The Rise of DIY Merch
In the ever-evolving landscape of the music industry, merchandise has remained a steadfast revenue stream and a vital part of an artist’s branding strategy. Traditionally, artists have relied on external companies specializing in merchandise production and management. These companies, emerging in response to the unique needs of artists—such as cost management, touring schedules, and inventory planning—have offered significant advantages. They provided high-quality graphics, utilized sustainable materials, and ensured speedy inventory replenishment. However, despite these advancements, the core of music merchandising has seen little innovation since the 1950s and 1960s. The merchandise staples—T-shirts, hoodies, and hats—remain largely unchanged, with designs still focused on logos and similar pricing across bands of varying fame.
Artists today are increasingly seeking ways to break from this mold, aspiring to offer more varied styles at different price points, and to produce exclusive, limited-edition items that better reflect their unique brand visions. They aim to forge deeper, more authentic connections with their fans. As a result, there’s a growing trend of artists and their management teams moving away from traditional merch providers to develop their own merchandise operations in-house.
This shift isn’t without its challenges. While forming in-house merch teams could be costly for individual artists, management companies with extensive rosters see it as an opportunity to benefit all their artists while maintaining some economies of scale. However, these management companies traditionally focus on music-related needs like recording, releases, touring, and marketing, and often lack expertise in apparel manufacturing and retailing. The solution isn’t straightforward—they need to know what to look for in building a coherent team.
Enter companies like Musique Mode, which represent a new model in artist merchandise. These firms offer full design, production, and retail services, tailored to the needs of the entire artist roster under a management company. The ideal scenario involves a management company entering into a monthly retainer contract with these merchandise specialists. This setup ensures that the merch team is fully integrated into the management workflow, facilitating ongoing participation in ideation, planning, and implementation.
This model allows for individualized attention to each artist’s budget and objectives, while also managing group needs to leverage savings. For instance, if multiple artists are touring within the same year and use the same materials for their merchandise, these can be sourced together to reduce costs. Similarly, shared manufacturing lines can eliminate minimum order quantities per artist, further lowering expenses. This approach extends to shipping and warehousing, optimizing logistics and reducing overall costs.
A management-level merchandise solution offers many of the same benefits that external merch companies provide by working with multiple artists. However, the crucial difference is that these savings are passed on to the artists themselves, not fully kept by the merch company. This model empowers artists to offer more customized products and retain greater control over merchandise as a significant source of revenue.
The shift towards DIY merchandise under the guidance of specialized firms like Musique Mode represents a significant evolution in the music industry. Management companies are increasingly taking control of their artists’ merchandise, moving away from external providers to partnerships that extend their capabilities. This approach not only provides more personalized services for their artists but also ensures that the artists themselves reap the benefits of shared savings and enhanced brand alignment. As this trend continues, we can expect to see artists offering more innovative, diverse, and authentic merchandise, strengthening their connection with fans and boosting their revenue streams in the process.
