How to Sell Merch on Spotify

by Ian Falconer February 16, 2023

Are you a musician looking for new ways to monetize your brand and expand your reach? Selling custom merchandise is an excellent way to do that, and Spotify’s integration with Shopify and Printful makes it easier than ever.

This blog post will explain how selling merch on Spotify with Shopify and Rebel Printerz works, and the many benefits it offers. From creating custom designs to automating the entire order fulfilment process, you’ll be able to easily monetize your music with this powerful combination. So, let’s dive in and learn more about how selling merch on Spotify can help get your name out there!

What does the Spotify - Shopify integration mean for Spotify artists?

Before we get into the details of how to sell merch on Spotify, let’s look at what opportunities this new integration creates.

The partnership is a great way to enhance the fan experience, allowing them to easily buy your merchandise without having to leave your Spotify artist profile. Fewer steps from browsing your products to completing an order means more money in your pocket and even more satisfied fans.

For you, the Spotify-Shopify integration means that you can promote and list merch just like new music—all from one location. With a connected Shopify store, you’re able to fully integrate customized brand merchandise into your Spotify profile, giving you a consistent look and feel across both your online presence and products.

The Shopify-Spotify integration is another way to market directly to fans, removing the need to sell merchandise elsewhere. It’s also the perfect opportunity for artists who aren’t currently selling merch and are interested in finding new ways to grow their income, beyond music or podcasting.

Why should creators sell merchandise?

There are many reasons why musicians should consider selling merch. It’s is a great way for creators to monetize their work and make extra money. It can also be a powerful tool for connecting with fans, building loyalty, and providing tangible proof of the creator’s popularity.

Creators typically earn around £0.003 and £0.005 per stream on Spotify for Artists. So to make £100, you need 25,000 people to listen to your song or podcast. But, if you’re selling merch, you only need five fans to buy a £20 t-shirt on your Shopify store to make the same amount.

For musicians like making their own merch has been a great way to connect with Spotify fans and make additional revenue to support their career. And they are not the only one who’s seeing success. No matter what kind of artist you are or how big your audience is, making money through merchandise is the future of your business. It’s never been easier thanks to Spotify merch and this new integration.

What are the benefits of using a print-on-demand (POD) merch store?

Shopify makes the process of running your online store simple, thanks to print-on-demand (POD) partners like Rebel Printerz. POD is an ecommerce fulfilment method where merchandise is printed once an order is placed. There’s no inventory being stored in a warehouse (which means no upfront costs for you) and you only pay for products and shipping when somebody has already ordered your merch.

With POD companies like Rebel Printerz, you’re able to fully customize all of your branding on both your products and your shipping labels. Creating new designs is easy in the online portal for your shop. You simply upload your custom graphics and fonts, add them to your products, and you’re ready to sell.

If you need to make changes, there’s no stock to shift before a merch launch and, in just a few minutes, you can remove any old designs and upload the new ones. Want to feature limited edition swag to coincide with a new music drop? With POD, you can.

The customization options don’t stop there. Thanks to the new partnership between Spotify and Shopify, you’re able to create discounts for your superfans or anyone that you want to thank for their support.

The integration between Spotify for Artists, your Shopify store, and Rebel Printerz is seamless. Everything is automated to speed up the process, from receiving the order to creating and mailing products. Plus, fans will never know that someone else is taking care of the creation and shipping of their purchase, as there’s no Rebel Printerz branding on any of the products. We’re a white-label company, which means that all of the logos, graphics, and designs are yours alone.

Merch is printed specifically for each order, so there are no minimums to worry about, expensive equipment to buy, or unsold inventory eating into your budget. POD services are there to save you both time and money, all while getting merch out to fans as quickly as possible.

How to sell merch on Spotify with Shopify in 5 steps

Ready to start designing and selling merch for your Spotify fans? Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating your artist merch store.

1. Create a Shopify store

Go to Shopify to create a new store. You can enter your email address, a password, and your store name on the sign-up page. As a Spotify artist, you can register for a free 90-day trial of Shopify if you’ve never created a store before.

Next, pick one of the hundreds of Shopify themes available and start customizing the new store to fit your brand’s aesthetic.

2. Connect Shopify and Printful

Now let’s connect your Shopify store to Rebel Printerz, a print-on-demand service that’ll print, pack and ship merch to your customers.

Setting up a Printful account is free, and it only takes a minute to link both services. Contact us for integration steps.

3. Design your merch

Head over to our collection page to select the merch you’ll be customizing and selling. You can choose from hundreds of products, including t-shirts, hoodies, bags, caps, shoes, and more.

Tip: Select a couple of popular items like t-shirts and hoodies and list them alongside more creative products like hats. This will make your merch store more varied and exciting for customers.

Once the products are selected, come up with design ideas and place them on products with Rebelz Design Maker. You have tons of different colours, fonts, patterns, and clipart to work with, and it’s all free.

When your design is ready, you’ll have to decide on your listing’s title, description, and price. Finally, import the product to your Shopify store. That way, whenever someone orders from your Shopify store, the order will automatically be imported to Rebel Printerz.

4. Set up tax and payment methods on Shopify

Wherever you’re selling to, you’ll need to pay sales tax on your products. To set up the different regions based on your location, go to your Shopify Settings and then click Taxes.

Set up your payment gateways in Shopify under Settings > Payments to make sure that your customers can pay you.

5. Link Shopify and Spotify

Now you have a functional Shopify store and awesome merch designs. Time to add them to your Spotify artist profile!

Here’s how:

Go to your Spotify artists profile and click the Merch tab in your Spotify for Artists dashboard.
Click Log In To Shopify. From there, you’ll be able to enter your store URL and click Link Shop.
A login popup for your Shopify account will appear, where you can enter your details.
You’ll then be prompted to Add Sales Channel.
Accept the terms and conditions, then choose the Spotify artist profile that you want to link your shop to.

Once the connection is complete, you’re all set up!

How much merch can I add to my store and Spotify for Artists profile?

Once your store is connected, you can list up to 250 different items to your Spotify for Artists page, as well as choose up to three to highlight on your artist profile.

To set your top three, go to your Shopify account and click Settings > Products > All Products and choose an item. Click on Manage > Sales Channels and Apps and make sure that Spotify is checked, then hit Done. This product will then show up on your artist profile.

When you want to add new music merch to your shop on Spotify, go to your artist’s dashboard then click Profile > Add to Shop. From here, you’ll see all of the products you can add (remember, you can add up to 250).

Reach more fans with Shopify and Spotify for Artists

Now you’re in the loop on what you need to know to start selling your custom merch on Rebel Printerz.

Thanks to Shopify and Rebel Printerz, it’s never been easier to grow your brand and turn your art into a successful career. Start designing your own merchandise today and make lasting connections with your biggest fans.

What kinds of products are you going to sell first? Let us know in the comments!