Yes, that’s right! You can actually start making cold hard cash from your tour/promo merchandise without doing hardly any of the work.

Enter digital printing genius Michael Susanto and leading fashion designer, Das Monk’s Marc Hendrick. Combining both their incredible talents in merchandising and fashion, the fellas have founded a corker of a business plan to make you scrilla while promoting your brand and band. All you have to do is sign up to their incredible website The Merch Gallery, create a profile, upload your logo to any number of tees, hoodies, tanks and more, and they do the rest. That’s right - no set up fees, no shipping hassles. They do it all. But don’t take my word for it – I caught up with Marc to tell us all about it! 

First up, let’s have a quick history lesson – you’re both pretty prevalent in the fashion industry already – give us a quick background into where you’ve been and how you got to here?
"Michael Susanto (the other half of The Merch Gallery) is one of the leading digital printers in the country with his companies Day Old Blue and Made In, and I have been running an art/t-shirt label called Das Monk for the last few years. We’re both incredibly passionate about music, and with our skills and resources in clothing and design we thought we’d give band and artist merchandise a bit of a crack."

So why The Merch Gallery? How did it all come about?
"Both of us have been involved in the design and production of merch for many different bands over the years, and I have always asked the band six months later how it all went. The response was usually positive, until they quietly added later that they still have a big box of t-shirts in the garage and that they “maybe” made a profit from the whole thing! It was then that I realized that the business model of bulk-ordered merchandise was pretty outdated, and in this age of digital music it was about time that the merch side of things caught up."

Can you give us a quick run down of how it all works?
"Any band or artist can open their own online store with us for free, which is completely customizable in terms of appearance and layout. Once they’ve designed their store they can upload as many designs as they like onto a variety of different coloured garments, until they have a store full of products. Every order they receive from their shop comes straight to us, where we custom-print the order and send it to the customer, all within 48 hours. On top of that we also offer a bulk service for when a band tours, but our low minimums make it easier for them to manage stock and finances, so there’s no big box of tees left at the end of it all."

How will artists and bands benefit from the site?
"They can finally start to make money from merch! The second they sell one item they have immediately made a profit, and there’s no looking back from there. They don’t have to invest any money into it and we handle all the production, customer service, and shipping, so literally all the band has to do is get some designs together and then promote their store. Our stores will also have increased sales simply because of the fact that they have the ability to have a much bigger range of products than they could ever afford, and they will never run out of any size or colour in any stock. It’s a great model that works for both small bands and big bands."

So you’re pretty much paying all the overheads and set up costs – what’s in it for you guys?
"Other than the warm fuzzy feeling that we can get young bands to afford something previously not available to them, we do take a small commission from each order, which helps pay the bills."

What kinds of garments are available at present and will you be introducing new styles such as caps and accessories later on down the line?
"At the moment we have a large range of garments – a variety of men’s and women’s t-shirts, hoodies, sweats, singlets and bags in a heap of different colours. But we’re already looking into other accessories like caps, stubbie holders and even coffee mugs. Years ago I bought a $20 Sonic Youth mug that is still pretty much my most prized possession, so I’m definitely keen to get into some less common merch items!"

So how do we get started?!
"Head to our website and simply follow the links to open your own store!"

* I jumped at the chance to showcase and sell my merch, so make sure you check it all out here.