Here’s How Amazon Music for Artists Can Help You Strengthen Your Merch Game

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If you’re an artist who’s looking for a way to upgrade your merch game, Amazon Music for Artists is here to help. The service makes it easy for artists to connect with millions of music lovers around the world directly in Amazon Music as well as in the Artist Merch Shop.

What is the Amazon Music Artist Merch Shop? It’s a curated collection of official artist merch for fans to browse at amazon.com/artistmerchshop and in the Amazon Music app.

As of November, Owners of Artist Teams can access Amazon Merch on Demand – the print-on-demand service from Amazon – by linking their Amazon Music for Artists account.

That means no more pre-paying bulk orders in advance and potentially running out of inventory when you need it most. By connecting their Amazon Music for Artists account, artists will get expedited approval to Merch on Demand, typically within a week, and can upload designs that will publish to Amazon retail sites within 48 hours.

Within just two days of creating your merch designs, artists will be able to put them in front of fans to see what resonates best. Artists will be able to make merch available to millions of Prime customers all around the world with a single click. And every order is managed by the global logistics teams at Amazon – including returns and customer service.

How to Get Started With Amazon Merch on Demand

Amazon Merch on Demand takes the stress (and inventory risk!) out of producing merch while adding another option to direct-to-consumer stores or merch sold in venues; it creates an additional revenue stream allowing artists to reach customers wherever they are.

The process is not only simple but also fun, because artists can pick and choose what works best for them. To get started, artists can select from a variety of base products, ranging from T-shirts and sweatshirts to throw pillows and phone accessories. 

Base products are sourced from suppliers that meet the high bar for labor, health & safety, environment, and ethics at Amazon. Additionally, print facilities are operated by Amazon employees all over the world using water-based inks (read more details here). After selecting your base products, simply upload a PNG file or choose from the Adobe Photoshop templates in the Merch on Demand Creator dashboard.

Adjust the size and placement of your designs with the user-friendly, WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) tool. You can find a selection of best practices and design tips under the Resources tab to make sure your final product looks its best.

After the design is created, select all the Amazon regional sites you’d like your product available on (i.e. Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Spain, Amazon France, and Amazon Japan) and recommended selling price in each local currency. Note: because Amazon covers post-sale operations, revenue splits may vary based on the product and pricing, the country where it’s sold in, and other factors. Amazon Merch on Demand provides example revenue splits (in dollars, pounds, euros, etc.) for a variety of products in the Resources hub. Once you start using the Merch on Demand Creator dashboard, you can experiment with selling prices above or below the examples offered, but you’ll want to be price sensitive so that you can reach more fans. And be sure to do your research on average pricing of similar products if it’s your first time selling merch in a particular country. Once your merch is up on Amazon.com, use the new merch curation tool to connect it to your Amazon Music profile directly from your Amazon Music for Artists account. This merch curation tool gives artists the opportunity to expand beyond print-on-demand to include physical music or merch you may have for sale through another Amazon selling channel.

Amazon Merch on Demand is the fastest way to start selling on Amazon. There are no upfront fees and no inventory risks since items are printed-to-order. Fans also have the benefit of Prime-eligible shipping, plus Amazon takes care of customer support, returns, and all post-sale operations. Visit artists.amazonmusic.com/merch for more details on how Amazon Music for Artists helps make selling merch easier, as well as details on becoming a seller and protecting your brand.

Want more resources? Check out the Amazon Music for Artists Pro Series on Music Ally for a free five-course video series to learn more about building a business with Amazon Music, including selling merch, reaching audiences on Alexa, livestreaming on Twitch and using in-app tools from Amazon Music for Artists.