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Diary Dates | Interactive: March 8-12, 2013 | Film: March 8-16, 2013 | Music: 12-17, 2013 | Austin Weather

Dear SXSW bands, where is all the merch?

Something I’ve noticed at SXSW Music this year is the lack of merchandise on sale after a showcase. With over 2000 official performances, the people in the crowd are already invested in you. They’ve given up close to an hour of their time to listen to you. If they are up on their feet. cheering and applauding at the end of the gig… you’ve made the sale! You’ve got them! All you need to do is close the transaction and you have a fan for life!

Except in three nights of back to back showcases, only two artists I’ve seen have had CD’s on sale after the gig. When the short term musical memory is about to be over-written by the next band, it’s incredibly important to get a physical memory into the hands of your potential new fans.

# March 15, 2013, tags: , , , ,

  • http://twitter.com/TheDJCull DJ Cull

    Maybe it’s just the logistics of bringing the merch out with them? Or maybe they’ve got it tucked away – I remember when I was there in 2011 buying a cd out of an artist’s suitcase in the alley down the side of the British Music Embassy!

    • http://www.ewanspence.com/blog Ewan

      Nothing to stop a download voucher on some biz cards! Or a handful of CD’s in slip cases in the guitar cases.

  • http://about.me/egoiste egoiste

    on an on had merch, and they apologized for having it. they implied that it was considered corny to sell merch at sxsw.