????關于音樂產業利潤螺旋式下降的報道可謂汗牛充棟，這一趨勢正在讓音樂人竭力探尋新的生財之道。每一位企業主都知道，多個收入來源是財政穩定的關鍵所在。對于一支以音樂為主要產品的樂隊而言，收入來自各個方面，其中包括灌錄唱片、作品授權、現場演出，當然還包括樂隊的品牌商品，比如T恤衫、手提包和海報等等。

????根據音樂未來組織(Future of Music Organization)的統計，2011年，品牌商品約占一支搖滾樂隊收入的6％（于爵士和古典音樂人而言，這個數字驟降至0.6%，因為他們的粉絲不太可能穿一件歌手的T恤衫）。盡管一支樂隊不可能憑借T恤衫的銷售收入發家致富，但商品有助于實現另一個重要目的：建立品牌。音樂未來組織發布的一份報告聲稱，商品銷售是與一位歌手品牌相關的最常見的收入來源。最好的商品不僅可以提供一份額外收入，還能夠樹立品牌的知名度。

????事實上，商品越奇異，造成的聲勢越大，似乎就越有可能受到博客和雜志的關注。理想情況下，這將提升專輯和演出門票的銷售收入。

????從極端奇怪（金屬樂隊Gwar的Gwar BQ調味汁）到用起來非常便利（Metallica樂隊的冰袋，有人試過嗎？），樂隊商品無所不包，幾乎涵蓋了一切有可能吸引樂迷的東西。超級明星 DJ DeadMau5已經通過他的“Mau5牌耳朵”打造了一個品牌，而且憑借一款為貓設計的 DeadMau5耳機打破了貓捉老鼠大戰的平衡。男孩樂隊One Direction用1D牌牙刷和牙膏確保了粉絲們在微笑時總能露出一口散發著珍珠白光澤的牙齒。早在所謂的Directioners風靡全球之前，全球各地癡迷于披頭士樂隊(Beatle)的歌迷就希望理一個這支樂隊標志性的拖把頭。如果粉絲們無法自然地獲得這種發型，他們可以購買一頭假發。

????因此，像烈焰紅唇(The Flaming Lips)這樣的樂隊不僅通過前衛藝術搖滾為自己贏得了聲譽，而且還創造了一些最令人難以忘懷的商品。烈焰紅唇樂隊的商品包括一個散發著銀色光澤、不停顫抖的胎兒（一款圣誕飾品），一個紀念該樂隊為打破24小時內舉辦最多場音樂會這一世界紀錄所做嘗試的枕套，以及一個膠狀骷髏(Gummy Skull)——表面看是一個糖果，一個包含在其中的USB儲藏了這支樂隊的四首歌曲。樂迷們必須首先吃完糖果，才能欣賞到新音樂。

????這款不同尋常的商品引發了熱議。雖然這種把一個24小時歌曲放在頭骨之中的產品有些離經叛道，但這種荒誕的營銷方式受到了他們的唱片公司華納兄弟(Warner Brothers)的全力支持。“烈焰紅唇樂隊出售的是一種體驗，”華納兄弟唱片公司高級營銷總監凱麗?博蘇克說。“大家購買這些產品時，其實是在購買一種體驗。我并不認為，隨隨便便哪位粉絲就舍得花費150美元購買一個膠狀骷髏。”

????There have been many stories documenting the downward spiral of profits in the music industry, a trend leaving musicians struggling to come up with new ways to make money. As business owners know, multiple revenue streams are the key to financial stability. For a band whose primary product is music, income comes from a variety of sources including sound recordings, licensing compositions, and live performance and, of course, band-branded merchandise, like t-shirts, tote bags and posters.

????According to the Future of Music Organization, merch, as it's known in the industry, accounted for about 6% of a rock band's income in 2011. (That number dips down to .6% for jazz and classical musicians whose fans are less likely to wear an artist T-shirt.) While a band is unlikely to get rich on t-shirt sales, merch serves another important purpose: building a brand. Merchandise sales are the most common source of income related to an artists' brand, says a report from the Future of Music Organization. The best merch builds buzz along with brand recognition while shoring up additional revenue.

????In fact, it seems that the stranger the merch, the bigger the buzz, and the more likely it is to get written about by blogs and magazines. Ideally, this results in bigger album or ticket sales.

????Band merch runs the gamut from the sublimely strange (metal band Gwar's Gwar BQ sauce) to the uniquely apt (Metallica ice pack, anyone?) with everything in between that could possibly appeal to a band's fans. Superstar DJ DeadMau5, who has built a brand out of his trademark Mau5 ears, has found a way to up the game between cat and mouse with his DeadMau5 headphones for cats. Boy band One Direction found a way to make sure their fans always have the pearliest white smiles with their 1D toothbrush and toothpaste. Long before so-called Directioners mobbed the globe, Beatle-mania had fans around the world wishing for the band's signature mop tops. If fans couldn't achieve the style naturally, they could buy it in wig form.

????Thus bands like The Flaming Lips can build a name for themselves not only for avant art rock, but for creating some of the most memorable merch around. The Flaming Lips' merchandise selection includes a silver trembling fetus Christmas ornament, a pillowcase that commemorates the band's attempt to break the world record for most concerts held in a 24-hour period and a Gummy Skull with four Flaming Lips songs stored on a USB inside the candy, requiring fans to eat their way to the new music.

????The merchandise is remarkable and buzzworthy and, while products like a 24-hour song inside of a human skull are far from typical fare, the outré marketing is completely supported by their record label, Warner Brothers. "The Flaming Lips are an experience," said Kerri Borsuk, senior marketing director at Warner Brothers Records. "When you buy these products, you are buying into the experience of the Flaming Lips. I don't think a casual fan is spending $150 on a gummy skull."