Tour Merch Guidelines for Full Service Clients*
Updated
by terrible*
Tour merch guidelines for full service clients*
Tour merch is a logistical puzzle that needs to be solved well before the first date. Please share this guide with your team and creatives as soon as your tour is booked.
Some of this may already be second nature to your team - but because everyone works differently, these guidelines exist to make sure we're all aligned. When followed, artists' retail businesses genuinely perform at their best on tour.
Pre-tour deadlines
These deadlines work in parallel with our design and production guidelines, which include all current lead times to help your creative team plan responsibly.
Important: Missed deadlines can mean missing merch for the first dates. Supply chains are complex - one late delivery to a factory, or from a factory to a venue, can impact an entire tour if the time frames below aren't respected. We often pull off small miracles, but small miracles are risky and costly.
6 weeks out - artwork & briefs
We aim to complete our side of this within 1 week
- All artwork, art files, and briefs must be with us 6 weeks before the first tour date (if not being created in-house by terrible*)
- All files must be submitted in the correct formats - specs here
- Share any garment or blank preferences, identified by official product name, colour, and SKU from the manufacturer (just ask if you're unsure)
- Amends and late changes slow things down - please be timely with communication
- If you need samples, flag this early - we'll need additional lead time
5 weeks out — logistics & advancing (tours without a merch manager)
We aim to complete our side of this within 2 weeks
This deadline applies to tours where terrible* will advance the merchandise on your behalf.
- Tour logistics plan (flying, driving, or other - we need to know how stock will travel)
- Ticket sales and venue capacities (please update us weekly as these change)
- Estimate of space available for merchandise in tour transport
- Tour Manager contact details and an introduction to our team
- Promoter contacts
- Venue contacts and delivery instructions
- Confirmation of whether you need sellers or merch assistants at shows, and agreement on rates
4 weeks out — logistics & advancing (tours with a merch manager)
We aim to complete our side of this within 1–2 weeks
- Tour logistics plan (flying, driving, or other)
- Ticket sales and venue capacities (please update us weekly)
- Estimate of space available for merchandise in tour transport
- Tour Manager contact details and an introduction to our team
- Merch Manager contact details and an introduction to our team
- Promoter contacts
- Venue contacts and delivery instructions
Once the above deadlines are met, we will:
- Run tour merch projections for your approval
- Quote and invoice merchandise goods, flag any inventory shortages, and suggest alternatives
- Plan any necessary merchandise splits
- Plan deliveries and collections
- Suggest ideal restock dates
- Begin the advance process for each show
3 weeks out - final approvals
- All projection, quote/invoice, and artwork approvals for soft merch and posters must be confirmed no later than 3 weeks before the first tour date — more time is always better
- Please review all details carefully before approving, but don't sit on approvals once you have them
- Logistics plans and agreed restock dates must be confirmed within 48 hours of receipt
On the road
Restocks
- Ahead of tour we'll agree ideal restock dates - you'll need to be available and on call to approve if a restock is triggered
- If you're happy for us to restock as needed without approval each time, let us know before tour starts
- Restocks are handled differently from initial orders - we'll always be transparent about any cost variations or product differences
Retail pricing
- Use our RRP calculator to make sure you've accounted for all costs before setting prices. 'Cost per unit' should include logistics - if you don't know those yet, we suggest adding $2 / £1 / €1.50 per unit as a baseline
- We're happy to advise on average pricing by region - just ask
- We'll flag proactively if we think venue concession cuts will put you at a loss on a date
Missed deliveries
You'll receive tracking links from terrible* logistics for all shipments. Save them and keep an eye on them. If something goes wrong:
- Contact the logistics provider immediately. As the receiver, you have the most authority to request redelivery, redirect to a new address, or arrange a depot collection.
- Email terrible* logistics as soon as possible. Include venue contacts for the missed delivery and the next date - this saves us critical time.
- In some cases we can arrange same-day couriers to collect and travel ahead to the next venue, but this is costly and will need your approval first.
Point of sale
If you need a POS system, let us know at the very start of the tour merch process. We provide POS and reporting for UK, EU, and US tours. Our POS fees are outlined here. We collect and pay taxes on all retail sales at shows - you can read more about that here.
Before tour, please send our touring and advancing teams the following:
- Details of any music products or additional merch not made by terrible* that you want to sell - we need a description, packshot, RRPs, and inventory numbers for each item
- Full names and email addresses for anyone who needs reporting access via portal*
Concessions & venue sells
We can handle all revenue collection and provide relevant legal and administrative documents to concessions and venues as standard. If you'd prefer to manage this yourself, let us know
Additional costs to plan for
Logistics
Logistics costs are billed separately from merchandise invoices and are an artist cost. The more lead time we have to ship, the lower these costs will be.
Seller & merch manager fees
US & Canada:
- Sellers: from $200 per show (up to $450 depending on venue)
- Merch managers: $2000/week or $200–$450 per show
- Per diems are expected for all touring party members including merch managers
UK & Europe:
- Sellers: from £20/€25, per hour, per show
- Merch managers: from £250/€300 per show; travel days are paid at a reduced rate
- Per diems are expected for all touring party members including merch managers
In all regions, merch managers are members of the touring party. Unless merchandise has its own ground transport, they travel with the rest of the tour.
Cancellations
If a tour date or the full tour is cancelled, please notify your team immediately. Even a day's notice can allow us to halt production or logistics movements and save you significant costs.
If you cancel merchandise sellers with less than a weeks notice, you will have to pay them a cancellation fee to make up for lost work
Tipping culture - a note for international tours
Touring the US (for European artists)
Tips are enabled on your POS by default for US shows. Most sellers will not work without this option. 100% of all tips go directly to your seller - in many states this is a legal requirement. Tipping culture in the US benefits the person serving fans directly; it is not intended for the artist or wider crew. Your merch manager is one of the only members of the touring party who can actively generate more revenue for the tour after fees and budgets are set.
Touring the UK & Europe (for North American artists)
There is no tipping culture in the UK or Europe, and offering a tip prompt on POS is generally considered unusual outside of sit-down restaurant settings. We can activate tips on your POS if you'd like, but it's unlikely to be used by fans.
