Merchbar Revolutionizes Music Merch Online

Apple features Merchbar as "Best New App", Merchbar Launches Merchbar.com, Announces New Partners, Artists and Over $1M in Funding

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Merchbar

Dec 12, 2014, 08:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Merchbar, the easiest way for fans to discover and buy merchandise from their favorite artists, became the first music app to support Apple Pay today and also launched the new Merchbar.com packed with multi-device support, enhanced browsing and purchasing of merchandise from over 10,000 top artists.

Already the fastest and simplest way to purchase band merch, the new Merchbar iPhone app takes streamlined to an entirely new level utilizing Apple's Apple Pay payment technology to allow purchasing in just seconds. Apple recognized Merchbar by featuring the app five separate times; as part of the "Best New Apps" on the App Store homepage, as a featured "Buy with Apple Pay" app, as one of the "Best Free Apps" and as a featured app within both the Music and Lifestyle categories. In addition to Apple Pay, the new Merchbar app includes an enhanced personalized recommendation system that uses fans' iTunes music libraries and Facebook data to create a personalized feed of merchandise, support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models and enhanced design throughout.

"The new Merchbar iPhone app focuses on the two things we do best: Helping fans discover merchandise they'll love and providing fans with the easiest and fastest purchase experience anywhere. Now instead of waiting in line at the show, fans can purchase their new favorite shirt or poster in seconds and have it shipped directly to their home," said Edward Aten, Founder & CEO of Merchbar.

The new Merchbar.com website has also been engineered for performance, giving fans an ultra-fast way to browse and purchase merch from over 10,000 artists including The Beatles, OneRepublic, Queens of the Stone Age, and 5 Seconds of Summer. Security and simplicity were primary motivations as well with Merchbar.com featuring the same mobile-enhanced simple and secure checkout available on the Merchbar iPhone app.

"Between Merchbar.com and the new Merchbar iPhone app, the world's largest selection of music merchandise is now available to fans on any device. From your desktop at work, to your seat at the show you, fans can nearly instantly buy a Katy Perry Shirt, 5 Seconds of Summer Calendar, The Rolling Stones tour jacket or a Beatles collectible," Aten said.

Merchbar also announced several new partnerships to bring even more of the world's most beloved artists to fans on Merchbar. Building on what was already the world's largest selection of music merchandise, Merchbar announced the imminent arrival of hundreds of items from Dave Matthews Band, Foo Fighters, Ryan Adams, Iggy Azalea, Slayer, Austin Mahone, Motorhead and many more.

"Our existing partners Bravado, Live Nation, Firebrand, MusicToday, Araca, Church of Merch, Ghostly International and Alliance will be joined by our new partners- Global Merchandise Services, Sony Music and Warner Music Group- three great merchandise companies creating fantastic merchandise for legendary artists. We are excited to help their artists increase the availability and awareness of their merchandise to fans online," said John Hecker, Co-Founder and President of Merchbar.

Adding to the excitement Merchbar also announced over $1,000,000 in seed funding from several prominent Silicon Valley angel investors including 500 Startups, Maiden Lane, Structure Capital, Universal Music Group, Wordpress founder Matt Mullenweg, IP Attorney Jeff Schox, Living Social co-Founder Aaron Batalion, KISSmetrics co-founder Hiten Shah and Thumbtack.com co-founder Jonathan Swanson.

More Information
Merchbar iPhone Application
Merchbar Website
Merchbar Press Kit

Merchbar is a trademark of Merchbar, Inc. Other company, artist and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Merchbar