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August 06, 2021

When Good People Get Bad Merch

Several popstars have been criticized lately for low-quality and inaccurate merchandise.

By  Theresa Hegel

Olivia Rodrigo fans are feeling sour after buying merch that would give even a Wish seller pause.

The crop top ordered on Rodrigo’s website arrives in the mail as a long, sack-like tank top. Beaded bracelets were assembled without the crucial letter “O,” transforming the angsty singer-songwriter’s album name into “Sur” – which doesn’t have quite the same impact.

One TikTok user compared the cute oversized, long-sleeved lavender tee she thought she was ordering with the noticeably different style she actually received.

@chloemahaley

This is honestly so brutal. #oliviarodrigo #oliviarodrigomerch #sourmerch #oliviarodrigosour

♬ brutal - Olivia Rodrigo

A purple T-shirt with the print “i want it to be, like, messy” was advertised as having a vintage, muted color. The shirt that arrived for many fans was a bright, almost neon purple with a rushed, crooked graphic across the chest. “I feel silly. I feel like I’ve been hoodwinked,” said Delaney McCabe, in  a TikTok video that’s been viewed more than 745,000 times.

Another fan was lamenting the low quality of a bucket hat she’d ordered from Rodrigo’s site.

Rodrigo isn’t the only popstar with fans questioning the quality of her merch. A few weeks ago, a Twitter user shared an image of a T-shirt being sold in Doja Cat’s online store, as part of the rollout of her “Planet Her” album. The text of the tweet was just a string of question marks. In a reply to that tweet, a fan asked the singer “who is designing this new batch of merchandise lol.”

Doja Cat has responded to several fans, saying she doesn’t know who designed her merch, following up with: “the merch is bad. i’m aware. don’t worry.”

Merch has always been tied to music. After all, who doesn’t cherish a great concert tee? In recent years, merch sales have become even more important for artists faced with declining album sales in the digital age. During the pandemic, when so many live events and concerts were canceled or postponed indefinitely, merch became a lifeline. Merch is both a revenue stream and a way to stay connected with fans.

Our industry is well aware of the lasting impression branded merchandise can make. But what if the merch is bad? Does it do more harm than good? I would argue that low-quality merch is worse than no merch at all. Consider the studies that show people remember negative experiences in greater detail than positive ones. And with the prevalence of social media, every shirt snafu is a few clicks away from potentially gaining viral infamy.

It’s more than likely that the manufacturers behind Rodrigo’s merch are running into the same supply chain and inventory issues that the promo industry has been dealing with. The solution, however, is not to send out the wrong items, with low-quality, inaccurate decoration.

“I hate that this situation is giving Olivia a bad reputation,” McCabe told Newsweek. “The designs were super promising, and I would’ve loved to see that executed.”

Theresa Hegel

Executive Editor, Digital Content

Theresa Hegel covers strategy for ASI Media, with a focus on apparel, digital technology and business operations and management. She's won multiple regional and national awards for her writing and reporting.