Korn‘s Jonathan Davis was so excited by ORGY that he created his own record label …
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the music industry has taken a devastating hit with an estimated loss in over $200 million due to cancelled events.
MORE: KICK OUT THE JAMS WITH DREGG // OCEAN GROVE: A Slight Return To Earth // THE AMITY AFFLICTION: Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em REVIEWS: THE AMITY AFFLICTION: Everyone Loves You… Once You Leave Them // SAVIOUR: The Luna Rose // SILVERSTEIN: A Beautiful Place To Drown // OCEAN GROVE: Flip Phone Fantasy // CODE ORANGE: Underneath
Big events were the first to go, then smaller and smaller, resulting in artists, venues, crews and event organisers losing substantial amounts of money in what should’ve been Australia’s busiest time of year for gigs and festivals.
At this time more than ever there is a demand for fans to do everything they can from the comfort of their isolation to help their favourite artists make that much needed coin.
Now, there’s a brand-new, print as you go, merch solution for artists to sling merch from while off tour. And the profit margins for artists are huge—the website only takes $1 from every item sold while the printing company takes cost of production. Which means on a $30 shirt, bands will be taking over $20 in profit.
Launching Friday 27th March, The Merch Desk is the brand-new, Australian owned, print on demand platform. Artists only have to create a profile, upload designs and send their fans across to start buying merch immediately—no cost and no bulk buying involved.
Joseph Knox-Wheeler is a Brisbane-based musician and now the brains behind The Merch Desk.
“The Merch Desk is designed to remove all barriers that would otherwise stop artists offering merch to their fans and supporters,” says Wheeler. “The Merch Desk costs nothing to get started and with their help artists can be selling to their fans in hours not weeks.”
Wheeler says his only goal is to help Australian artists, hence why he is taking only $1 from each item sold.
The way it works is that each artist is given a profile, uploads their designs and sets prices to whatever they’d like. Wheeler has teamed up with established Brisbane-based company The Print Bar, who oversee all the processing, printing and shipping of items. This means an estimated shipping time of 3-5 business days, no waste, no upfront costs and no financial risk for artists.
Aussie artists without designs can also hit up The Merch Desk, who have partnered with Jimmy Patch, a Brisbane-based illustrator and graphic designer who can hook up bands with sweet graphics to get them selling merch ASAP.
Not just limited to musical folk, any designer, illustrator, comedian or creative person who lives off gig culture can sign up and get involved.
The Merch Desk launches Friday 27th March. The website is live now for artists to sign up so they can get selling immediately at www.themerchdesk.com.au or via email at joseph@themerchdesk.com.au.
