WE ARE MERCH MARKET
"Music can pave the path to light even in the darkest of places"
So reads the plaque on the piano of Terry Hall, which was in the Merch Market Love Foyer of London Troxy on 11th January.
This was courtesy of the (sadly ever necessary) charity, Tonic Music (Terry Hall was a co-founder), which Deano of @theriflesband played thru the day.
We are sometimes in a very dark place, rage against it with the light of music. Merch Market flicked a soul switch ON, via EVERYBODY there in person or spirit at the multi venue festivities. We loved being part of it.
#TheZineUK documentary repped - in awe - with a tapestry of golden threads like Feral Five, The Outers, New Commercial Product, MOSES, playing class friends and new faves woven into our uniqulture.
Much appreciation to Tim Burgess and the team for being part of such an amazing fun day Sunday. The pouring outwards of positivity is what the world needs now. love, sweet love... keep it pulsing, all resistance to the alternative, counts
In a way, #musictourism 2026 began in the London of the rising sun at The Troxy
It’s a large, lush, independent art deco venue. Music lovers travelling from all over to be there - and in neighbouring spaces, The Clem, The George Tavern + The Old Ship from morning until late at night after show DJ parties.
Artissts sold their merch and kept 100% - a boost in what can be a cruel world for creators, right now.
Refreshing, 4REAL.
Tim Burgess was selling rare finds: "Raising funds for Help Us Help Bands, our set up that made The Merch Market happen, that hires splitters for bands, puts them in studios, helps them get to festivals and so much more…'
Collectors and curators alike connected. Conversations replaced emails. Smiles replaced "likes" New futures were born alongside collaborative ideas. Trust.
Here, back on line, we have been boosted.
Being a situationist doc, this was ace. Events Dept (Rocklands ArtBeat) stall neighbours were Strummerville on one side (previously did a City Showcase Rocklands with them years ago at The Apple Store, and on the other side, Bands FC, who kindly let us use this artwork of uniqulture for TheZineUK doc front page in 2018.
Awesome and then some.
Mick Jones of The Clash brought his Rock & Roll Public Library project to The Merch Market and spent the day being rightfully adored.
Proper gentle folk were everywhere, inheriting the mirth. Feels like (r)Evolution
Other known faces (Jarvis of Pulp, Dave of Blur, Doves, bis, Dodgy, Starsailor...) with ones to watch upcomers and their releases sprinkled liberally into the equalised mix. See the posters, so many more names repped!
Another of our cast, cats and crew - Nadia Sheikh - was played on a BBC 6 MUSIC Merch Market special by Steve Lamacq on Monday. There was another mention for the event on the same station the following day.
To the variety of stalls, add visual artists of wowness, authors, labels, DJs, journalists/authors. Live interviews by Andrew Trendall, James Brown, Dave Haslam… We got a peak peek of young upcomers, The Cords, who are about to tour (including with The Charlatans) and Kat Five of Feral Five even got some of Phil Futureproof’s home made chilli jam!
This is but a fraction of the action.
5,000 attendees made this hive buzz
"Let’s make it a thing!
It’s up to all of us and I think the world needs The Merch Market",
Tim Burgess tweeted the next day, and he is correct.
We’re feeling emotionally uplifted, in the 50th anniversary of punk, by DIY power.
On the side of artists.
A few days after the Merch Market, Bandcamp announced that they will not be platforming AI “music”, becoming the first major music platform to ban AI content. The company also prohibits the use of uploaded content for training AI models.
The indoor festive vibes at The Troxy felt, for us, like this year’s Musos Awards had started a month early. Actually, imagine Merch Market in #TheCamdenCup venues! Abes (head of Soccer Six) was there so ya never know. It’s the 30th anniversary of their #britpop edition and some of the bands were here. This is a situationist documentary and whimsy weaves.
Hey, Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff, Sheffield, Brum, Southampton... anywhere, get ON this, Manchester (2025), then London (2026), Merch Markets just knitted the musical community even tighter, just when the world needs as much coming TOGETHER as we can get.
https://www.rocknrollpl.com/ Rock n Roll Public Library is an extensive, material archive of 20th century pop culture, collected over a lifetime by British musician and songwriter Mick Jones
More snapshots by Events Dept., #RocklandsArtBeat, at https://www.instagram.com/thezine.uk/