Kurb Promotions Blog

Ten years ago it used to be easy to know how to sell your music, you printed CDs then hoped you would sell them at gigs or if possible you would get a distributer. Now most people consume music digitally via the web, often illegally. So do you need to sell CDs or any physical products? It depends on the relationship you have or want to have with your fans. When you are out playing gigs (listed on Live Unsigned) selling merchandise is a great way to raise some cash and build that fan/artist relationship.

One of the best ways for a band to make money is to sell merchandise, but do fans really need another dull, plain CD in a plastic case? This is an unremarkable object at best, it just carries music that is available digitally usually at a lower price. If you really want fans to buy something at least get a digipack CD or consider getting some vinyl printed. Often fans will buy vinyl but will still listen digitally. Via Bandcamp you can include a download code so they can still listen even if they don’t own a record player. Make sure you have the audience for vinyl first, if you are selling 500 digipack CDs then it’s worth considering the vinyl option (the minimum order tends to be around 300 units due to high set up costs). If you are not sure ask your fans via social media.

The key thing is to create objects people actually want, something cool and interesting they can keep in their house and show off to their friends. Often you will find people take photos of interesting merchandise and post it on their social networking profiles, giving your band extra exposure. The odder and more unusual something is the more chance people will want to talk about it.

A good example of a micro label creating something interesting is ZX Tapes who produce limited editions of 30 tape cassettes. Even though the tape format is considered outdated they create limited edition art objects that always sell out. They really make an effort to make something special and will most likely be highly collectable in years to come.

The Flaming Lips sell some really limited items. They sell real human skulls for $5000 with a USB stick containing a 24 hour long song or christmas tree ornaments or strange items made of jelly. The hardcore fans want to support the band and buy interesting items. If you want your fans to care be interesting and remarkable.

KISS are the established masters of this. Nothing is too tasteless, from coffins to breakfast cereal to comics to KISS Mr Potato Heads and condoms. Their loyal fanbase (the KISS army) have been paying for this ever expanding range of merchandise since the 70′s. They even do a “KISS Kruise” where you can party all night and day on a boat with your idols for up to nearly three thousand dollars a ticket (and where you can buy a unique range of special KISS Kruise merchandise!). They know how to work their fan base.

Many other bands offer interesting merchandise:

Ween do a colouring book.
Justin Bieber has a shower curtain.
Metallica do a Master Of Puppets pillow case, for the the metal fan who has everything. They also do a Metallica Monopoly set!
Franz Ferdinand sell y-front underpants.
Feist sells a music box that plays instrumental versions of her songs.
Ben Kweller sells a branded toothbrush
No Age have sunglasses.
Slayer sell a slaytanic motorcycle helmet.
Weezer sell a branded Weezer Snuggie.
AC/DC do wine (not to be shaken all night long).
U2 do lego versions of the band (Edge is still wearing a hat).

What all these odd and occasionally tasteless items do is connect the fans more closely to the artist and provide a revenue stream. The weirder they are the more likely it is that people will talk about them via Twitter, across social media or down the pub. T-Shirts and stickers are cool but if you really want to make an impression a Kazoo with your logo on it can be a way of standing out. Try to make as much of what you sell unique and special, even if it is just signed, limited and a numbered edition. Try and keep your logo consistent and if you think an item of merchandise is tacky then don’t do it.

You don’t need to sell a plain CD but it is a good idea to sell some sort of item that gives fans a souvenir of your music. Every artist/fan relationship is different. Make sure that your merchandise offer is as unique as your music and as special as your relationship with your fans.

Making the step of dealing with my accounts receivable for once and for all is going to be a bit of a big deal, I actually don’t think it’s really set in yet.

When it really sets in that I don’t have any issues with debtors worth worrying about, that my business is turning over well, sure I do need to get up to date with my tax, but we’re moving to a point where all I have to do is deal with what comes in and take it from there.

It’s a new chance to have the space to do new things, not necessarily ambitious things because we know that small projects can be executed quickly and with focus. Looking seriously at getting an assistant becomes easy because I can focus on it and what is the ultimate result? I’m doing even less. It might drive me crazy but I think it’s a time to adjust to the fact I don’t have to do as much to maintain my lifestyle, and what kind of opportunity that represents, but I still have to have a plan to refer back to so I don’t wander and get too lost with it.

I’m naturally industrious. Money isn’t the be all and end all but it’s one point of orientation, it’s an easy measure to ask if somethings working and if it’s making money well it can’t be too bad. It’s not the only thing, but it’s an easy thing. When you need to apply industrious energy without waste - get a plan.

There’s pirates, but we were focused also on not taking basic processes in our business for granted. We print cd’s and dvd’s, we do dvd and cd burning, that’s our main business and organising cheap poster, booklet printing.

We need to get the processes ramped up - printing, take it up. More printers, printers at other locations. At what point do I need another burner? If I continue to do $2k turnover week after week.

But ultimately it’s the person on that little run for supplies and to the post. That’s the biggest step I could take right now to be doing less. Can I find someone I can pay to turn up everyday, go to the printers, go to the post office and go the plastic suppliers? Do any packing, and deliveries?

It’s easy to do it myself, but we’re not getting any closer to the ideal of not being involved.

The specs for the printing have to be right, and it’s practical for me to deal with the plastics myself, but if I kept reserve more stock it wouldn’t be an issue. That just leaves picking up printing and doing posting.

I say buy an existing staff member a car and pay them $10 for each printer/post office run. Pay someone else to do packing. It still seems messy like I’ll end up doing it myself. I think we forget that over the last 2 months we’ve worked at %150 of the level required, when we drop to about %120 we’ll notice things are even easier. But we still have to regard the possibility of short term growth, of making an extra bit of money in the next year or so

We did the move and it’s good, I’m just keen to get more happening because it either means more time for me or more money if sales keep growing so it can’t be bad either way.

When it came to going in on that debt collection sure I had conflicting emotions, this sense of wondering why I haven’t dealt with the issue earlier came over me. It’s a fine balance, should of done it earlier, but what’s left to do now in business development?

Do my tax, sort out my new business structure, get my cheap colour copying and pirate story websites up and then I’m there just neutral. The only point from there may be pirates. If it’s video, it’s video I want to do. Otherwise this stuff is just too unfocused, I;m just releasing energy into blogging about something that doesn’t need to happen.

If it’s all about pirates and video, how much more do I need to keep writing about it here? I mean I’m trying to drive pirate traffic to the pirate website!