Some Concert Posters from the 60's and 70's now go for many thousands of dollars. Because of that, the resale market for concert posters is growing nationwide and becoming a major niche in the music memorabilia market.
Here are a few things to consider when looking for concert posters :
1 - Is the poster an authentic advertisement or just something screenprinted for the purpose of gray market memorabilia?
-This is important because the growth of the concert poster market has led to the number of actual advertising posters being swamped by the
number of these screenprinted posters coming to market now. Most bands have merchandising licensing agreements which restrict the
issuance of memorabilia to the license holders. Most screenprinted posters are done in violation of these merchandise agreements. Therefore,
if you buy a screenprinted poster you may be restricted from selling it in the future due to the rights violation.
-This potential problem does not happen when buy a poster that was actually used to advertise the concert. The US Supreme court has
developed the "First Use" doctrine. This states that a trademark/copyright holder's rights to an item end after it's first use. The example case is
used books, publishers cannot prevent the resale of used books, because they already benefited from the books' "First Use" (ie, sale). The
same goes with posters they authorized printing of through a promoter for the purpose of advertising the concert. If a poster was actually used
to advertise the concert, it's resale is protected under the first use doctrine. The problem with these screenprinted posters is that almost
NONE of them are used to actually advertise the concert. Their entire runs are sold into the poster market for solely memorabilia purposes.
The screenprinted posters do not qualify for the "First USE" resale protections. While actual advertising posters do.
2 - Was the concert special ?
- was there something unique or special about that concert? Examples, was it the first or last show of the tour? Did something special happen at
that concert? Posters from special shows fetch a premium in the resale market.
3 - What is the relative scarcity of the poster?
- Example, If 300 posters were printed to advertise a show and the vast majority were hung around town on telephone poles and in shop
windows, then after the show, most of them were probably trashed, so few reamain. If you have one of the few surviving posters, you have
something that can really appreciate in value due to it's scarcity.
The Scarcer, the better
There are a few sellers on ebay who specialize in these legitimate authentic advertising concert posters.
Here are 3 of those sellers
Concert Posters X
Concert Posters Y
Concert Posters Z
Happy Hunting!
Here are a few things to consider when looking for concert posters :
1 - Is the poster an authentic advertisement or just something screenprinted for the purpose of gray market memorabilia?
-This is important because the growth of the concert poster market has led to the number of actual advertising posters being swamped by the
number of these screenprinted posters coming to market now. Most bands have merchandising licensing agreements which restrict the
issuance of memorabilia to the license holders. Most screenprinted posters are done in violation of these merchandise agreements. Therefore,
if you buy a screenprinted poster you may be restricted from selling it in the future due to the rights violation.
-This potential problem does not happen when buy a poster that was actually used to advertise the concert. The US Supreme court has
developed the "First Use" doctrine. This states that a trademark/copyright holder's rights to an item end after it's first use. The example case is
used books, publishers cannot prevent the resale of used books, because they already benefited from the books' "First Use" (ie, sale). The
same goes with posters they authorized printing of through a promoter for the purpose of advertising the concert. If a poster was actually used
to advertise the concert, it's resale is protected under the first use doctrine. The problem with these screenprinted posters is that almost
NONE of them are used to actually advertise the concert. Their entire runs are sold into the poster market for solely memorabilia purposes.
The screenprinted posters do not qualify for the "First USE" resale protections. While actual advertising posters do.
2 - Was the concert special ?
- was there something unique or special about that concert? Examples, was it the first or last show of the tour? Did something special happen at
that concert? Posters from special shows fetch a premium in the resale market.
3 - What is the relative scarcity of the poster?
- Example, If 300 posters were printed to advertise a show and the vast majority were hung around town on telephone poles and in shop
windows, then after the show, most of them were probably trashed, so few reamain. If you have one of the few surviving posters, you have
something that can really appreciate in value due to it's scarcity.
The Scarcer, the better
There are a few sellers on ebay who specialize in these legitimate authentic advertising concert posters.
Here are 3 of those sellers
Concert Posters X
Concert Posters Y
Concert Posters Z
Happy Hunting!
Guide created: 10/18/08 (updated 10/18/08)
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