BØRNS: Music and Merch

I recently went to a concert for one of my favorite artists: BØRNS. Garrett Borns and his band just released their first full album, Dopamine, a great set of indie psychedelic pop songs. As this was my third time seeing BØRNS but it was his first time as the headlining act, I was very curious to see what was different. One key difference was in how hist team sold merchandise. Given an audience of highly loyal customers who align well with the "Experiencer" VALS segment, they used strong situational influences to increase sales of t-shirts and albums.

Unlike at a concert of an established superstar artist or an artist with extensive airplay, most of the audience members for BØRNS were dedicated fans. Every person who I talked to at the concert mentioned that BØRNS was their favorite artist, that they were one of the first people to discover BØRNS, or that they had already seen BØRNS perform. We had emotional connections to his EP, Candy, and were so excited to see him headline. Many of us in the crowd were experiencers: we were self expressive, choosing music by what we feel the artist says about us (Babin / Harris 123). We are young: few people in the crowd looked to be over 24. We are certainly enthusiastic and we value the excitement of seeing live music.

Given our excitement and VALS segment, the BØRNS team tried to create a situation that would maximize our impulsive purchases. First, they created a feeling of time pressure. The first 50 purchasers of the Dopamine CD also received a ticket to hangout with BØRNS backstage. While there may have been many people who balked at the idea of a physical CD (who wants to carry those things around anymore?), getting to hangout with him backstage was unequivocally appealing and time pressure helped to increase the likelihood of a purchase decision (Babin / Harris 229). In addition to the time pressure, there was also an affective quality that made the experience of being at the venue feel like a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a BØRNS t-shirt (Babin / Harris 240). While that seems silly (you can always find BØRNS merchandise here), we wanted to remember the experience of making the purchase at the concert, so we could always remember it.

While the band played differently than when I had previously seen them, the way they sold merchandise as a headlining act was also a significant difference. If you're compelled to purchase a CD because you can talk to the artist after the concert, I suggest opting for waiting outside the venue for them instead. You can always get lucky.