March 26, 2009

Merch War: Record Labels Are Stupid, Should Leave Merch Alone

Merch War posted an open letter to the music industry yesterday regarding its place in the apparel biz. In other words, they think music peeps have no place there. Needless to say, the Merch War folks take a decidedly dim view of the music industry and its attempts to take over merchandising with more and more 360 degree deals. My favorite bit:

If I could be a fly on the wall and watch a major label merchandise strategy meeting, my guess is that it resembles a 12 year old dousing an anthill with gasoline and lighting it on fire.

7 Responses to “Merch War: Record Labels Are Stupid, Should Leave Merch Alone”

  1. On 03/26/09 9:25 AM, Cory said:

    Good luck…the record labels are no longer making the kind of cash from the old deals and 360s are only going to increase.

  3. On 03/26/09 7:29 PM, Shawn Bradley said:

    has anyone read some of the stuff on there, angry people who see themselvs about to be devoured by the man :( so sad

  5. On 03/27/09 8:45 AM, Andrew said:

    Solution:

    Don’t sell merch.

    Fugazi got it right, and everyone else has failed to catch on.

  7. On 03/27/09 9:14 AM, Jay DiNitto said:

    “Don’t sell merch.”

    What if bands want to?

  9. On 03/27/09 9:20 AM, TDWP Fan said:

    merch is awesome, so that’s the stupidest idea iv ever heard

  11. On 03/28/09 8:05 AM, andy said:

    Right on. My favorite is:
    2. You have less leverage than you think because you are increasingly becoming unnecessary. Very soon, even a monkey will be able to effectively distribute music online. So why would a band trade an additional 359.5 “degrees” of themselves in exchange for a record deal? Besides, the real merchandise companies have always been happy to cover a bands short term cash needs with less exploitive terms.

  13. On 03/28/09 3:39 PM, Howard said:

    Next stop: Merch companies devouring record labels. teehee.
    “I used to make 100K a year and signed *insert shitty band name here* – now I’m just working my way up – settin’ goals. By the end of this month, I’ll pwn that fry cooker.”

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