Band Stickers Design Inspiration | Music Marketing | PrintFirm.com

Musicians, get stickers printed for your band. Seriously. Music and stickers go together like punk rock and power chords. Stickers are a lot cheaper than printing flyers, although you should probably do that, too. But flyers usually promote a specific show or festival, not your brand in general. Stickers are something your fans will instantly devour, and spread like wildfire. Before you know it, you’ll be seeing your band’s artwork on instruments, guitar cases, gear bags, amps, cars, and sign posts. If you’ve already got your logo, then you may be good to go. Keep in mind that you can also use stickers to get your fans excited about an upcoming album, follow you on SoundCloud, or visit your website.

Iconic Rock Band Sticker Designs

You don’t have to be a marketing genius or a design expert to come up with a band sticker that will resonate with your audience. As mentioned above, a music sticker marketing campaign may have a broad purpose or a singular scope. I tracked down some examples by well-known artists to show how to design stickers for specific purposes:


 

Nirvana Band Circle Sticker
Logo Sticker Design by Nirvana

Nirvana’s logo needs no introduction. There are tons of variations of this image, and many include the band name along with the famous drunken smiley face. It’s up to you whether or not you include your band name for recognition. Ambiguity might work well with your brand image if you’re in the indie circuit.


 

Tool Circle Sticker
Album Art Sticker Design by Tool

Tool made a name for themselves with intricate album covers as much as moody melodies. This sticker features an illustration from the album “10,000 Days.” Printing stickers for an album is a great way to build hype or commemorate a fan favorite release.


 

Social Distortion Band Sticker Printing
Single Song Sticker Design by Social Distortion

Speaking of diehard fans, Social Distortion’s Mommy’s Little Monster made a lot of waves for a debut album. The title track became a kind of alternative anthem; what better way to capitalize on a single song’s popularity than by memorializing the track through a special sticker.


 

Rolling Stone Sticker Design with Tagline
Branding Sticker with Tagline by The Rolling Stones

Whether you’re a classic rock fan or not, you’ve probably seen the Rolling Stones logo a thousand times over. The sticker above includes the tagline “established in 1962,” which sounds similar to a company slogan. This example illustrates an effective use to text to enhance the sticker’s branding impact.


 

Ramones Sticker Design with Bandmembers
Band Members The Ramones

The Ramones were pop punk energy personified. This sticker cleverly incorporates the band member’s names into their logo. In this case, the sticker helps fans associate the music with its makers. You can borrow this techqnie to spotlight one or all of your band mates.


Fresh Hip Hop Artist Stickers

 

WuTang-Hip-Hop-white-n
Message Marketing Sticker by Wu Tang Clan

We’re not sure whether or not this is an official Wu-Tang release; either way, the design demonstrates creative branding. The Wu-Tang logo in place of a heart will confuse those who aren’t already down with the killer bees, which makes the graphic ideal for the group’s diehard following.


 

Biggie Smalls Sticker Design
Lyrics Sticker by Biggie Smalls (Notorious B.I.G.)

The Notorious One earned his street cred by hustling and spitting incredible freestyles. Anyone with strong lyrical content should put the best one liners on a sticker. Again, this strategy appeals to people who already learned your songs by heart, but it could easily spark curiosity in outsiders.


 

BET_hip_hop_awards_sticker
Hip Hop Awards Event Marketing Sticker by BET

Ok, so this isn’t that different from a flyer accept for the fact that it will last a lot longer. BET obviously isn’t a rap artist; nevertheless, this sticker applied to an important event. For smaller acts, this is a smart way to reach a larger audience. If you’re going to play a remote side stage at the Paid Dues festival or Rock the Bells, find a way to attach your name to this PR goldmine. Just make sure you get permission from the copyright holder before you print.


Design Community Soundoff

Musicians: are you using promotional stickers to build a buzz around your band? Graphic Designers: have you worked on music related stickers? Do you have any tips to share with the musicians among us? Tell us in the comments below!

Published by Katherine Tattersfield

Katherine is a professional copywriter and social media manager at PrintFirm.com. She fell into online marketing in 2010, and built her career around this dynamic field. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from California State University, Northridge (Summa). When she's not writing, Katherine enjoys photography, skateboarding, graphic design, and chasing her dog around with her husband. Connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Plus.