Band Merch; Are They Even Necessary?

Fangirl(ing) [verb]
The act of adoring and admiring (an) idol(s).

Fangirl(s) [noun]
A girl who adores and admires (an) idol(s). More than just ordinary fans, as they call themselves so. Some are obsessed, but most of them more to dedicated.

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Being a fangirl is not an easy job, we support our idols through a lot of things. But some who can't stand those anymore will back off, but believe me, it's not easy either to back off from a fandom. There's also another thing, another problem for the fangirls, that is a band merch or merchandises. Who doesn't want any merchandises? All fangirls want! From T-Shirt, cap, light stick, even socks can be made custom for our fangirl needs. There are several stores that sell merchandises, such as 1D WORLD, and also merchandise booths at every concerts. The artists even sell the official merchandises online on their websites. The point is, official merchandises are so damn expensive. I repeat, EXPENSIVE. But the artists are looking for loyalties, so yeah. I'm not saying anything bad about this.

 

I've been thinking for a while. Are band merchandises really necessary? Well, for me, it does support my fangirl life. Wearing a T-Shirt of my favorite band to public places is really exciting. I mean, showing people that I'm in a fandom is like showing my identity. Sounds silly, but that kind of make me happy somehow.

 

Then again, other thing would be a waste. For example, a post card. I got four post cards from One Direction's album FOUR and I don't think it's necessary. For a collection? It's okay. But somehow, I feel guilty keeping it in. I'm not the one to send a post card to someone, so yeah. Different thing goes to a merch for souvenir. I still am keeping my concert tickets from OTRA 2015 as a reminder and also a souvenir.

 

But actually, based on my real life experiences, merchandises is necessary when they have a form to be used. For me, merchandises have to have a meaning and can be used in our daily life.

 

I've asked some fangirl friends several questions about band merch and all their little problems about it, and below, I will write down some responses given by them.

 

1. Do you have any band merchandises?

Seven of ten answered they do, and the other three don't.

 

2. If so, what are they?

The responses are pretty much the same. T-shirts, hoodie, bag, pillow, posters, CDs, books, and key chains. But mostly are books and posters.

 

3. Which one do you prefer, unofficial or official merchandises?

They chose official. Why? Because by buying the official merchandises, we also give a contribution for our idols' work. In other words, we pay for their hard works in making us happy.

 

4. In your opinion, are band merchandises important to support our fangirling lives?

Most answered necessary and the reasons are that we can show our merch to our idols and show them our dedications to them; and when we wear a band merch in public places, some will recognize us as a fandom fangirl, and if by chance we met another fangirl from the same fandom as ours, we can be friends.

But I have this interesting answer that is, in daily life, band merch is not that necessary, but if we buy the one that can feed our needs, then it can be necessary.

 

5. Is it truly necessary?

Just like in the previous question, most answered necessary. But, it can be unnecessary too. It all depends on what kind of merch do we own. One said that posters can cover our ruined wall, but unused CDs will remain CDs.

 

From those responses that I merged together as one, shows that some thinks that band merch is necessary, and the others think that it all depends on the kind of merch  that they own. Even when some fangirls think that they need merchandises, there's one responded that she doesn't have to have a merch  to show that she's a fangirl because she's a fangirl by heart.

 

Well, people have different opinions. I also asked my two friends about how necessary a band merch for them. One answered, that band merchandises are not necessary for her. She'd rather have a merch by her own money, and that she will buy them later when she thinks it's necessary for her.

 

The other one, well, she actually poured her heart out. She said that not everyone can afford any merchandises, because they are just expensive. She's a K-Poper, a fan of Korean groups. On her perspective side, she said that she prefers official merch to help the idols get their ratings up. When we buy the official album, we can make their songs to number one chart. There are also a lot of benefits for our idols and they can really happy with all of the supports given by their loyal fans. She doesn't think that any kind of custom merchandises are necessary. In the end, she said, why should we buy a lot of unnecessary merchandises if we don't know much about our idol?

 

From all of the answers, I can make some conclusions. Firstly, I think we should buy original CDs and official merchandises, because we can also help our idols by that. But I'm not telling you to stop buying unofficial merch. Sure you can buy them all you want, because I buy them too also. Just remember your idol. Secondly, band merchandises can bring a lot of benefits and can be useful, and we have to make sure that any of merchandises that we have bought wont be wasted. And last but the most important conclusion is, it's okay to have merchandises. I  mean, they might be necessary or unnecessary, but even the waste can be useful, can't they? It all depends on what kind of band merch that we own. If it can be used in our daily life, why not? ;)

 

 

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