With an industry model that focuses a lot of investment on touring and less so on album sales, and with streaming the dominant choice for many consuming music, musicians are particularly vulnerable and it may be some time before they can begin to make a financial recovery and commit to future touring options, thanks to the good ol’ Covid-19!
It’s now that our favourite musicians need us and our support, and the best way to do that right now, is by getting their merch! Across the world, this message has been received and fans are trying to do their part, but what about the bands who don’t already have merch amidst this crisis? What happens to them?
Joseph Knox-Wheeler, the Brisbane-based musician and now founder of The Merch Desk (launching tomorrow, Friday March 27) has the solution for artists and musicians to help them start selling merch within hours with The Merch Desk.
Designed to remove all barriers that would otherwise stop artists offering merch to their fans and supporters, The Merch Desk costs nothing to get started, and with their help, artists can be selling to their fans in hours not weeks.
So how does it work?
Each artist is given a profile. The designs are then uploaded and prices are set to whatever they’d like. Artists are shown the cost of each item and the profit that would be made from each item. All they have to do then is send their fans to The Merch Desk.
Wheeler has teamed up with the Brisbane-based company, The Print Bar, who process, print and ship the merch directly to the customer within 3-5 business days. This means no waste, no upfront costs and no financial risks for artists.
In this crisis, Wheeler’s only goal is to help Australian artists, this is why they only retain $1 from each item sold to cover website and running costs which means that the average profit from a shirt (Small to X-large) sold at $30 is just over $20.
$20 to the artist, $1 to The Merch Desk and the rest to cover the cost of producing the merch to The Print Bar. How good is that?!
Furthermore, artists who are stuck for designs, The Merch Desk has them covered too. Wheeler has partnered with Jimmy Patch, a Brisbane-based illustrator and graphic designer who can help artists get awesome designs completed, so they can start selling merch as soon as possible.
Better still, this new platform isn’t just for musicians. This is for any creative out there, from designers, illustrators, comedians, or anyone who lives off gig culture so go on, spread the word and get on the merch bandwagon.
Artists can sign up to The Merch Desk ahead of the launch via the sign-up form at https://themerchdesk.com.au/, or by email at [email protected].