# Sponsoring Bands: the secrets to get great advertising for the cost of a few shirts



## jkruse (Oct 10, 2008)

My friend Ryan Miller wrote this for my blog and I thought I would share it.



My name is Ryan Miller; I’m a 21 year old designer from West Palm Beach, Florida. I do freelance design work under the name Relentless Studio and run Carraway Clothing for a living. 

In 2006, when I first started Carraway Clothing, I immediately started endorsing bands. Carraway endorses quite a few bands now, eighteen to be exact. From my experiences so far, it’s definitely an effective way to get a fair share of exposure; especially when you’re just starting out. 

When starting any company, clothing or not, you’re going to want to spend your money very sparingly. Mainly because you don’t have any profit coming in just yet. Endorsing bands is a great way to get exposure for little or no money at all; minus the cost of the clothing that you’re giving away, of course. It sure beats the cost of advertising online or in magazines. Let the bands record label or management do the work for you. The bigger the band gets, the more exposure you get. Some companies will pay to have certain bands wear their apparel, but I’ve never done that. There’s plenty of bands out there that just enjoy getting some new clothes. From my past experiences being on the road, you’ll resort to wearing anything that doesn’t smell like sweat or cigarettes on tour; if it’s a shirt you actually like, well that’s just a plus.

Always get pictures of the band wearing your clothing. Post these pictures on your site. Fans love seeing bands wearing stuff they’re able to get their hands on. Get live shots, promotional pictures, stills of them wearing your clothing in a video they made; anything at all. The more pictures you have, the better. Make it seem like they wear nothing else besides your clothing. Think about someone you really look up to for a minute, whether they’re in a band or not. If you had the chance to wear what they’re wearing or wore in the past, wouldn’t you? When fans see a new clothing company that’s endorsing a band that they look up to, it will get them interested without a doubt. Getting them to check out your site is what you want. It’s all about traffic. When you have the combination of traffic and attractive designs, you are going to get sales.


Be smart about it. If your designs have blood and guts all over them, attempt to endorse a band that you think will appreciate it. Bands want to wear clothing that fits their style. For example, you’re not going to want to endorse a band like Dashboard Confessional with clothes that resemble Rockett Clothing. Neither the band or their fans would be interested. Pick a market and stick to it. Carraway tends to sponsor more pop rock bands than anything. Cartel, Paramore and Say Anything to name a few. I feel my designs fit their style best.

The amount of exposure you will receive all depends on what bands are being endorsed and what they give back to you. Of course you’re going to want to endorse bands that have thousands and thousands of fans. If you can do that, great, but sometimes that’s just not an option. If you have a local band in your area that draws kids, endorse them and sell your clothing at their shows. Have them mention your company on stage if you can. This has gotten me hundreds of sales in the past. When trying to get a band endorsed, mention what other bands you sponsor, especially if you have larger bands on your roster. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon; literally. If not, explain to them that you’re a new company and you have big plans in the future. I found that when dealing with a larger band it’s better to go through their management. Do a little research and find out who manages them. More than likely you can find their managers email address without a problem. It’s more reliable than sending a MySpace message or something along those lines. Speaking of MySpace, a lot of bands will send messages asking to be endorsed. This is very common. If they’re a band that you think doesn’t have potential and won’t help your sales, then avoiding being pressured into it. Stick to a solid roster. 

Just having bands wear your clothing won’t be enough. You have to get them to somehow get their fans to know what they’re wearing. Otherwise, how will kids know where to buy your stuff? Use MySpace to your advantage. Have the band put you in their Top Friends or post a banner. If you can get both, great. Have them agree to this before shipping them clothing to avoid getting screwed over.

When you start making some profit, and are ready to start advertising, why not use a photograph of a band wearing your clothing? This is a great way to get some recognition in music magazines and such. Make sure it’s not just a picture you took with your camera phone though; make sure it’s a good quality shot that shows off your clothing well. Be sure that all the members are wearing a different design as well.


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## brandondrury (Jan 27, 2009)

That's interesting because I deal with nothing but bands in recording studio (in real life) and my online recording studio community. 

It seems I may be able to strike up a deal to a t-shirt printer.

Hmmmmm

Brandon


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## Robert H (Mar 27, 2007)

@jkruse

How about more info on what to do once you contact the band?

Setting up terms negotiating with the manager and not getting blow off etc.


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

i work with artists myself and have features in my blog....

it helps alot and helps in getting some 'credit'...plus i get to promote them also so everyone wins

b


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## mattchee (Jan 28, 2009)

I know this can work well, but I've also had some negative experiences.

When I was doing endorsements with metal bands a few years back, the agreement I would make with the band was to set them up with a bunch of shirts to wear at their shows/appearances provided that they DO wear the shirts, and that they had order forms (provided by me) and stickers available at their shows along side their own band merch. 

All this lead to was MORE endorsements, not sales. EVERY band wants to say they have endorsement deals. Also, I found that bands are very picky about what they get from you. I mean, when they approach me, I say this is what i have, this is what you're getting into. And of course the band representative is like "Okay cool man, lets do it." Next thing you know, the drummer only wears puce tank tops, and the bassist only wears jerseys, the singer only wears dickies work shirts, suddenly you're knee deep in a whole other kind of BS and you put out all this money trying accommodate the band.... ugh.

I was naive then. Now I wouldn't go for it, but I'm doing something totally different. 

So anyway... My advice would be to have a sit down with ALL band members and get a low down on what their expectations are from you. Often times there's ONE dude in the band who does 98% of all the non musical band stuff, including seeking out stuff like endorsements, so you need to make sure that the WHOLE BAND is on the same page, not just that one guy. 

When you do this, try and gauge how solid the band is too. What I mean is, a lot of bands spend their whole existence on the cusp of breaking up. Be wary of that. 

I'd also be pretty stern about the fact that you want them wearing YOUR PRODUCT not a bunch of custom one-offs to suit their fancy. If they aren't up for it, then they don't want the endorsement. Not only will this better represent what you have to offer, but also will ultimately save you lots of time and money. 

ONE GOOD PLUS that I don't think I saw mentioned (I apologize if it was)-- bands, of course, love to sell T-shirts, so if nothing else, the endorsement is a good door to getting some bulk custom shirt sales (I actually did make a chunk on this). I would offer them some kind of "deal" as part of the endorsement package. If you don't do custom runs for anyone else (just your own stuff), I guess make up a "regular" price and then discount it. Or offer free screen set up. something like that...

Anyway, I thought I would share my experience so that some folks won't fall for the same garbage I did. I was just really excited about getting my stuff out there, I wasn't prudent enough about who I was dealing with or what I was doing for them. Be wary and have fun!


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## rejoice (Jun 7, 2007)

nice and informative post... lately my bro has been requesting tees of is favorite dj's he's been rocking out to... he wears the designs to festivals and gigs and that has been bringing up sales (helps if the tee is ranked on page 1 of google)


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## jkruse (Oct 10, 2008)

mattchee said:


> I know this can work well, but I've also had some negative experiences.
> 
> When I was doing endorsements with metal bands a few years back, the agreement I would make with the band was to set them up with a bunch of shirts to wear at their shows/appearances provided that they DO wear the shirts, and that they had order forms (provided by me) and stickers available at their shows along side their own band merch.
> 
> ...


Of course **** can go wrong. I just feel like this is more than just a business deal and you are treating it as a money making proposition and nothing else. When I talk to anyone I don't try and sell my product, I try and and sell myself and connect with people on a personal level. My partner on a new clothing line I have is just great at maintaining relationships and he is the kind of guy you want to do favors for because you like him and not because he's telling you to. 

Also make sure your product is the bees knees and that the band is really passionate about what you do.


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