The process of printmaking is one of the older forms of artistic process based on the principle of transferring images from a matrix onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. As a merch agency, we believe that posters or art prints are great items to sell as band merch.

Band Merch

Band merch can be difficult to sell if you don’t already have a big following. However, making cool merch is a great incentive for people that may not be familiar with your music to make a purchase. Merch can include apparel such as band t-shirts and band hoodies, or it can also include accessories such as water bottles or key chains.

Band posters are a less thought of merch item, but we believe it’s a great option for those looking to keep cost down and create true art prints that have more of a “limited edition” feel.

The History of Band Posters

Selling posters is a way of advertising, after all, printed posters is the original way we used to advertise. They were meant to serve this specific purpose.

No one cared that they’d sit in the rain and get damaged or have pinholes in them. They were solely used as a tool to get crowds to attend live music events. This is very clear when you look at the original letterpress posters from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

60’s and 70’s Music Era

In the 60’s society experienced the psychedelic era, during this time, the true art form of the concert poster began to develop. This new style came largely out of San Francisco, where artists began to create posters for the budding music scene that the decade brought in.

During this time, the intention behind the design remained the same as it had been: to bring people to shows. The posters contained important information such as band name, venue, date, and time. However, it included more clever and eye-catching psychedelic designs.

Later in the 60’s and early 70’s, print designers and makers begin focusing on creating visually ambiguous fonts. In addition to the font, psychedelic concert posters made use of vibrant colors and beautiful imagery that was unique to every individual piece. This led to some people taking up poster collecting as a hobby.

The Punk and New Wave Era

In the late 70’s Punk and New Wave music emerged and these new genres brought a new form of show advertising with them, and DIY flyers became prevalent around cities in which shows were being held. Venues such as CBGB in New York and Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco became known for specifically showcasing bands within these genres.

Punk communities thrived on the concept of doing something yourself, and concert art was no exception. Most punk flyers were designed using a pen and paper, an x-acto knife, and a Xerox machine. They were not created to be works of fine art, but to demand the attention of anyone who saw them.

Punk music flyers and posters became a true form of street art, and those who recognized this saved various flyers that they found on the street as they were often tore down due to people perceiving them as offensive or unattractive.

Posters as Merch

As advertising became more of a digital medium, the evolution of printmaking continued. Modern collectible concert art is created for a different purpose. Rather than being designed primarily as a promotional tool, posters have become a form of concert merchandise.

Today, artists will design a poster that may be specific to a tour date, an entire tour, or a festival. Often a limited number of copies will be printed. Sometimes there will be variants of the poster, such as foil prints, that are created in even smaller quantities and thus hold more value.

What’s The Value of a Poster?

In order for a print to be valuable, there can only be a certain amount of them. There are people who collect band and festival posters, for collectors, the limited edition tag goes a long way.

Though the above posters have been around a shorter time than some vintage posters, condition is still important! A poster with pinholes, tape marks, or tears will not hold up in value the same way that a pristine piece will. So, if you’re thinking about selling posters at your next gig, make sure you have the appropriate packaging to keep them in good conditions.

Finding a printmaker has become more and more rare in the era where most prints are done by machines.

At Family Industries, we have a print master that creates prints using screen printing as a primary method. These prints are highly regarded as they are all done by hand and the quality is superb when compared to machine printed posters.

On top of that, screen printing produces more vibrant colors. So, if your design has very specific colors or more vibrant colors, screen printing is the best option.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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