Listen To The Band

Like other great radical marketers, the Dead is simply reinventing itself. Grateful Dead Records is creating and distributing its own CDs; the Dead can offer these CDs at better prices and realize higher profits. The goodwill generated by the Dead and their organization has brought other musicians to them seeking the very expertise in brand development that the band has acquired over 30 years of dedicated hard work.

While he was still alive, Garcia, a noted artist, began extending his own personal brand by selling expensive ties adorned with his artwork. His ties became the most popular neckwear in the United States; even the president was reportedly seen wearing one. A successful new line of Grateful Dead ties not associated with the Jerry Garcia ties, along with other silk loungewear, shoes and boxer shorts, have hit the stores. "T-shirts will be important, but they won't be the backbone anymore," McQuaid says. "An older, more sophisticated market will emerge, and people in boardrooms will wear Grateful Dead ties that only other Deadheads will recognize. It will be subtle."

In this vein, McQuaid is planning to build the brand into a lifestyle product line for the retail market. He is hoping to sell products like an upscale, tie-dyed set of towels through retail outlets like Nordstrom. Without any reference to the Grateful Dead, these items have great cachet among the band's fans.

McQuaid adds that he is already looking offshore for additional marketing opportunities. Although the Dead toured mostly in the United States, the band has tremendous appeal overseas. "There is huge interest in Japan in the Dead," McQuaid says, "and we expect to find a big market there."

Burbank says that new products keep the Dead in a growth mode. He points out that long-defunct acts like Jimi Hendrix or the Doors continue to be among the most popular in merchandising circles. "Hendrix only toured for four or five years before he died," Burbank says. "The Grateful Dead have touched millions of people, and there are 14-year-old kids who now think the Dead are a cool thing. That train has been rolling for 30 years. It's not coming to an abrupt halt."

Contact Sources

Grateful Dead Productions Inc., (800)225-3323, http://www.dead.net

Liquid Blue,greg@liquidblue.com, http://www.liquidblue.com

This article was originally published in the June 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Listen To The Band.