merch is such a catch twenty-two. it costs a bundle to get made up, its cumbersome and takes up space in the van, and you always have to worry about someone swiping stuff (i knew a band from nc who had their whole merch stash stolen). however, since the prices to mass produce are lower than the prices we\'d pay for single items, and since it\'d be already paid for any money made is immediate gas/food money, and of course all the free advertising is invaluable so of course its a good idea. its just that the cash is required upfront and most bands at their stage probably don\'t have much of a war chest set up for those type of expenses.
so why not start off with selling live shows/dvds? burn the discs, have a labeling party (10 people can get 200 done in no time) and then sell them for 10 or 15 bucks at shows. maybe the band can pick some of their favorite versions of tunes, maybe pick the cream of the crop from the RR tour (because 05 is simply badassery all the way around) or some maybe just pick some great classic shows. then, take the proceeds from that to start a kitty for tshirts, stickers (which are a neccessity in the merch world) and the like?
the obvious problem is that folks can just go download most shows (which is a good thing), but not everyone can, and lots of folks are very immediate impulse buyers and won\'t want to wait after having been blown away. are there any more shows/dvds like the cafe9 that aren\'t widely available yet? cause i\'d probably start there, along with uac, toads, and maybe one or two others from this year.
