I’ll only do that if you stop me at a show and ask…nicely.
But, hey, since we all love buying a concert shirt or scooping up that EP at a live show why don’t we talk about festival merch for a second.
This billboard article says that
“Revenues are up on last year,” he says. “Festival economics will not be immune to the credit crunch and the rising fuel and food prices. But judging by these figures, [festival goers] clearly value a souvenir of the festival experience and want to be associated with the event brands.”
This seems to be the case in Europe, specifically the UK.
But is this the same for us here in the US?
We certainly have our share of European-style music festivals here in the States but do we have the same revenue surplus with our wallet crushing credit-loving economy?
You don’t have to tell me the status of your bank account but I do want to ask you a quick question.
Do you buy merch at every show you go to even though…well…you know, you might not have the “money”?
Or do you only buy merch when a show is a real mind-blower and you want a piece of the show to take home? Are you a person that keeps their ticket stubs or do you just toss them in the trash and log the memory without a physical memento like a band t-shirt, CD or ticket stub?
To help you ponder those questions, here’s a very helpful Artist House Music clip from Jeff Dorenfeld, Associate Professor of Music Business/Management at Berklee College of Music as he explains the some of the history behind the merch table.