Many artists may feel that the time and money they've sunk into producing their album requires that they charge the same price for it wherever they go, but by adapting the price based on audience demographics, or offering package deals, some artists are finding they can actually increase sales.
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Guest Post by Chris Robley on The DIY MusicianWe’ve talked before about how flexible pricing can help you sell more merch.In a previous article I suggested that the value of your band merch (including CDs) changes from gig to gig, and should be priced accordingly:This is NOT “Name-Your-Price,” but an alternate system where the band and manager keep the context of the concert in mind when setting today’s “market price.” And unlike fish, your music won’t grow stale,… right?If you’re one of those folks who thinks, “Hey, I spent a lot of time and money on my recording; I say it’s worth $12– for everyone, everywhere, all the time!”– well, I understand that attitude. But consider the possibility that you might sell more music if you thought of your merch items as mementos from an event that will never happen again.As Tom Jackson says, the art of live performance is all about “creating moments” on stage, moments that stick with the audience so much that they want to take a part of that concert home with them. And if that’s the case, your merch is worth only as much as the memories you created.—So, that’s one way to think about pricing your merch — factoring in the demographics of the audience, the uniqueness of the event, and the quality of the merch itself — and then changing its value based on the night.Merch tiers, tickets, bundles — oh my
Another way to test variable pricing is to offer tiered merch/ticket packages, so that — hopefully — there’s something available for people at every level (of interest AND income).The band Caught On Cline recently tried this approach at their album release party, and it was a huge success. Here’s what they did, in their own words:Related articles
