Why is merch so important to musicians and fans (especially in 2020)? - triple j

Think of your favourite artists making music today… Better yet, think of the last song they released, the one that had you smashing that ‘Add to playlist’ button. Is it too much to say that

those songs wouldn’t exist without merch? Honestly, as rude as that sounds, probably not. We all know the humble band tee has come a long way in the last few decades. Its cultural relevance

has waxed and waned, but with streaming now firmly fixed as the main way we get our music, the desire to have something physical has never felt so [‘Gimme, gimme’ hands]. _As part of

#AusmusicTShirtDay this year, we're teaming up with the good folk at Support Act to raise funds and awareness for the Australian music community who has been hit hard by the

unpredictable events of 2020._ _Head here__ to find out more and make a donation._ Whilst most people nowadays are not running out to buy a CD, or vinyl, or even a digital download to keep,

fans are more willing than ever to drop a crisp $50 on a pre-order bundle with an album, t-shirt and maybe a custom bong thrown in for good measure. Of course, a lot of the value in merch

does come down to the bottom line. As a senior director at Warner Music Group said back in 2014, “You can't download a t-shirt”. Clothes are torrent proof (for now, at least). Why fans

are willing to do this [tag yourself] is better left for another article, but the significance of these products for bands is something that a little year called 2020 has thrown into sharp

relief. THE MERCHANAISSANCE Back in 2017 when we wrote about how much Aussie musicians depend on merch to survive, Graham Muir of 24Hundred estimated that merch sales accounted for “roughly

a quarter of an average Australian artist’s take-home [income].” This year? For some bands it’s more like 100%, says Tim Everist, the big boss at Sound Merch. Everist has seen firsthand how

merch can be a real lifeline for musicians. His company started out 12 years ago, filling orders for anyone who wanted to print a t-shirt — bands, record labels, advertising agencies,

whoever — and continues to work with artists like Dune Rats, Julia Jacklin, Cut Copy, Gretta Ray, and RÜFÜS DU SOL. The outlook for live events is 'truly bleak' as a report reveals

two-thirds of jobs are lost You need only think about how merch has become such a focus of album launch cycles, and spawned pop-up stores across the world, to realise how far we’ve come.

Gone are the days when labels would slap an album cover on a cheap black tee and call it m̶a̶c̶a̶r̶o̶n̶i̶ a day. What used to be extra pocket money, and mostly the responsibility of label

marketing teams, is now such an integral part of a musicians output. It didn’t warrant as much attention before but now… There’s other factors to this, as well. Our generation is so much

more adept with your Photoshops and your Brand Identities. Merch is bundled into this idea of music releases as multi-platform campaigns. The increase in the number of Aussie festivals over

the last 10 years has also meant that bands actually had a place to easily sell these things direct, says Tim. “And then everyone started getting websites, their own merch stores and selling

their own stuff. Bands realised they could make some money out of it, to the point where now it’s kind of the only way bands are making money.” Comparing sales from this year and last, Tim

says “It’s been _huge_ ever since that first #AusMusicTshirtDay in April, which triple j backed. That was just insane. We just saw massive support for all our artists.” #AusmusicTShirtDay is

returning this November “It’s just amazing that fans are supporting all the artists they love by buying merch and buying music and, you know, when the government said ‘f*ck you’ to the

whole creative community, the general population have stood up and said ‘nah, we’re gonna support all the musicians we love’, which is heartwarming.” MERCH BY ACCIDENT OR DESIGN? The

shifting bottom line is not the only way the merch business has evolved, though, says Tim. > “When I started, around 2010, merch was pretty uncool still. It > was usually printed on 

bad t-shirts and you’d only pick it up at, > like, Big Day Out or random festivals and no one really gave a f*ck > about merch.” “And then slowly it just became a little bit cooler

with each year...” He points to bands like King Gizz, who have been at the forefront of that shift in Australia. Sound Merch has been doing their tees from the start and has watched them

continually grow their expansive back catalogue and international fan base. “They are just selling an_ insane_ amount of merch and vinyl.” “They’ve really honed in on the actual design

element of their merch and have just really paid attention to doing it properly.” And _that_, says Tim, is a key element of getting ahead in the merch game. We made a non-fan listen to King

Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's discography back-to-back “A lot of bands are working with a particular graphic designer to set up their albums and then from that, once they’ve got

their album art sorted, getting those same designers to give an overall design feel to the records and the merch.” For King Gizz that’s J Award winning artist Jason Galea. For Dune Rats it’s

Lee McConnell. And for Skeggs it’s Jack Irvine. Jack, who describes the feeling of seeing people wearing stuff he’s illustrated as “amazing”, “freaky” and “a beautiful wig out”, has also

done work for Billie Eilish, BENEE and Troye Sivan. The Aussie illustrator has noticed big changes in the last few years with how bands approach merch. “I feel like it’s taken a lot more

serious on all levels,” he says. “Especially with the big artists, the merch that they’re making now is as good as a good fashion label. Or like, a streetwear label. And it’s cheaper,

usually.” Tim Nelson from Cub Sport agrees that, sure, merch sales are “more important than ever in 2020”, but that the design direction is paramount. The band, who’ve always designed

everything themselves, have used illustrations done by keyboardist/vocalist Sam "Bolan" Netterfield and have recently worked with artist mate Zach Britt for their _Like Nirvana_

release. When deciding on the creative vision, “It’s really just vibing it out,” says Tim. > “We have a rule that if it isn’t something that we would wear > ourselves, we won’t make 

it. And we kind of end up wearing our own > merch all the time because we really love what we make.” Another artist who’s recently come around to that way of thinking is Ruby Fields.

“I’ve always done the artwork for my own merch, which is a good thing, but it took a while for me and my manager [Aaron Girgis of SPACE 44 fame] to solidify a mutual creative relationship

where it worked as a combination of his insistence on big branding to catch eyes and make a name for myself, and my penchant for fashionable merch." When artists are just starting out,

especially when they're not backed by a big label, getting merch out can be the difference between booking that recording session or not, between adding another stop to the tour or not.

"Over the years we’ve developed and workshopped and I believe we’ve now found a common ground that reflects both of our beliefs in it. Now it’s a well oiled machine in a bigger team

we’ve established, and I’d say I definitely understand the balance a bit better these days,” continues Ruby. > “I’ve really started enjoying the process of making it more > suited to 

me as an artist and the songs.” There’s certainly been an increase in smaller runs of merch, the real ‘Only while stocks last! Gotta be fast!’ kind of drops. Missing out can leave you

forevermore thinking about that limited edition Tkay Maidza tee that got away. For fans, those kind of keepsakes are special, a memento of their love and dedication. SEND OUT A MERCH PARTY

Aesthetics aside, merch has, first and foremost, always been about connection. Tim points to a recent post in Cub Hub, the Cub Sport Facebook group; “They said that they’d never been able to

afford merch before but people that they had met through our Facebook group, they’d all become really good friends and then they bought this girl merch for her birthday. This community is

just too beautiful. That just made me so happy.” “We’ve heard stories of people wearing a Cub Sport t-shirt on the first day of uni and then there are other Cub Sport fans who are like, ‘You

like Cub Sport!’ and then they end up becoming friends,” he continues. “That kind of thing just warms my heart.” > “As somebody who feels kind of socially awkward, I love the idea > 

that someone wearing Cub Sport merch could help ease social pressure > and that it can help people find their people.” That’s the side of this whole merch thing that truly means the most.

James Tidswell of Violent Soho once compared wearing band merch to a secret handshake amongst strangers: "You’d know if someone was ‘one of you’.” “I think merch, in general, is super

important and powerful because it’s a sense of community,” agrees Ruby Fields. “I really like that whole idea that if I saw someone wearing a [Violent] Soho shirt I’m like, oh I’d probably

be able to have a beer with that person because I f*cking love that band and I also have many Soho shirts. “So I think it’s really cool that it can tell you a bit about someone, even if you

don’t talk to them.” > “It’s like you’re already 20% into the friendship. I love > it.” So when you do your laundry for Aus Music T Shirt Day before November 20, know that you’re not

just sending out a homing beacon to fellow fans and future friends, you’re helping the artist live to perform another day.