Some friends of mine went to the Nine Inch Nails concert last night in East Rutherford, NJ. Of course front man Trent Reznor would not disappoint, and would bring tons of free concert giveaways. As the tour continues across America, I’ll be showing some more schwag from the shows. Till then, here is some fan made schwag. They look to be drawstring backpacks imprinted with a charcoal gray flag to go along with the song Survivalism.

Stay tuned for more concert schwag.

I just thought that this is an awesome piece of Foo Fighters Merchandise. This promotional jacket features the Foo Fighters logo and frankly is just a really cool high-end piece of merch that would make a great holiday gift.

Keeping with the trend of creative merch we’ve been following lately, I present to you: stuffed animal merch! A band called Angry Panda brought these cute/angry screen-printed stuffed pandas to Warped Tour. According to one band member, Angry Panda “sold a lot of dolls and made a bunch of friends.”

It’s important to note the dual purpose of band merch in this scenario. Most bands use their merchandise to raise money they can invest into their endeavors, while others simply use these products to attract people to their merch tables. Getting some face time with concert-goers gives bands a chance to do some networking with fans and industry contacts. Who knows…maybe the guy checking out your unique merch owns a label or knows one that’s looking to sign? At the very least, merch can help you meet some cool people

(photo via Flickr)

Talk about unique band merch! A popular German punk rock band called The Beatsteaks is selling logo’d lollipops at their concerts and on their website - a sweet merch idea! The Beatsteaks “b” logo appears on the surface of the raspberry lollipop in red sugar, creating truly original merch that fans are guaranteed to love. By introducing these unique products into their merch lineup, The Beaksteaks demonstrate how a little bit of creativity can create massive surges in merchandise sales. These fun, edible, and inexpensive promotions are likely to remain a Beatsteak best-seller into the future.

(photo via Flickr)

Band buttons have been a staple of the music merch scene for quite some time. But what’s so appealing about a simple promotional button? Well, the question sort of answers itself. Buttons are a simple and inexpensive way for fans to show support for their favorite groups. The bands themselves can easily carry a lot of buttons with them while on tour, which is especially helpful for smaller bands that don’t have the luxury of tour buses to store tons of merch in. Fans of all ages can afford these cheap items, and they still give the band a chance to express their creativity despite a small imprint area. Take a look at these band buttons to see how some of today’s most popular musicians are putting these miniature merch minions to use at concerts around the world.

(photo via Flickr)

I’d never miss an opportunity to blog about my favorite progressive rock jam band, Umphrey’s McGee - especially when band merch is involved! I recently received this jumbo promotional sticker after purchasing a digital recording of a live show that I attended at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. Looks like UM has decided to send out a sticker to everyone who buys a copy of these live recordings, and it’s certainly a good idea. Right now I’ve stuck the high-quality sticker on the bumper of my car where plenty of people can see it. A small investment for Umphrey’s, but they just gained more respect from an existing fan, and more exposure to potential fans!

The sequel to the overwhelmingly popular “Rock Band” video game has quite a surprise in store for music and merch lovers everywhere. The game allows players to create their own band, which they can customize down to the tiniest detail. The band’s name, logo, appearance, and members can all be adjusted to suit the tastes of creative rockers worldwide…but there’s a surprise for hardcore fans in the upcoming release:

Rock Band 2 plans to allow gamers to log on to the official site, where they will be able to order posters, T-shirts, and other band merch featuring the custom bands they’ve created in the game! This awesomely interactive feature is sure to send sales skyrocketing as fans rush to immortalize their digital creations with branded merchandise.

Seems a number of bands are using their creative juices for more than just creating lyrics and melodies. A number of bands are now selling unique, novelty merch items. It runs from the innocent to the not so innocent (I won’t get into specifics). Often bands will give away interesting merch with a CD purchase. The latest in strange merch, apparently, is the Oasis Teddy Bear. Seriously.