Print Shirts or Die! : A simple formula for getting out of your shitty town.

Bands, you need to print t-shirts and other unique merch items if you're going to make it in today's music business.

It isn't about album sales anymore, kids. Simply put, the music business has changed. The days of bands going gold and platinum with their album sales are soon going to be nothing but a memory. With the invention of the internet, digital music, and the ease of ripping music from CD's and sharing it online, album sales for bands and artists are down significantly.

What can you do?

It is too difficult to track and discourage people from sharing your music with others for free. Fighting it is futile, so why not take heed to the new business plan for the music industry -- give the music away for free, and make your money selling merch!

I am in no way defending the theft of music here, but offering a plausible and realistic solution to face the rampant online exploitation of music sharing. Don't get me wrong, you should still sell your music on a CD. There will always be people who want to support you who will buy anything you put out. However, there are far more people who don't really care about your band's well being and hard work enough to go out and buy the album.

Besides, sharing your music for free online could be a good thing. Think about it. The more people who hear your music, the more likely they are to become a fan of your band. If you're offering some of your music for free, the odds of people hearing your music increases. If they really like you, they're going to want to buy the CD so they have the album artwork, and all of the nostalgia that goes with it. With more ears listening belonging to more bodies, if your band doesn't suck, you're going to gain some regular listeners, some real fans, and probably a stalker or two.

So let's say you have the ears and the hearts of a few people.

The natural reaction for people when they have an affinity towards something is to broadcast their pleasure in whatever it is that is making them happy -- in this case, your band. This is where many bands miss a step. Don't let the fact that you have fans willing to invest money and time into your band pass you up! By making shirts to sell, you're giving them something while earning some much needed dough to fund your (potential) career. You can get started for just over $100 and bankroll your band into a merch-making machine!

First off, if $100 sounds like a lot of dough for your band, you're wrong. You've got how many dudes in your band? A $25 contribution from each of four band members is nothing. Anyway, I am going to show you how to turn that 100 bones into double, or maybe even triple.

The ideal way for your band to get shirts done is to find a screen printing company that will do 24 shirts 1-Color shirts for around $4-5 each. A lot of companies have a price point that is pretty close to that, so it shouldn't be difficult to find. At most, you're looking at $125-140 with setup and taxes. I would recommend printing a white design on black shirts. It is a tried and true standard.

If you're in need of a design for your first run of shirts, I would recommend trying to do one yourself, or finding a friend who is willing to do one for you. This way, you don't have to pay a bunch of money hiring a designer to do your shirt design for you. The design isn't really important, you're going to sell out of your first 24 shirts even if your artwork sucks. Why? Because you have at least 24 friends, family members, and fans who are going to want the first shirt your band makes. Hiring a designer to do something really cool for you isn't super important on the first run.

Take this design to your printer, and get your shirts done! Normal turn around time for printers can be a couple weeks, so plan ahead if you have a show coming up.

While you're waiting for your shirts to come in book some shows. Even if you're playing at a house party, you're still getting people to watch you play, which is important. Sell your shirts! Don't feel weird about it, you're promoting your band and getting your name out there.

Bring a few shirts with you in your car wherever you go, just in case someone mentions seeing one and wants to buy one. You'd be surprised at how often this happens. Conveniently saying, "Oh, I have some in my car right now -- want one?", will get you some sales.

If you sell your shirts for $10 each, you'll end up with $240. If you sell them for $15 each, you'll end up with $360. That's a decent chunk of change! Re-invest in doing some more shirts, and possibly getting a proper design done by a professional designer. Print more shirts, sell them, and repeat. Keep making music and playing shows so you can sell your shirts. Doing this will put you on the right track to successful band funding. You will be able to buy gas and go on tour, possibly buy new equipment and a van and trailer. You might even have enough to get out of your shitty town for months at a time!

Get on the right track and get some shirts done! It is paramount to the success of your band in todays music industry.