For most independent artists, smart merch can out-earn the guarantee. Use the field-tested tactics below and the free calculator to forecast profit and avoid dead stock.
What Makes Merch Profitable
Design for clarity at 10 feet. Big type and simple graphics often outsell clever details.
Price for the room, not the dream. Match local spending power and the bill style.
Start with two winners, then expand. One premium tee and one lower priced impulse item often beat five options that confuse buyers.
Track unit velocity by show size. Reorder based on what actually moves.
Pricing Framework
As a baseline, target a 60 to 70 percent gross margin after venue cut and payment fees. If the venue takes a cut, raise price or steer buyers to items with better margins like hats or posters.
Merch Profit Calculator
Enter your items and assumptions. The table estimates units sold, revenue, costs, and profit. Print or save just the calculator as a PDF when ready.
Calculator ready
Enter items below. Empty rows are ignored.
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Price
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Gross Revenue
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Tip: Buyer rate is the percent of attendees who purchase at least one item. If the room holds 200 and you set buyer rate to 8 percent, expect roughly 16 buyers.
Recommended Product Mix For A First Run
Primary tee at a fair price. Sizes S to XXL based on your audience split.
Impulse item under 10 dollars. Stickers, pins, or a simple poster often convert fence sitters.
One premium item. Hat or embroidered tee for fans who want to spend more.
For many independent musicians, the dream of a “never ending tour” is just that, a dream. But for one Nashville, Tennessee based artist, it’s a reality. After 14 years cutting his teeth in the hyper competitive Nashville music scene, Sieben made a pivotal decision: “I was gonna just start playing music full time, no matter what.” It wasn’t a vague aspiration, it was a concrete plan fueled by grit.
Since December 2023, Robert Alan Sieben has been on a self booked journey, first across the United States and now in Australia, with nothing but a guitar, a backpack, and fierce determination. Sieben is the driver, the booking agent, the social media manager, and the talent, all in one. And he’s using a new tool to help navigate the chaos, RoadUNO, an online tour booking assistant. I sat down with him to talk about the realities of life on the road and how he’s building a career one connection at a time.
Before RoadUNO: The Grind of the Analog Tour
DIY touring means wearing every hat: artist, driver, and agent.
Before finding his stride, the process of booking a tour was hands on and often frustrating. “The hardest thing for me, hands down, is not having a connection to anyone prior,” Sieben explains. Robert found that cold emails were a waste of time, he could send a thousand and get two replies. For an artist without a dedicated team, this kind of rejection is a major hurdle. Instead, Robert’s new strategy was showing up in person, shaking hands, and building a network from scratch.
“If you go to 40 bars in a day, you’ll get a gig. If you go shake every hand and meet every person, you’re gonna get a gig,” Sieben said.
It wasn’t just about booking shows, it was about building a real, tangible community. Every “no” was still a connection made. The proof is in the data, Sieben grew his Instagram following from about 1,200 to nearly 3,000, no bots, no ads, just in person interaction. “Those are all just hands I’ve shaken,” he says proudly.
His next move was to hit the open mic circuit in a new city, not for one night, but for weeks. “You have to spend two or three weeks going every single week to establish that you’re a real human being and not just a drifter,” he says. Effective, yes, but massively unorganized. He kept handwritten “webs” of connections, venues, and people on a giant whiteboard. “It gets so messy, and next thing you know, you’re about three feet underwater.” A digital solution was clearly needed.
The RoadUNO Solution: A Digital Co Pilot
RoadUNO speeds up routing and venue discovery.
When Sieben was introduced to RoadUNO, he saw its potential to streamline the most frustrating parts of touring. He used it to map a three show run in Victoria, Australia, and was immediately impressed by how fast it generated venue names. “Just being able to get names of venues that fast is handy,” he says. RoadUNO’s mission is to remove grunt work so artists can focus on their craft, consolidating handwritten notes and mental checklists into one reliable workspace.
Robert also flagged a need for EPK tooling. Building an EPK is daunting and easy to put off, often costing gigs. An EPK feature is currently in the works for RoadUNO.
A Future of Organized Momentum
From whiteboards to a single touring brain, on your phone.
RoadUNO’s potential goes beyond venue discovery. We discussed how the app could evolve to match his needs:
Integrated Venue and Contact Management: An Excel like feature to track venues, contacts, and relationships, replacing the analog whiteboard and keeping the network in your pocket.
Targeted Radio Station Listings: Community radio fuels engagement in Australia, a city aware list of artist friendly stations would help new runs.
Merch and E commerce: Integrations, for example Printify, so fans can order merch via QR or link even when the van can’t carry boxes.
For Robert Alan Sieben, every part of the journey, from long drives and open mics to relationships and hard won lessons, is part of a bigger story. RoadUNO has become a helpful co pilot by providing a digital framework that supports his grassroots approach to conquering the world.
