Band merch for a first release week

A first release week is not “make everything at once.” It is three surfaces that have to look related under different constraints: **cover** (square), **poster** (tall), **tee** (chest print area).

This post is the **order of work** for that week — not another full tutorial on adapting album art. For layout math across garments, use the Sep 21 guide: Turn album artwork into a merch collection.

Three surfaces, three constraints

• **Cover:** Square, readable at thumbnail size on DSPs. Type and motif have to survive small.
• **Poster:** Tall. Date, venue, and billing need to stay legible from a phone story and a wall.
• **Tee:** Chest print area. A full poster shrunk onto cotton usually dies. One strong motif beats a collage.

Same visual system. Different safe areas. That is the whole problem.

Order of work that saves redraws

• **Lock the system** — type, motif, palette. Stop generating cousins.
• **Cover** — lock the square master.
• **Poster** — carry the system; add show facts; keep hierarchy clean.
• **Tee last** — pick one motif that fits the print rectangle; do not paste the poster.

Tee last is intentional. The print area is the least forgiving of “everything we already made.”

Live shop before the show

Publish the merch listing and put the shop URL on the poster and in stories **before** the release show. Print-on-demand starts after a paid order. You do not buy a size run for the van first.

Do not promise fans a ship date you have not verified in-product. If you do not know the number, say you will confirm — do not invent one in the caption.

Related: Sell tour merch before the show.

Native app reality (once)

Backstage AI is **iOS and Android only**. There is no Backstage web editor. Design covers, posters, logos, and merch in the native apps, then sell from the live shop.

If a non-musician collaborator needs a **web** merch canvas, that is sister product **MRCH** — different app, same company. One sentence; do not collapse them.

Download: /download

Release-week checklist

• Visual system locked (type / motif / palette)
• Cover exported at the square size you actually upload to DSPs
• Poster: date + venue readable; shop URL or short link on it
• Tee: one motif sized for the chest print area (not a full poster shrink)
• Live shop published; link tested on a phone
• Stories / bio / flyer point at the same shop URL
• PayPal connected for payouts if you expect paid orders
• Do **not** promise ship dates without a live product estimate
• Optional sample for yourself — not required before fans can order