Has the Merch become more important than the music?

Snoopy Died For Our Sins

it certainly is a huge revenue producer....a lot of profit too....everyone should know that a touring band(regardless of popularity/size/level) stand to make more at a gig off t-shirt/merch sales than tickets...that's why it exists

kw18

Wait ... this brand makes music?!

buck502000

to whom? The band or the fans?

MayDay10

I have kind of sworn off buying merch at shows unless I have a pretty clear path to the counter. Way too stressful for what its worth and most things are readily available later on.

I do like how the outside booths were opened prior to the 2013 shows. Was able to wait a little bit, grab everything I want, bring it home/to my room stress free.

DewieCox

Not for me, but for the band, in a way. They're just at that stage in their career. The music, both past and future, is still the driving force, but a shift to the merch side is inevitable with any big band.

Gibson

I collect posters for the shows I go to. I'm starting to grab the unique show shirts, but only if they really catch my eye. the '11 Toronto and '09 Vancouver shirts were just epic.

Otherwise, it's ALL about the show.

JimmyV

jervin007 said:

JimmyV said:

I like collecting posters from shows I attend, but only if they are worth it. Personally I believe the quality of the artwork has plummeted over the last few years. I went to three shows last fall and have one poster and one t-shirt to show for it. Just a year earlier I guarantee I would have bought more.

Seriously. I came away with the patriots T-shirt for Worcester I, but could bring myself to by the Worcester or Hartford posters. Hugely disappointing after the Fall tour started off with a gem like Pittsburgh

Yep. I have the Patriots themed shirt from Worcester 1 and the Klausen Pendulum poster from Worcester 2. Nothing at all from Hartford. The flying eyeball and that sasquatch were two of the worst posters I have seen.

shortstack

i don't buy any of the merch.

jjflash

No. I think the increased emphasis on merch is part of the evolution of the "music" business. I assume the OP's question is limited to the world of Pearl Jam. Three to four year droughts between albums have yielded more and more interest in merch, not only b/c bands, in general, use it to offset diminishing record sales, but fans willingly shuck out dollars for it b/c it makes them feel more connected to the music.

bootlegger10

Was heavy into the merchandise and still have to fight myself not to get sucked back in. I liked the stickers in 2013 because it was something to collect that wasn't $35 a show. I stopped getting all of the show specific shirts (probably moreso because most aren't that great), and the most recent rounds of shirts in the Store aren't that great either.

Going forward I'll try to just pick up a sticker and order a poster when the 10C sells them.

Indifference71

It seems like it has for some people. The outrage expressed on here when people miss out on limited items is pretty crazy.

And yeah, the shit at Wrigley was pretty out of hand. I live a mile away from Wrigley so I was lucky enough to go over there on the Thursday before to grab some merch...waited about a half hour. No way in hell I would have waited 3-4 hours in 95 degree heat....that's crazy to me.

F Me In The Brain

I listen to the music every day. I buy merch a lot but I certainly value the music much more than the merch. (And I have a load of posters, shirts, etc...but nowhere near as many as many of the folks here.) I think it all works together for me.
I know everyone is different -- I agree with Indifference71 on people flipping out when they miss out on stuff. I probably spend almost as much money supporting others from these boards as I do on merch...and I know I am not alone in this.
For me, the answer is no.
Cannot answer for others.

F Me In The Brain

I do have an unopened case of sheep that sits on my shelf laughing at me; but that was a gift, I didnt buy it!

Deadman

I think a very fair question is do people prefer pj to tour rather than create new music? I would have to say i feel for most that would definitely be the choice. I would much rather be getting more albums like Lightning Bolt than there being shows every year... And i see multiple shows every year... I just know if there's as much a delay until another new album as there was for Lightning Bolt, i think i'll go nuts.

jms

I will buy a poster if I like it. I only have two so its not very often. And I will buy a T shirt if I like it. The only thing I don't have that I wish I did is the checkered flag shirt from Indianapolis a few years ago. I go to the Indy 500 every year and that would have been perfect.


But nothing would have had me in those lines in Chicago. That was insane. Or that pop up line in Seattle. I will fly across the country for a show but I can't wait more than 20 minutes for a shirt.

Vitalogensia

For the band, I don't think merch has become more important than the music. I think it's something the fans want and so they deliver, and as previously stated it's a good money maker for them so why not continue with it? I don't think they are trying to monopolize on their brand.

For me, I think merch is a good supplement to the music. I love going to shows and having visual reminders of each event, whether it's looking at a sticker on my foosball table or a poster on the wall: it puts me back in the moment and puts a smile on my face. I wouldn't count vinyl and bootlegs because...that's still music, right?

Definitely agree that some people go overboard, but you'll have that with any passion.

Stone Is God

I try and get a t-shirt from the shows I see but I soured on merch when I saw a girl at Philly IV buy about 15 "Taking Down the Spectrum" t-shirts. I was about 2 people behind her when she did this. I was pissed. I then proceeded to step on someone's foot on the way out of line, he pushed me, and I almost got into a fight because of it. Totally all set with those types of people.

coco butter

I stood inline for 4 hours the day of the Wrigley show in 95 degree heat... and loved it. Missed out on the Cracker Jack poster and shirt I wanted but met a ton of great people and had a blast. It was hot, some assholes tried to jump inline, but otherwise one of my favorite moments of the day. Not as great as the show but always fun talking Pearl Jam with other huge fans.

ldent42

For me, never.

Edit: Just want to say, though I realize it sounds like something you'd hear someone on Hoarders say, that most of the stuff I am actively seeking on here is stuff of significance to me. Also, I bought a couple of T shirts at the merch stand at the concerts and without fail, every single item ended up either not fitting me or being deformed. I just received a t shirt in the mail today that I bought off another member on here to replace the one I had bought in 2008 at the show but which shrunk in the wash. I had a couple more, but I didn't like the material or the way it fit, and last year I bought one of the long sleeve tees at Brooklyn only to discover it was "irregular" when I got it home. The nature of the merch stands is such that you're not able to really look at the thing you are buying cuz you need to just gtfo of the way. So did I wind up buying some unnecessary shit? Yes. But I ended up only owning that shit for a week or two before giving it away to friends of mine who are also fans. But there were a couple that I really missed. The 2008 reaper shirt which I LOVE the design on and the material is nice, so I'm happy that I got that. Then there's the show shirts from NZ 2009 which I hope I can find one day cuz I didn't get shirts at the show but really wish I had, as those shows were kind of a big deal for me.

I started collecting stickers from the shows I went to last year and wound up with some spares in the trading process. Stickers are a pretty fool proof, quick, easy and cheap memento, and I plan on framing it with the wrist bands and ticket stubs.

The only other merch I have is a poster which I bought on here recently. It's the only one I have, only one I plan on having. I really like the design and the show was epic, for me, as somehow I wound up on the rail on Mike's side for that show. Only time that's ever happened. Sydney 2014 if you're wondering.

So I really just wanted to demonstrate that a lot of the collecting of stuff starts in a place where the 'stuff' has meaning, and it's possible that there's a few stumbles along the way. But the music will [i[always[/i] surpass the collecting, because if it weren't for the music none of us would even be here, none of us would know about the merch.

/endrant

ldent42

CM189191 said:

Merch : Methadone :: Music : Heroin

That's probably the perfect analogy.