This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On October 17, 2019, YouTube announced a partnership with Merchbar, a leading music merchandise aggregator, to enable artists with Official Artist Channels to showcase their official merchandise and vinyl alongside their videos.
Merchbar carries over 1 million items from 35,000 artists, making it one of the largest music merchandise providers globally. This new feature will allow fans to easily access and purchase merchandise directly from the artists' Official Artist Channels on YouTube.
According to YouTube, artists must operate an Official Artist Channel and a Merchbar store with U.S. fulfillment enabled to launch a Merchbar shelf on their platform. The feature is initially launching in the U.S. but will expand internationally in the near future.
Marshmello, a popular DJ and producer, is one of the first artists to take advantage of this feature, creating a soccer jersey that will be exclusive to Merchbar and his YouTube channel.
YouTube noted that this partnership is not the first time they have worked with merchandise, as the merch shelf is already a feature used by non-music creators on the platform. However, this partnership with Merchbar will give artists with Official Artist Channels a unique opportunity to drive awareness and sell their merchandise directly to fans.
Spotify also partnered with Merchbar in 2016 to integrate its retail listings into the streaming platform, but this new partnership with YouTube gives artists with Official Artist Channels the ability to surface and sell both concert listings and tickets and merch directly under music videos.
