old school AOR/ hair metal band shirts

[Guest O.P.]

Somebody should press some t-shirts for all these awesome AOR/hair metal acts.. Made in 80s style and colors.. like for example, Sharx has that awesome shark shaped logo that would make a great stylish t-shirt design.."Bermuda AOR style 1985!!" I never see shirts for these type of bands (old school AOR), but Im sure there would be demand for them.. at least, I´d be all over that shit!!

[Retrospect Records]

Shirts is definitely an option. In fact I'll do a poll on it.

[stormspell]

To say the truth shirts are bitch. The good full-color double-sided silk-screened ones are very expensive to make - especially in quantities under 100, you never can predict correctly the size breakup, and they sell very poorly compared to the CDs.

 

I'm telling this from a personal experience as I already made two models (Vectom & Arkona). I already broke even on Vectom, but it took me long time to do so... and for the underground AOR bands I foresee a disaster... not worth imo.

[Guest O.P.]

I beg to differ here. Shirts can be made quite cheap, yet not cheap looking.. just check http://www.myspace.com/wwmerch Those guys are one of the best "DIY type" of shirt printers in the States. Of course you shouldnt press 100s of shirts for the smaller bands.. The profit margin may be smaller than in the CDs, but they can also be seen as a promotion item if you add a label logo on the design.

[stormspell]

I beg to differ here. Shirts can be made quite cheap, yet not cheap looking.. just check http://www.myspace.com/wwmerch Those guys are one of the best "DIY type" of shirt printers in the States. Of course you shouldnt press 100s of shirts for the smaller bands.. The profit margin may be smaller than in the CDs, but they can also be seen as a promotion item if you add a label logo on the design.

 

"Quite cheap" is a releative term. The prices you show at your link are good. But you have to consider four things:

 

1. please note the last row in the T-shirts table, the one that says "*f/c" - this row is for "full color reproduction printing", in other words it is for process color pictures - the majority of full-color album coverartworks fits straight into that category (or MINIMUM 6 colors, and that would be a compromise)

 

2. Note how the T-shirt table does not specify the color "black" - I bet those prices shown in the table are for white and light color shirts, and for black the prices would be +$1 , ALL places do that separation.

 

3. If you want it double-sided with print on the back - you have to add $0.50 first color, +$0.25 each additional color

 

4. Unless the company is local to you and you can pick up the shirts you have to consider at least another $0.50 per shirt for shipping costs.

 

So all in all, if you make 144 full-color double-sided black shirts, you should be lucky if you can manage $7 ea. production cost - which is $1000 locked in merchandise... or in other words if you target to sell them for $14 you have to sell 72 just to break even... and by the time you have sold 72 you most certainly will be out of some sizes and by Murphy's law every next customer will want THAT size ...and if this is not enough already you will discover that out of every 7-8 people which will buy the CD only ONE will buy a shirt along with it, even with the combo discount and such...

 

The alterantive is either to make a compromise and make 144 one or two color logo/line-art shirts, which is tricky to do coz if not designed good it will scream "cheap" all over and no one will want to buy it... or to find a place that will silkscreen 50 or 25 shirts and do them on demand only. There are such places around which will make such small qunatities, albeit expensive.

[martinsane]

In reference to another poll, how about some Stormspell Records polo shitrt??? Or maybe some, not too elaborate t's?

[stormspell]

In reference to another poll, how about some Stormspell Records polo shitrt??? Or maybe some, not too elaborate t's?

 

Maybe one day when the label generates enough return to afford it... anyway, lets not make offtopic about my label in this forum section.