MASTERS OF MERCH
BEHIND THE LOGOS:
IF THE CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN,
DO THE SYMBOLS MAKE THE MERCHANDISE?
For a band that never sold more than a million copies of a single album, the Ramones have a lot of very public fans. Beach goers roam the shore in Ramones flip-flops, babies get carried around in Ramones onesies, and college kids and yuppies alike can be found in the band’s ubiquitous black T-shirts. A former Ramones merchandise manager told Spin that between 1996 and 2008 the band sold 1.5 million T-shirts- and that’s not counting onesies, flip-flops or other items, or any of the bootleg shirts circulating in concert arena parking lots all over the country. By then, of course, the band’s modest commercial heyday was already behind it, but its take off of the presidential seal- with an eagle holding an olive branch and a baseball bat- had become iconic. “At a certain level, the logo becomes less about the band,” says Michael Bierut of Pentagram Design, “and more about a series of lifestyle choices.” A logo can’t make or break a band, of course- it might not even help sell albums or concert tickets. But the right logo can take merch revenue to the next level- and provide valuable viral promotion when it’s carved into middle school desks. In that spirit, Billboard presents the origins of some of Rock’s most memorable logos, as well as expert opinions on why they’ve rocked audiences for decades.
-Cortney Harding
RAMONES:
BACK STORY: New York artist Arturo Vega created this logo based on a self portrait in which he wore a belt buckle with an image of the presidential seal. On a trip to Washington, D.C., Vega decided to play off the presidential symbol, substituting the members’ names for the official text.
EXPERT OPINION: “It has such an irony about it, says Brett Kilroe of design outfit Runner Collective. “It feels so authoritative and also has such a familiarity in it its aesthetic, while in actuality it does a great job mocking all that it represents in just the right way.”
TATTOO POTENTIAL:
Medium- unless you’re willing to get it large enough to make sure all the names are legible.
ROLLINGSTONES:
BACK STORY:
Though many fans assume the Stones’ lips logo was based on Mick Jagger’s mouth, designer John Pasche says he was inspired by an image of the Hindu goddess Kali. When he designed the logo in 1971, he was paid 50 pounds; the band gave him 200 more a few years later. even though the Stones copyrighted the image, Pasche made 400,000 in 2006 when he sold the original artwork.
EXPERT OPINION: “I’ve worked with Mick Jagger and he knows a lot about branding and marketing,” says designer Stefan Sagmeister, who has worked with the Talking Heads and Lou reed. “this is something that looks good on baseball caps and jackets. They do a different set of lips for each tour, so
the y keep the concept but do enough to make it different each time.”
TATTOO POTENTIAL:
High- and recognized worldwide.
AC/DC:
BACK STORY:
Designer Gerard Huerta riffed on the band’s original Australian logo and his design work for Blue oyster Cult when he created this image. He has said the style was influence by Los Angles barrio graffiti as well as the heavy metal aesthetic of the day.
EXPERT OPINION: “From a design perspective, this is very one-dimensional,” Sagmeister says. But that may be the point: The logo is simple enough that Kilroe says he was able to draw it blindfolded in middle school.
TATTOO POTENTIAL:
High- and easy for anyone to draw.
PUBLIC ENEMY
BACK STORY: Chuck D says he was influenced by rick groups and sports teams when he created the groups logo of a B-boy in the cross hairs of a rifle. “I took a silhouette of L-Love, LL Cool J’s right hand man, and put the cross hairs over him,” he says. “A lot of people thought it was a silhouette of a state trooper, but it’s meant to symbolize the average black male. it was important for us to have a logo. I wanted our logo to be as recognizable as Batman.”
EXPERT OPINION: “From a basic visual point of view, it is by design, a target, which certainly attracts attention,” Kilroe says. “targets are symbols that are widely used in visual communication and it seems to me that the intent of this logo was just that. it is aggressive and confrontational in the same way the music is.”
TATTOO POTENTIAL:
Medium
BLACK FLAG
BACK STORY: Another band with unremarkable sales (none of its albums ever sold more than 200,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan) but an instantly recognizable logo, Black Flag has inspired endless graffiti, Designed by the artist Raymond Pettibon, brother of songwriter Greg Ginn, it was meant to contrast sharply with white flag surrender.
EXPERT OPINION: “It’s a very clever visual hierarchy,” Sagmeister says. “It’s catchy- you see the stripes immediately. it’s a case where a single visual artist defined the visual presence of a band.”
TATTOO POTENTIAL:
High, unfortunately. There’s only one Henry Rollins-get over it.
Additional reporting by Kelly Staskel.
The above story originally ran in Billboard magazine's October 3rd, 2009
"MASTERS OF MERCH" issue (page 28). An illustration of KISS is on the cover.
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