About the Merch Market

The Merch Market has been 36 years in the making. That’s how long Tim Burgess has been in The Charlatans - touring the world, playing at festivals, making records and within all that, there’s Merch - bringing in the cash that keeps new bands on the road and helps more established bands to keep going. From the table at the back of a venue to a kiosk in an arena - fans love merch, bands love merch.

Lots of T shirts and badges end up stashed in boxes at studios or bunged in a corner of a rehearsal room

So, Tim had the idea of The Merch Market and spoke to some of his friends - the first event was in Manchester, with over 100 stalls and 4,000 fans - taking in 6 venues including The Ritz, Gorilla a bowling alley and the railway arch in between them

Then we headed to London, with Troxy, The George Tavern and more with 5,000 visitors across the day - scooping up rarities and exclusives alongside live sets, DJs and on stage interviews

A simple idea, no fee for a stall, no commission taken, one hundred per cent of sales to the actual bands and artists. And free to get in. Plus it was the actual bands who showed up to sell - Stephen &

Gillian from New Order, Mark from Ride, Jez and Andy from Doves, all of Inspiral Carpets, Bis, Dave from Blur, Mick Jones even had a stall

So that’s where we’re at. We have big plans