How to Make Money From Music: Strategies for Selling out Merchandise
Executive Summary
A Shopify Masters interview, hosted by Benjamin Godly and recorded at the Santa Fe Indian Market as part of a Build Native series, with Darren Metz (Young D) and Quinton Nyce (Yung Trybez), the cousins behind the Indigenous hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids. They say they grew up five doors apart in a small community in British Columbia, took lessons from team sports into music, and began by selling hand-printed T-shirts at an all-Native basketball tournament. They explain why they moved merch to Shopify, how album rollouts drive merch rollouts, their rule of one colour per design to save cost and time at the merch table, and a team approach with their manager. They tour 80 to 100 shows a year. Sponsor: Shopify, which produces the show and is named in the description with a free trial offer. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the origin and basketball story, the Shopify and merch strategy sections, the social media section and the closing, and may not cover every point in the roughly 31 minute video. Business and tour claims are the guests' own and not independently checked.
Key Takeaways
Cousins from five doors apart
The guests say they grew up a few houses apart and bonded through basketball, which taught them to deal with adversity.
Basketball tournament start
They say they began by holding up merch and introducing themselves as a new band at an all-Native basketball tournament.
Done is better than perfect
They say that when building anything, sometimes done is better than perfect and you ship and move on.
Why Shopify
They say their old individual website was hard to keep up with, and Shopify made merch more manageable and accessible.
Rollouts drive merch
They say albums every year or two, with planned social posts, produce good merch rollouts that sell all year.
One colour per design
They say they stick to one colour per design to save costs and time at merch tables, after learning from earlier colour variants.
Live shows and team
They say they do 80 to 100 shows a year and rely on their manager for scheduling and planning.
The Conversation Breakdown
Cousins from five doors apart
⏱ Untimed topicThe guests say they grew up a few houses apart and bonded through basketball, which taught them to deal with adversity.
Basketball tournament start
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they began by holding up merch and introducing themselves as a new band at an all-Native basketball tournament.
Done is better than perfect
⏱ Untimed topicThey say that when building anything, sometimes done is better than perfect and you ship and move on.
Why Shopify
⏱ Untimed topicThey say their old individual website was hard to keep up with, and Shopify made merch more manageable and accessible.
Rollouts drive merch
⏱ Untimed topicThey say albums every year or two, with planned social posts, produce good merch rollouts that sell all year.
One colour per design
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they stick to one colour per design to save costs and time at merch tables, after learning from earlier colour variants.
Live shows and team
⏱ Untimed topicThey say they do 80 to 100 shows a year and rely on their manager for scheduling and planning.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Done beats perfect - the guests' rule
Release the best work you can and move to the next one.
Album rollout equals merch rollout - the guests' plan
Time drops and posts around each release.
One colour per design - the guests' merch rule
Limit variants to cut cost and simplify the table.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Check the guests' tour and sales claims against their own announcements.
- ✓Pick one project you can ship as done instead of perfect this week.
- ✓Plan merch or product drops around a release calendar.
- ✓Treat the advice as the guests' experience, not a guarantee.
Notable Quotes
“done is better than perfect”
“you learn how to deal with adversity when you play like a team sport”
“you live and learn”
The One Thing to Remember
The guests argue that treating merch as part of each album rollout, keeping designs simple and shipping done work helped them turn a band into a merch business.