New Documentary on Rise of Music Merchandise in the Works From XTR (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDocumentary studio XTR and Crooked Highways are teaming up on “Merch!”The upcoming documentary will look at the origin and impact of music merchandise through the stories of pivotal musicians, designers, fans, and entrepreneurs who helped commodify artists.

The non-fiction feature will trace the history of these products, starting with the first Elvis Presley concert t-shirt. That continued with the psychedelic tie-dyed look popularized by the Grateful Dead and the skull-heavy iconography of Metallica and Megadeth.

It extends to the present day, when artists like Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish continue to mint money through imagery, posters, clothes and more. “Merch!” will feature archival footage and will tell the story of the late merchandising legend, Dell Furano, as well as his brother Dave Furano, who co-founded Winterland Productions with Bill Graham.

They witnessed merchandise transform from niche products for die-hard concert-goers to a massive revenue stream with the rise of streaming music and the decline of record sales.“Merch!” is directed and produced by Brian Furano and Ryan Gall, and is executive produced by Bryn Mooser, Kathryn Everett and Abazar Khayami for XTR.