and still want to sign up and get votes, you can do so by looking at the requirements at the post below!

In the Running:

Dr.Pants
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/drpants5

The New Nationals
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/newnationals


Voting will end on Dec 24th at 12:00am! Please get your votes in NOW!

mrchgrl christmas giveaway!

Don't say I never did anything for ya, okay?

Mrchgrl.net is offering a special giveaway offer to ANY band ANYwhere for a limited time only!

One lucky band will win a custom limited edition design from mrchgrl merchandising for FREE!

What do you (the band or artist) have to do to win?
- Become a fan on Facebook (see link in the left menu? go THERE!) *update* and write on the mrchgrl fan page wall to let us know you've joined up!
- Be our Myspace Friend and put Mrchgrl in your Top Friends! (see the link right below that?)
- send your friends and family to the mrchgrl blog to vote! Voting starts on Dec. 14th so HURRY and sign up!
- Send us an email with a link to your myspace page and facebook profile, telling us why YOU should be the band that gets chosen to recieve a free t-shirt design! (email to mrchgrl@mrchgrl.net, subject: BAND NAME, Christmas Giveaway), Please attach any logo you currently have that may be used in the design - Hi-Res JPEG, PNG, PDF or EPS format

It's as simple as that!

What do you (the band or artist) win?
- One custom mrchgrl t-shirt design (1 or 2 Color Print) (digital files: PDF, PSD, PNG MOCKUP)- Value $150
- $50 off any Premium Package #3 or higher
- One promo blog about your band featured on mrchgrl.net, mrchblog, myspace, facebook and twitter
- A direct link placed on mrchgrl.net website & mrchblog blogroll

The winner will be assessed by mrchgrl.net and announced on December 24th, 2008 @ 9:00PM EST via MRCHBLOG, MRCHGRL.NET, TWITTER, FACEBOOK and MYSPACE

Merry Christmas and Happy Freakin Holidays!!!

Merch:101 - 360 Deals vs. Merch

Lesson 7: What is a 360 deal and could it work for you?

You don't know how much it aggravates me when I meet a new independent band and the first thing out of their collective mouth is "When we get signed..." I just want to shake them and say "Get signed? Why on EARTH would you want to get signed?"

You see, what most bands don't understand is that Record Labels, like the rest of the free world at the moment, have no money. And what little money they do have, they spend on promotional fees and outdated advertising campaigns to shoot their mediocre talent to the fame equivalent of the stratosphere only to drop them on a dime when their albums don't sell. It's a broken system, and although, granted, there are some small gracious labels out there doing it right, they are few and far between and the ratio of talent to quality labels is somewhere at about 1 zillion to 1.

360 deals work for HUGE performers like Jay-Z and Madonna because they can negotiate their own terms. They (and their team of 100 lawyers) decide how much they make, how much they work and how long they are obligated to do so. The companies (i.e. Live Nation) putting out the money for these huge deals for these artists have complete faith that they will continue to be successful and they are willing to make sacrifices to get those names on their roster.

What is a 360 deal exactly?
360 deal is a term used to describe a contract that a company or record label offers to an artist or band. It is called a 360 deal because it covers everything that artist earns, not limited to only recordings or merchandise or appearances, but the whole she-bang. Usually the artist or band is offered a lump sum up front (varies depending on success of artist and earning potential) and a percentage of total earnings throughout the allotted time of the deal. The company would front the money for everything involved in promoting and managing the artist such as tour costs, recording costs, merchandise manufacturing costs, marketing costs, radio airplay costs and any incidentals. Whatever the artist earns from touring, album sales, digital downloads and merchandising would all go directly back to the company and the artist would earn a percentage of all of it as per the contract.

So that seems good, why wouldn't I want that for my band?

Here's the thing. When you don't own any of the material you put out, you can't control the material you put out. In this day and age, 360 deals are almost a step backwards in the evolutionary process. When we have all of this amazing and often free digital media at our fingertips and are able to be more lucrative independently with a little more hard work, why would you want to surrender the majority of your potential income over to some company just because they're willing to give you a modicum of that up front?

In addition to that, factor in the fact that the majority of artists aren't hugely successful and can't negotiate a large percentage of their earnings for themselves, chances are by signing a deal like that you will be forfeiting a large amount of money that could have been yours.
Sure, by agreeing to a 360 deal you will most likely get a sum of money nobody can shake their head at, but money doesn't last forever and most artists prefer to have control over the way that they are represented in the media and in their music. 360 deals are basically the music industry equivalent of selling your soul to the devil, except the devil is a middle aged businessman who knows nothing about music.

But what does this have to do with merchandising?

Good question! Pretty much everything. You see, most often when a band or artist signs to a record label, the label handles the cost of producing the album, promoting it and distributing it. This is called a P&D (production and distribution) deal. Sometimes the label will cough up tour costs. Sometimes they will offer artist development like media training and makeovers. Most often (especially now that they're all basically one album away from bankruptcy) they just offer P&D deals and expect booking agents and management teams to take care of the rest. This means that although they aren't coughing up any money for merch, they also can't collect any money made from merchandise sales, so the majority of that financial income goes directly back to the artist. This comes in handy when your publishing money has run out and you are in the middle of Saskatchewan on tour in need of a Sandwich!

Merchandise is basically the only remaining portion of income that a record label often can't touch, and not only that, but its quite easy and often cheap to build a financial income from it if you follow the right path and make the right investments. Its generally the only money you'll be taking home at the end of a tour, so you've really got to take into consideration how much of that you'd be willing to compromise for a little bit of cash up front.

There are definitely pro's and con's to both sides of the coin. I think it boils down to the type of artist you are and the control you want to have over your own brand. Seems simple enough, right?

Sick :(

I just wanted to apologize to everybody who has been waiting for another blog to come out. I have been in bed for over a week and finally I can breathe again! :D
I will do a new blog tomorrow for Merch:101. And please make sure to check out the new website, I've been busting my butt putting it together, so let me know what you think in the comments section!

xo
-mrchgrl

MRCHGRL WEBSITE!

Huzzah! Huzzah!
The day has finally come!

I've been waiting what feels like forever to have a fully functional website for mrchgrl up and running! And after staring at my computer for eternity, I can finally let everybody know that the website is here!

Dun Dun Dun!!!!

MRCHGRL.NET!!!

Check it out. Bookmark it! Check back daily!

For all of you mrchgrl blog fanatics (hey mom!) don't worry, I will be updating new posts just as often, if not MORE often now that the website is up and running. And as always, please pass on the site to people you think may want/like/need/worship it!

Cheers!

xo
-mrchgrl

Mrchgrl Client Services

Want to learn more about the mrchgrl services?

Please click here to see all of the services that mrchgrl currently offers.

Merch 101: Moving Your Inventory

Lesson #6: OLD MERCH


A lot of the artists that I talk to want to get new merchandise but feel the need to get rid of the old before they start with the new. Although I can completely understand the feeling of throwing money down the toilet by essentially giving up on your old merch; sometimes bringing in something new before the old stuff is gone is a great way to jumpstart sales.

If your fans have come to a show but have already purchased one of your "old" shirts or hoodies or what have you, chances are they aren't going to want to buy another one. However, adding something new to your merch display may entice them to buy something sooner rather than later. And let's not forget the fact that the more people a band has buying merch, the more people are going to want to buy merch, so it could even enduce sales of old stock.

Investing in merch seems like an arbitrary thing to some artists. Why should I have to buy new merch when I still have merch left over? It's better to have merch that will sell and continue to sell than merch that is just going to sit around and collect dust while you wait for it to move. If you had a previous merch order and already sold half of it but it isn't moving as fast as you like, you should probably consider trying a new design. It seems like a waste of money, but there is no law that says you can't sell the old merch too and still look professional and it may be worth the additional money if it means sales, after all you are making a profit off of your merch, aren't you?

If you sell ten shirts at a $10 profit per shit then that's $100 of profit, but if you have 20 old shirts that may have been cheaper to make (say a $15 dollar profit, instead!) but have only sold 2 pieces, you've only made a $30 profit. So what is the best option for you and your band?

As always, mrchgrl offers free and cheap consultation sessions with new and old bands in regards to profits, merch management, inventory, budgeting, price points and merch touring. Please feel free to email me at mrchgrl@gmail.com to set up a consultation with your band today!

Buy This Design!

A brand new design for you to check out! This is "Praying Skeleton" and would probably be best suited to a harder rock/metal/screamo/etc. band. As you can see this is a two colour print, would work on dark or light coloured garments and is approximately 15" wide. 

The band's name would be written in script along the bottom. 

This shirt design will be selling for $150. As usual, if you are interested in a design you can email me at mrchgrl@gmail.com!

Mrchgrl SALE Extravaganza!!!!

Get $50 off ANY combination of T-shirts, MENS and WOMENS Styles for Premium Package # 3! 

Offer is only good for the next 7 days, so if you were thinking about ordering t-shirts, now is the time!!!

Want 50 mens and 50 womens? We can do that!!! Want half black and half white? We can do that too! Want 10 pcs of each color and half of 'em mens and the other half womens? Totally cool with me, as long as you ORDER NOW! 

Email to: mrchgrl@gmail.com 

Subject: $50 OFF PP#3

Coupon Code: CRAZYSALE

I do these things because I love you!
xo

 

Buy This Design!

That's right, kids! It's time for a new installment of "Buy This Design!" This time we have a great submission for an indie-rock type band, this design is best printed on light to medium dark shirts with a dark print. Variations of the same shade look really great together, like the example above, Dark Grey on Slate. 

If you don't know how Buy This Design works, basically I put up various designs that I have done without any particular band in mind and if you think it fits your band's style you can purchase the design from me, no strings attached, for however much I am asking for it. The process is first come first service, so once I've sold a design I can't sell it again, meaning that the band that buys it owns it forever. 

Today we have the "Dover Deer" design. A very intricate design with a buck and some dover-style antique elements. 

I'm selling this design for only $100! I recommend printing it on a high quality ringspun tee with a no-feel low-density ink. 

Indie Can Radio interviews Mrchgrl!

http://www.indiecan.com/107IndieCanRadio.mp3

Click THERE to listen to the Indie Can interview!
I start in at 46:00mins, but I recommend listening to the whole shebang! They're are some pretty rad bands on there! Especially Pavolv's Dogs Orchestra! <3

Interview: MyMusicSite.com

Attaining a career in today’s music industry is within arm’s reach to almost anyone who wants to give it a shot these days. Take for instance, artists likes Imogen Heap, Crystal Castles and Lily Allen: they have one thing in common and that’s the fact that they took their careers into their own hands and pushed their way onto the scene via online communities and networking sites like Myspace.com. With the technology that everybody has at their fingertips we are getting closer and closer to making Andy Warhol’s idea of 15 minutes of fame come true. As more and more online communities start cropping up as the new internet fad an industrious artist might try to use them all to promote their music, but the key is to focus in on the demographic that is most relevant to you and your music and to do what it takes to get it into their ears. Many sites focus on promoting free music, and many others have a pay-to-play set up, but how does the user decide what works best for them?

 

In my opinion music is more than just free air streaming into your headphones, it’s long hours of hard work and dedication being made into a sonic stamp of a representation of something tangible. Music has no weight, no visual connection to our lives so we often neglect to think of it as what it is: Art. So who are we to put a price tag, or lack thereof, on something that is literally made with the blood, sweat and tears of another person’s efforts? If you slaved all day over an oven to make scrumptious cupcakes to serve to the world, you wouldn’t expect someone to hop into your bakery, swipe a cupcake off the counter and hop back out without paying, would you? So why then, is it okay for people to take music as if it were nothing? In reality it’s not, but when something is available for free why would someone want to pay for it somewhere else? This drives down the cost of market value on this item, thus making it as cheap as possible.

 

Sites like iTunes.com try to be innovative by offering cheap music that is attainable. But how much of a cut are artists really making when their song is being sold by a mega-corporation for less than a dollar? After the distributor’s cut, the management company’s cut, the record label’s cut and the divvying up of the publishing rights, whats left over may equate to somewhere around $0.04 on the dollar. So how many songs would an artist have to sell to actually EARN a dollar? Yeah. A lot.

 

That’s why websites and company’s like MyMusicSite.com are so refreshing, a significant of each sale cut goes directly to the artist. Because a majority of the artists on the site are independent, this cut isn’t being divvied among record and management companies, it’s going right into the pockets of the people who are actually creating the music. I sat down with Alexandria of MyMusicSite.com to discuss what they think their role is in today’s music industry and why an artist may consider signing up for their service.

 

Mrchgrl:  How did you start mymusicsite.com and what made you want to provide a service like this for artists? 
MyMusicSite.com: The founder Brad Turk used to have an independent record label. He noticed that there was so much talent in the world that would probably go undiscovered and never get a record deal. He felt these people should have the ability and a platform to be heard. With the advancements in technology; today almost any artist could have a career and fulfill their dreams without a record label. We are now in the digital age where everything is being done online and with computer. An artist can produce a song for practically nothing and can promote it in ways not available years ago. We have seen an unknown artist name Cassie promote and create a hit single right off of her Myspace page. We have seen a self promoted Tila Tiquila find millions of friends and be offered a national television show. With the ability to promote online as well as the inexpensive ways of creating music; everyone can now have a shot at being a successful recording artist. MyMusicSite.com provides that vehicle for these artists to attain their goals. 

 

Mrchgrl: How many artists currently use your website?
MyMusicSite.com: We already have over 4,000 Artists, Bands, Comedians and Producers on the site.

 

Mrchgrl: What do you think is different about the service you provide vs. companies like CD Baby and Indie Pool?
MyMusicSite.com: I think the 2 key differentiators specific to the sites you mention are 1) MyMusicSite.com is set up in a social networking environment. Users can fully customize their profile pages and use all of MMS resources to help them promote and sell their music. 2) We are proactive in marketing and promoting the artists on the site.

 MyMusicSite is not just a music store. MyMusicSite is a culture.

 

Mrchgrl: How does an artist get started on your website? What do they have to do?
MyMusicSite.com: Very Simple. All an artist has to do is sign up for a free account. Once they have registered, they create an artist profile page with their music and pictures. The MY ACCOUNT section basically walks them through the steps needed. 

 

Mrchgrl: Where do you think the music industry will be in 5-10 years and how will the service you provide reflect that?
MyMusicSite.com: In my opinion, record labels as we know them will be extinct in the next 5-10 years. The music industry will be digital and sites like MyMusicSite.com will be the main platform for artists to sell their music on.

 

Mrchgrl: Artists spend months, sometimes years cultivating songs and yet people are rarely willing to pay money to download or buy them because they feel it is too expensive, if you could say something to artists or just regular people, to show them how important it is to buy music, whether electronically or physically, what would you say?
MyMusicSite.com: I would say... If you like music...and you don't buy music...don't be upset if the music goes away. You will have less people willing and able to create music if enough people are not buying it. If you really like music you need to support the people who are creating it. Music has become so cheap and can be obtained instantly. I don't think $0.99 or $9.99 is a lot to pay for something that gives you so much.

 

Mrchgrl: Many bands and artists these days are steering in a more independent direction and gaining a fan base through web-based communities like MySpace and Facebook, what kind of benefits does your website offer to artists who want to pursue independent careers?
MyMusicSite.com: We basically guide them through the process. We truly believe that steering in a more independent direction is the way to go. We have seen artists Like Madonna and Jay Z get out of their record deals (signing to LiveNation and not a record label). Major Labels take a majority of your money (around 90% after you recoup). That made sense when it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to put out an album. But it no longer costs that much money to put out and an album and promote it. It is now the artist time to take their fate in their own hands and MAKE MOST OF THE MONEY while doing so. We provide an artist with a vehicle to sell downloads of their original music, ringtones and a platform to promote and market that music.

 

Mrchgrl: Do you promote the music on your website or is that up to the artist to promote the sales of their own music?
MyMusicSite.com: We promote the music on our site as well as give the artists tools in which to promote. Most of what we do is free for the artist but if an artist needs that extra push we also have additional marketing and promotions services that we offer. We are also doing extensive marketing and promotions for the site itself which give the artists on our site exposure. We have full page ads within CMJ’s New Music Report, Indie-Bible Book (coming out on November 08), ASCAP’s Playback Magazine and have recently put up a 20 foot by 20 foot banner in NYC (On 196th Street off of Broadway).

 

Mrchgrl: Do you have any tips for artists who are interested in using your site?
MyMusicSite.com: Yes. Plenty of tips. But I will give you a couple. 1) Sign up!!!!!!!!! As an artist who is trying to promote yourself you should try everything and anything that might help further your career (especially if it is FREE!!). 2) If you already have an established site you use like Myspace or Facebook, put your MyMusicSite.com link on that page and let people support you and buy your music (this link is located on your profile page - all you need to do is cut and paste it - it doesn't get much easier than that). 3) The more you put into it the more you will get out (that holds true to anything in your life -not just your music).

 

We look forward to helping you promote and sell your music!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frequently Asked Questions

YOU: Hey, you do merch? How much would it cost us to do 100 t-shirts?

ME: That depends, do you want 100 basic t-shirts or 100 good quality t-shirts? Do you want one colour print on a light shirt or on a dark shirt? Do you want more than one print colour? How big is your design? How many locations will you be printing on?

YOU: Uh, I dunno.

ME: Then I dunno either.

 

I don’t know prices off the top of my head unless you give me all of the variables that are included in that price quoting. I’d love to bounce numbers at you, but even when I do, this happens….

 

 

 

YOU:  How much for 25 black t-shirts with a 1 color print on the front?
ME:  Cheapest? About $300 bucks.
YOU: That’s 12 bucks a t-shirt! My buddy can do ‘em for 5 bucks a t-shirt!

ME: Then why are you asking me? Clearly your “buddy’s” t-shirts are of the highest print quality and style, the phrase “you get what you pay for” clearly doesn’t suit him and his basement print shop, right?
YOU: Uhhh….

 

A band shouldn’t be making t-shirts just because all the other bands have t-shirts and it seems like an easy way to make some money without spending much. Truth is, you have to spend money to make money and a crappy design printed on a crappy t-shirt probably won’t see daylight. Even if you do move product at your show because your fans are awesome and will buy anything just to support you, chances are you could be moving 20 times MORE product if you were selling GOOD quality t-shirts with a fashionable print. Then even the kids who kinda thought you were okay would probably wanna pick up tees just because they’re rad. How ‘bout them apples?

 

 

 

ME: Hey! I sell merch for bands at shows!
YOU: Cool, I’m in a band!
ME: Have you ever hired a merch person before?
YOU: Nah, my [girlfriend/brother/uncle/dad/sister/cousin/buddy/grandma] sells it for us.

ME: Oh cool. Tell me, how much merch do you sell on average?
YOU: I dunno.

ME: Hmmm… indeed.

 

If you treat your music like the business it is you will find that merch is a band’s most proactive way of earning a financial income. A financial income that can pay for important things like touring, photoshoots, more merch, video expenses, recording expenses and often even living expenses. If you owned a store and needed someone to manage it, would you honestly hire your Grandma or your Girlfriend? Probably not. No matter how much you love them, you’d probably hire somebody with management experience who you’d probably have to pay more than say, er, NOTHING, but at least you know they’d be getting the job done properly, right? A professional merch person keeps count of inventory, takes care of budgeting and often will do both merch and tour management at once. They will take all of that extra weight off of your shoulders so all that you have to do is be the rockstar you are! If you really want to take your girlfriend on tour, there’s always the position of “wardrobe”!

Mrchgrl Easy Menu!

(click to enlarge!)

Yay! I just finished drawing up the MRCHGRL EASY MENU! 

If you click on the images above you can get a full view of the whole menu, one at a time of course! I added a lot more variety of stuff that is available along with more options for printing! :D 
If you want to save the picture, click to enlarge and then right-click and save as! 

Updates!

Hey kids!

Been busy working on LOTS of new stuff for you guys! I'm working on a BIGGER, BETTER merch menu! It'll have a lot more resources on it, so that's something to look forward to! Also got quite a few more merch 101 lessons coming your way. Again, if there is anything in particular you'd like to learn about please feel free to comment or send an email and I will do my best to get it up there as soon as I can.

I am also going to start putting together customized merch kits for bands as I've gotten a great response about those but people are a little weary of doing it themselves. So basically if you want a merch kit put together all professional-like you can come to me and I'll hook you up, as they say.

Anyways, thanks for checking out the blog. See ya soon!

xo
Ella

Calling all bands! Calling all bands!

I have an AMAZING idea for a t-shirt, but I need a band or artist who is willing to do it! The reason I need a specific band is because I'll be using the band member's faces on the t-shirt. 

It's a REALLY rad idea, so if you are up for it, I'll even cut the design price in HALF for you! Only $75 smackeroos! (it's usually $150! - dur!)

It'd be cool if the band had 3 to 5 members, but the shirt will work no matter how many members the band has. 

Come onnn, you know you want to! ;)

Here's a hint: What do Suge Knight, Paris Hilton and Hugh Grant have in common?

Merch 101: Merch Kits

Lesson 5: How to Make a Great Merch Kit

To run a successful merch table there are standard supplies that everybody needs, but the better stocked you are the better things are going to run. Here is a breakdown of some of the things that are essential to an organized and efficient merch system.

 

Organization

Plastic Storage Bins

These heavy plastic packing containers often come with snapping lids and dividers. The better quality the container (i.e. thicker plastic, snapping lids, handles) the easier load in, set up and tear down will be. These containers make packing and travelling much easier as they aren’t as susceptible to weather (rain will break down cardboard) and can be easily packed and stored.

Depending on the amount of merch and the size of the bins you should be able to store most of your merchandise into these bins. Now, these are better used on small to mid-level bands as high level bands quite often go through merch so fast and have so much to sell it wouldn’t be prudent to use a bin like this for t-shirts, though it may be for smaller merchandise like bandanas, belt buckles, etc. that are heavier or are more expensive. Also note that if you use heavy duty storage bins they can double as step-stools and chairs when a venue lacks that sort of stuff!

Smaller "Merch Kit" Container

A smaller container to hold all of the stuff that will make up your "merch kit" is essential. Something that clasps shut and has a handle is ideal but any plastic container will do. This will carry all of your day-to-day merch essentials which we will discuss below, so organization is key. Things that often work well are professional make-up boxes as they have lots of compartments and are easy to organize.

Merch Kit

Grid Panel
A grid panel is a metal grid that you can attach to or hang up on the wall to clip up t-shirts and other sellable product so that fans can see the product clearly. Often mid-size and smaller venues don't have anything to attach product to, so to look professional you can bring your own panel for display purposes.

Butterfly Clips
These little clips help attach t-shirts to your display or hang up posters/pictures/cd's etc. They come in a wide range of sizes and come in very handy for a lot of things. 

Flash Cards

Flash cards are a great way to display what sizes you have available if you have a lot of stock in various sizing ranges. Write the style name and the size range on the flash card and as you sell out of styles you can cross them out. This will help for when people ask what sizes you have. You will often still get the same questions but at least you have a reference to point to when the venue is loud!  I usually attach these right to the t-shirts or wall underneath the t-shirts with straight pins or thumb tacks, tape also works.

Printed Merch Pricing
A sheet with each individual item for sale and it's cost comes in pretty handy when you have a long lineup for merch! These are good to put up all over your merch area so lots of people can see them!

Clear Plastic Picture Frame Stands
To display your merch price lists on the merch table these picture frame stands can be helpful. Usually they are plastic and come in an 8.5" x 11" size for regular sheets of paper.

Binder - Sell Sheets / Inventory List
Your binder is a very important part of your merch! It keeps records of sales at each show so you can track how well your sales are doing. You can also keep settlement sheets from venues when you have to give some of your profits to the house and it also comes in handy for keeping track of inventory for when you need to order more. This way you know which sizes and items you sell out of first, thus making it easier to know which sizes to order more of next time!

Plastic CD Stands
You know when grandma's have decorated plates displayed allover their little houses and some are standing up on a shelf or a mantle? Usually they are propped up with a plate display stand of some kind. These can usually be purchased at dollar stores and come in really handy for displaying CD's and books!

Other "Supplies": 
Stapler / Staples
Sharpies (ALWAYS a necessity!)
Mechanical Pencils
Pens
Pencil Case
Thumb Tacks
Duct Tape / Electrical Tape / Masking Tape / Scotch Tape (Any kind of tape is helpful!)
Hangers (For displaying tees when you don't have a grid panel!)
Lighter
Scissors
1-Hole Punch
Ruler
Measuring Tape
Note Pad (for making notes when working or writing down information you may need later!)
Plastic Carry Bags (people won't ask for bags often but when they do it'll be handy to have them!)
Small Hammer / Nails

All of these items will come in handy when setting up your merch area. Keep in mind that the neater your area is and the more you do to customize it, the more professional it will look and professionalism is important! 

Strong Enough To Break - The Documentary

I have been a part of the music industry for a few years now and have met some amazing people in that little amount of time. I spend a lot of time talking about merch because that is my job and what I love doing, and although it is a major part of the music industry as we know it there are many other facets of it to be looked at. One of the bands who have inspired me the most musically and professionally is Hanson (http://www.hanson.net) . Not only are they the #1 most profitable band in merchandising (Seriously! I know!) and holders of literally dozens of more music-related world records (#1 Independent Album Worldwide, #1 album in the most countries consecutively, etc.) but they also spend a lot of time doing charity work on behalf of the AIDS Crisis in Africa (http://www.takethewalk.net) as well as promoting their own music.

 

A topic of interest where Hanson is concerned is the making of their 3^rd Studio Album, Underneath, and the trials and tribulations it took for them to get it out to their fans. They started filming a documentary to showcase the ins and outs of making a record and ended up documenting the breakdown of their relationship with their record label and subsequent move to producing their music independently. Strong Enough To Break (the documentary) has been added to the curriculum of many entertainment business programs in college-level schools throughout North America because it provides an interior view of what happens when a capitalist regime takes over an existing record label and starts to put pressure on its own artists. It’s incredibly thought provoking and a really great picture for anybody interested in pursuing a career in the mainstream market to watch. You can download 13 consecutive episodes for free in Podcasts on iTunes (http://www.itunes.com). The documentary is called “Strong Enough To Break” and is produced by Hanson and directed by Ashley Greyson.

 

I know what you’re thinking! Hanson? That band from 11 years ago? MMMBop? How could that teach me ANYTHING about the music industry?? Well, in some cases it’s not that great to sign the first record deal that comes your way and hope for the best. Building a career that lasts over a long span of time and has ups and downs will benefit a band or artist a lot more in the longrun than the 15 minutes of fame most artists experience today. Hanson has been lucky to maintain a strong fan base throughout their entire career (more than 15 years!) which has allowed them to continue touring and making records, own their own record label and make a lot more money than you could ever dream of! Not only that, but they control their own career and are able to make decisions based on the values that are important to them. It’s a hard road to follow and somehow a band as understated as Hanson has managed to out-last and out-succeed most of the artists that were generated from that “era”.

 

Anyways, check it out, it really is both informative and entertaining! 

It's Make-over time!!!

Hiya Kids!

So I decided the site needed a bit of a re-do, something to spruce it up! Did a bit of work over the last few hours, so let me know what you think!
If you didn't notice everything I write about on the site is open for comments, so I'd always love to hear your opinions! I would especially love to know what you think of the new re-design, so let me know!

Things have been going awesome lately and there is a lot of exciting stuff in development right now. I'm always coming up with more new ideas to make things easier on my clients and I can't wait to share some of the new ones with ya!

I'll do a new merch 101 in a couple of days, so if you are looking forward to that stay tuned! And of course, if you have any ideas for things you'd like to learn about, Merch 101-styles, please feel free to drop a comment or shoot me an email!

I can't believe I've already hit 400 page views, I know they can't all be from me and my family, so I am glad that I am getting some readers! Thanks so much for stopping by to check out what I do, I hope that you find my site interesting and educational!

If you have a blog I'd love to do a link exchange so hit me up in the comments with your blog name and I'll be sure to publish it!

Look forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks so much!!!

Love Ella
XOXO

CRUNCH CRUNCH! WHIRR WHIRR!

Hello Boys and Girls! 

Do NOT adjust your monitors! You are NOT experiencing technical difficulties! :P We are currently under a bit of construction so bear with us while things are being re-adjusted!

Merch 101: Know Your Printer!

Lesson 4: No Bullshit!

One of the things I’ve found the most common when working with screen printers is the fact that in the end all they care about is how much money is in their pockets. I guess it’s important that people get paid, but one of the most aggravating things to me is when people couldn’t give two craps about their customers.

Screen Printers will lie, steal and cheat if it means they don’t lose money on an order. It’s important to be very focused on your order and your expectations when you go to a screen printer. Don’t worry about being nice because the screen printer sure won’t!

Here are just a few scenarios that happen incredibly frequently in the screen printing industry. What they will do and what you can do to prevent it or deal with it:

1 – Your order is a few days past the delivery date and the screen printer doesn’t know when you should expect it to be ready. Make it very clear that you gave more than ample time for your order to be processed. (Please note that it’s important that you actually did give ample time – 2 weeks is usually ideal.) If your screen printer wasn’t capable of printing your order within that time or was missing information and didn’t contact you for it, then they are responsible for the delay. I would recommend that you ask for some sort of compensation for this, free screen charge, no freight on shipments, something to prove that when you give a deadline date that is when you expect it to be finished. Most printers have a lot of extra padded pricing, so they can afford to knock off a screen charge or two without losing money on the order. But remember, Rush orders are bad news! Don’t give your printer an excuse to be late, plan ahead and make sure that you have provided everything a printer could need within at LEAST two weeks’ notice.

2 – You sent all of the finalized artwork to the printer, but something went wrong and it was printed wrong and they won’t admit it’s their fault. This is when it comes in handy to sort as much of the details as you can out by email – then you have a record of it! Make absolute SURE that you sent all of the artwork correctly, sized to printing size and with proper instructions. If you did all that and your order still managed to get screwed up then it is your printers fault. Printers often try to justify things by saying stuff like “Well I wouldn’t have noticed, even comparing it to the mock up, it looks close!” They are just trying to get you to agree with them. Don’t let their sly ways confuse you, Grasshopper! Stand your ground and make the printer pay for the damages and/or the new printing and blanks. Why should you have to pay out of your pocket for their mistake? Eh? Eh?

3 – You got your order back and several of the items are damaged and you were still charged for them. Many screen printers neglect that little thing called “quality” in lieu for “speed”. If you get an order and several (more than 2% of the items) of the pieces are printed incorrectly or are damaged bring them back to the printer. Show them each item and make a list of the total quantity, size, print, price and damage of each style. Add it up and ask them to order and fix any merchandise that was printed incorrectly. Anything less than 10 pieces ask for a refund for the items and call it even. The printer may try and offer you a credit, but FYI most printers keep horrible and out-of-date records and won’t remember the credit and will beat around the bush next time you order.

4 – You got charged a lot more than what you were quoted. In my experience, most cases like this are because the customer is incapable of basic math, however, in some cases I have seen printers throw in extra charges here and there because they under-quoted the job. But, just like at a store, the price you were given is the price you shall pay. NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER (!!!) go ahead with a print job without getting a complete quote on it. If you haven’t added anything to the order along the way, then the printer shouldn’t be either. Before the order is processed ask for an invoice or order sheet with the total charges pending everything in the order is printed properly. Save that invoice and make note of charges like Screen Charges, Art Charges, Film charges, etc. Talk to your printer about what each of these are and whether or not you will have to pay them upon reorder. If you feel like you were overcharged go over each item with your printer until you are satisfied.

Printers screw up all of the time, it’s a fast-paced environment and sometimes things get mixed up. Always allow for a 2% margin of error (make sure you aren’t paying for that 2% in your invoice, however!) and inspect all of your garments carefully. Try to keep your orders as uncomplicated and informative as possible.

Here is a basic checklist of information you should provide when making an order for screen printing:

• Attach a Digital Mockup of the artwork on the t-shirts
  
• Include all sizing & measurements exactly to scale (you don’t have to make things huge for them to look good, either!)
  
• Make sure that if you are sending a file with a type font used that you have either rasterized or created outlines in the art, otherwise the printer may not be able to read it in the proper font. (Another option for this is to attach the font file with the artwork)
  
• Information about the Style of Garment, Blank Colors, Quantities, Etc. (this is best provided in a purchase order for your own documentation!) – eg. American Apparel Style #2102 Ladies Fine Jersey S/S Tee in BLACK, 25/SM 20/MD 15/LG 30/XL TOTAL = 90 PCS
  
• Send your art sized to spec at a minimum of 300 DPI (pixels per inch!) (this means if it is supposed to be printed at 10” W, then make the artwork 10” W! )
  
• Don’t just say “RED” or “BLUE” for an ink color, there are thousands of variations of these shades. Pick specific pantone colors. If you don’t have pantone color info available to you, select these at your screen printer (this is ideal!)
  
• Provide any and all contact info you have available: Name, Band/Company Name, Phone, Fax, Email, Website, etc.
  
• Provide specific details about shipping instructions and Deadline date… *NOTE* If you need an order absolutely MUST have it by say, Thursday, make your deadline date TUESDAY. Always plan ahead.
  
• Make sure you know your payment arrangement. If you are expected to pay a deposit, how much, when will you have to pay the balance and how?
  

If you can be prepared to give all of this information to your printer when you walk in to make an order, I guarantee there will be a much smaller chance of something going wrong with your order. 99% of the time the mistakes are made when there isn’t enough information provided.

Most importantly, get familiar with your printer and their facilities. Learn about the things they can and can’t do and their other customers. Pay attention to the quality of their shop and their showroom and how much care and effort they put into their company, because essentially that is going to be the same care and effort that they put into your product.

When it comes to merch you’ve got to spend money to make money, so make sure you are spending it somewhere good!