Music in the key of £

The unsigned band merchandise site

Here's an idea that's just crying out to be done - a branded merchandise store for unsigned bands. There must be hundreds of thousands of new/unsigned/garage bands out there at the moment, with no shortage of supply to replace those who don't make it. And what self-respecting band's vision of success doesn't have the band and/or their adoring fans decked out in t-shirts, caps and badges emblazoned with the band's name?

So there's a market out there. Each band might in its entire lifetime only order five pieces of apparel, but, with the sheer number of potential customers (including families and friends) and the high churn rate, the markets total volume should be high enough to make a nice earner for someone even at low margins.

The technology and services needed to set this up are easily available and require very little cost and effort to set up. I've set up a sample site at www.filthycool.com using an online apparel customising and ordering service called spreadshirt.net. All the example site would need now is an appropriately themed CSS template creating and it's ready for business. The pricing I've used in the sample would return a £1 profit per item.

With the site complete, a marketing and advertising campaign would be needed to establish the brand name and acquire users (both bands and shoppers). I think it would be ideal for someone who would be happy working the unsigned band gig circuit to get bands on board and advertising in publications like NME as well as online.

In terms of maintaining the site, the only involvement would be in ensuring the logos to be used are suitable and uploaded. The spreadshirt.net service even allows purchasers to use the logos as they wish on any of the items stocked (including buttons, caps, coasters etc).

Most bands would buy very few items but now and then a band might over time generate substantial sales. Probably a bit of a lifestyle business, but I think the potential is there for the taking.