Music is food to the soul and a universal language. A number of folks have made their mark on the music scene and will always be remembered for their impact. Some of their songs are always a hit; they are called timeless classics.
Timeless classics and legends can be celebrated with memorabilia, listening to the music with friends and family, holding concerts in remembrance of them, exploring documentaries and biographies, visit museums where their job is displayed and learn to play their songs/music.
In this article, we will briefly explore the times and season of a legendary rock band known as Grateful Dead and how promotional merchandise can be used to celebrate, advertise and promote an artiste or music brand.
Brief History of the Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American Rock band that was a personification of the unrehearsed music that was popular in San Francisco in the mid-60s. They were one of the most popular travelling bands in the history of rock music even though they did not have any radio hits.
The highlight of their career was a show they performed in the sound and Light Theatre in Egypt in 1978. They had a network of diehard fans even before they recorded their first album. Their concerts were always electrifying and memorable. Check out this site for more about this legendary band: https://www.dead.net/.
Although the original band has since ceased to exist, their spirit and style still remains as different sets of band members that have sought to recreate the band. One way through which the spirit of this band still lives on is through their memorabilia.
Understanding Promotional Merchandise
Promotional merchandise or merch as they are called in urban lingo are products that are designed to promote musicians or music labels or brands. These products include Tee shirts, hoodies, food and water flasks, notepads et al. The popularity and acceptance of a musical group / musician or brand is most often tested by how much people are willing to pay for the product or how fast the merch sells out.
From the above you can spot another way through which music legends can be appreciated, honoured and remembered. The most popular merchandises that are widely accepted are Tee shirts, hoodies and similar clothing items. Popular and well known musicians and music labels have cut deals to brand clothing items.
These merch can also be sold as promo materials for concerts, new song or album releases. A good example is the Grateful Dead Egypt merch which has been sold in different forms since the release of the group’s album from that show.
From this explanation, you can now understand how a band such as Grateful Dead can have branded Tees and clothing items that people would love to have even outside of their concert tours and shows.
Click here – What Is Drone Headless Mode?
Benefits of Promotional Merchandise
Talking about appreciating music legends, promotional merchandise as the name implies also promotes the legend. There are many benefits to using these products and we will highlight some of them below:
Additional Income
Products like branded tee shirts, hoodies, mugs and flasks bring in additional income for artistes. Most often fans love to connect with their music idols; this is why they are often willing to buy any product that have the logo or represents their brands. This in turn generates revenue for the artiste.
Emotional Connection
Like we mentioned briefly above, fans love to connect with their music idols and buying their merch is one sure way of doing so. When fans buy the merch, it becomes the point of contact for the fan base. These items serve as ice breakers and connectors wherever the fans meet themselves.
Extension of Global Reach
Musicians can extend their reach globally through the sales of these products. Imagine a musician who lives in Europe but their branded products gets to America and becomes really popular there; it goes without saying that the artiste automatically becomes well known. Even people who didn’t know the artiste may have their curiosity piqued and begin to make inquiries which will in turn increase the popularity of the artiste or brand.
Helps to Carry Themes Further
In addition to extending global reach of an artiste, their merchandise also help to carry and sustain whatever theme the artiste wants to project. Keep an image before people for long and the law of recognition and repetition comes into play. When people keep seeing the logo of a brand on different products, after a while they begin to unconsciously recognize the brand and think positively of it. You can read this article for more on the law of repetition.
Conclusion
Music groups such as the grateful dead have been able to remain relevant to their fan base through the use of promotional merchandise. Fans are connected through artiste and brand memorabilia and made to have a buy-in with the band. This in turn leads to a cult-like loyalty.