Business tips & ideas

Band merch ideas and how to profit from them

November 3, 2023 9 minutes
The title “Band Merch Ideas and How to Profit From Them” with an image of a woman singing on the right with a band behind her.

Printify offers multiple eCommerce platform integrations with online storefronts and top community marketplaces.

Develop your own band store with a website platform like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Squarespace, or start listing through a marketplace like eBay or Etsy.

Prepare your next gig with fresh band merch ideas. Express your passion and soar to stardom by combining music with fun, top-quality products to offer your fan base. 

Pick unique items, add your designs, and profit in band merch sales. Explore our print-on-demand product fulfillment service with bestselling merch ideas from Printify. Embark on this journey to increase your share of profits within the music industry.

Know your fans and their expectations

Unique merch items need fan respect, and you gain this by establishing a clear identity as an artist. Consider the impact of your artistic message and how it resonates with your fans’ love for your style and community building.

Define your target audience and establish a brand. The merch ideas will start flowing once you’ve determined your band’s identity. 

These crucial steps will ensure your band merch is well-received:

  • Ask your fans which products they prefer.
  • Refer to your favorite bands for visuals and content marketing ideas.
  • Solidify a band slogan and theme for your catalog.
  • Promote to fans using social media announcements.
  • Add links to your store, and bring your merch to shows by placing bulk orders.

Without further ado, let’s review our top picks for merch items you can start designing with Printify in just a few steps.

Make it happen today!

10 band merch ideas for musicians and artists

Printify’s Catalog has a vast range of unique print-on-demand merchandise ideas for artists of all kinds. Fit your custom designs to any niche and keep the fans happy. Apply your graphics to our free, beginner-friendly Mockup Generator design tool.

1. T-shirts

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Discover POD t-shirts of various styles and sizes, fit for all audience members.

Pursue custom merch your fans will gladly add to their outfits for years to come. Band t-shirts are a fan favorite and have made a permanent mark in alternative fashion. Start with our bestseller list for top recommendations.

T-shirts are versatile and comfortable for both go-getters and homebodies. Promote your art on the streets, at school gigs, and most importantly, as the main merch item at concerts.

2. Hoodies

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Hoodies came into style in the 70s and were embraced by rockstars like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Queen, and The Who. Today, hoodies are adorned with album art throughout thrift stores and are a rising trend, even in corporate settings.

Fun and cool hoodies are a go-to option for high-value sales if your fans are willing to pay a bit extra for an item that’ll last a long time. Choose between our sets of form-fitting or loose options, zip-ups, and pullovers from multiple white-label brands.

3. Hats

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Hats for collectors, crisp winter evenings, and sunlit boardwalks are accessories worth selling. Our Catalog has design options for baseball hats, flat brims, embroidered twill hats, pom poms, and knit beanies. 

They can complete an outfit, reinforce a band’s look, and provide a comfortable fit for most people. Add patches, decals, your band’s logo, personal favorite jokes, and album artwork. Get inspired by past decade styles or introduce new hat designs that match your own music.

4. Tote bags

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Some of the best merch ideas are simple and convenient, acting as walking billboards for all your projects and content. We have a huge collection of custom tote bags from durable, eco-friendly, and cleverly designed materials.

Take the classic canvas tote bag in all its beige glory, or work with more interpretative designs. Experiment with colors and materials from polyester to organic cotton. Take advantage of the entire canvas with all-over prints and use every inch of space for advertising.

5. Stickers

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Custom stickers are a great idea for every band. They’re part of a long-standing tradition where fans use them to cover every surface possible to reflect their interests and support.

Stickers are a portable and eye-catching promotional tool for endless surfaces, such as street posts, pub walls, laptops, and skateboards.

There are multiple design variations you can play with, including high-durability vinyl stickers, die-cut stickers shaped around your image, and multi-packs for different combinations. Best of all, stickers are easy to design and keep costs low on bulk shipping, letting you experiment and try new stuff, like testing out logo designs.

6. Pins

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As far as merch sales go, pins are a collector’s favorite. They’re the treasured keepsakes on backpacks and labels to reflect one’s identity. Our accessories page has two fabulous button pins – cool additions to your merch collection.

Printify’s round pins show off prints with a glossy finish. They’re available in multiple sizes with a scratch-resistant layer, decorated with vibrant print colors for your best-customized designs. Enhance your music business and make money from low production costs.

7. Posters

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Whether you design a list of tour dates, album art covers, your band logo, or seasonal designs for gigs and concerts, posters will define your fans’ bedrooms. They’re the ultimate reflection of your visual identity and creative output, so embrace Printify’s collection of top-quality posters.

Our blank posters come in many designs and shapes. Choose from basic art prints for a DIY look, premium matte posters for fine art prints, and top-of-the-line framed posters in beautiful minimalist styles. All artwork is printed with state-of-the-art inks to keep your image valued higher than a regular digital download.

8. Phone cases

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Excellent additions to any website store and merch line-up, custom phone cases combine necessity with artistic imagery that people love. Printify accommodates an ever-growing collection suitable for many different phone models.

Try our bestselling tough phone cases with a polycarbonate and rubber backing, our flexible, eco-friendly, biodegradable cases, or something more slim and solid. Our phone cases use dye sublimation printing, offering a full-intensity image transfer with long-term UV protection.

9. Bottles

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Stainless steel bottles, wine tumblers, travel mugs, and infusers – we have it all. Create beautiful logo designs and add patches or customized patterns to sell as a daily reminder to your fans to stay hydrated and fresh.

Choose between our wraparound exterior designs, front-side prints, or all-over-printing models made to maintain a consistent temperature, resist scratches and corrosion, and provide a leak-proof drinking experience.

10. Notebooks

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Explore our lists of custom journals and notebooks for fellow artists and plan enthusiasts. Create merch for secret-keeping and story-telling to offer your fans the space to express themselves with the inspiration from your music.

Our notebooks and journals are available in rule-lined or blank designs. Highly durable options range from hardcovers to those with spiral bindings, allowing you to lay them flat on a surface without bending.

Start selling band merch with Print on Demand!

Make each gig profitable with concert merchandise

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Making money as an artist can be difficult. So, make sure all concerts benefit from high-value custom merchandise, whether through live gigs or streaming services. Jump-start your stardom with support from fans, all with no initial investment and a free Printify account.

We offer unlimited opportunities for merch sales. Create your own online storefront or purchase a single batch of merch with potential bulk discounts. Start simple – buy a single t-shirt for friends with no order minimums and test whether your style and designs fit the band aesthetic.

How to start selling band merch with Printify

1. Sign up

Create a free account with Printify and fill out your personal information.

2. Select a product

Choose any product from our Printify Catalog and view all its details, like the manufacturing process, available Print Providers, and production costs.

Narrow down your search using the Catalog filter and find unique options from our special categories, including bestsellers, seasonal products, eco-friendly manufacturing, and new arrivals.

3. Apply your designs

From the product screen, click Start Designing to upload and customize your band graphics with our easy-to-use Mockup Generator. This is a great tool for experimenting with patterns, colors, and text.

Develop clean lines that carry well onto a print medium, or hire a professional to do it for you. We recommend converting your image to a vector graphic for high-resolution prints.

4. Connect your store to Printify

Printify offers multiple eCommerce platform integrations with online storefronts and top community marketplaces.

Develop your own band store with a website platform like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Squarespace, or start listing through a marketplace like eBay or Etsy.

5. Publish, promote, and profit

Once you’ve integrated a store with Printify, go to your product page and edit the descriptions and pricing for compelling advertising and a cost-effective profit. 

Click Publish to add merch to your store. All orders and sales are automated, so you don’t have to worry about printing, order routing, packaging, or delivery – we’ll take care of that for you.

Brew some coffee beans, sit back with your bandmates, and share your message through social media to start your merch empire and watch the sales come in. Enjoy profiting with no initial investment, zero inventory, and no order minimums.

FAQ

Consider a print-on-demand fulfillment method as a great strategy to offer band merch to fans without losing practice time. Pick from white-label brands, add your designs, and sell risk-free with zero initial investment and inventory. Start creating right away with Printify.

Band merch ideas are:

  1. Product categories that the band plans to sell to target customers and fans.
  2. Visuals and styles of merchandise that align with the theme of the band’s image and music.

Brainstorm best-selling band merch ideas by communicating with your fans, developing a target audience, and picking products that fit their demographic.

Choose from a series of wholesale merch labels. Try joining a POD network like Printify to access a wide range of custom products and order fulfillment services all in one place.

Think of a message and identity that unifies the perception of your band. Experiment with different art styles and prints that match your band’s image to complement the theme of your music.

Conclusion

Merch is how many bands stay afloat, and it’s a great way to add professional authenticity to one’s image. Browse Printify for unique concert merch ideas and test out your design skills. 

Make sure to customize your band artwork in a way that fans will appreciate – the more they wear, the more exposure your band gains.  

Create merch ideas for bands and sell them with no initial investment. Follow Printify guides and marketing tips for more insights on the POD process and explore new merch recommendations and top-selling picks.

Start selling band merch with Printify today!

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