Put artists in control of their merch

Joris has spent his career close to the stage, in music and live entertainment – long enough to see what most people in the industry still treat as two separate worlds: the show, and everything an artist does online. He’s always seen it as one relationship, not two – the fan singing along in the crowd and the fan liking a post from their couch are the same person, just showing up in different places. That’s the idea this company is built on: giving artists the tools to reach and stay close to their fans wherever they are.

Pieter has spent years running the real thing. As co-owner of Alcatraz, one of Belgium’s best-known hard rock and metal festivals, he’s watched thousands of fans move through a merch tent in a matter of hours and he’s seen the other side of it too: the pallets, the pre-orders, the leftover boxes of sizes nobody bought. Merch can be a logistical maze, and it’s rarely what artists or creators signed up for. They want to create and perform.

That’s the experience he brings to growth at Fanbace: take the logistics off the artist’s plate, so their brand and their performance can do what they’re meant to do, turn fans into revenue. A store, checkout included, should feel less like a transaction and more like part of the show.

Guillaume knows the music business from the inside. As a musician, he’s lived every stage of it himself: from recording to touring, from the stage to the merch table. He pairs that with years spent on the other side of the table. Working with booking agencies (Greenhouse Talent, Peter Verstraelen Agency,…) has meant working for names like The Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, while his time with several festivals (Alcatraz, Spoorpark Live, Gent Jazz,…) included a stint as head of merchandising for the latter. That combination sharpens the view: he’s seen the exact same problems repeat at every level, from major international acts to young unsigned artists.