deviantART.com and BandMerch Forge Partnership to Bring Cutting Edge Art Into Music Merchandising

deviantART.com and BandMerch Forge Partnership to Bring Cutting Edge Art Into Music Merchandising

The World's Largest Art Community and the World's First Artist-Driven Merchandising Company Have Joined Forces

LOS ANGELES, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- deviantART.com, the online hub for the most creative minds in the art world, will offer exclusive designs and artwork for inclusion in future projects by BandMerch, the first artist-driven merchandising company, under a new partnership. The companies, both founded in 2000, have reached incredible levels of success as trailblazers in their respective fields and are linked both by their desire to think outside the box as well as their passion for uniqueness.

"This is just another way we are helping our artists, or "deviants," get greater levels of exposure for their art on a mainstream level," said deviantART CEO Angelo Sotira. "Art is art -- whether it is on a canvas, a computer or a t-shirt. And the opportunity for our artists to have their work used by a prestigious band is incredible."

BandMerch is putting out an open call for the nearly 1.5 million members of deviantART.com to submit their work for consideration by dozens of bands, including some of the biggest in the business. BandMerch clients will have exclusive access to this pool of art, which will also be available for the public to view on the deviantART website, which already hosts more than 12 million pieces of art in categories ranging from anime to photography.

BandMerch has grown into a multi-million dollar company over just five years thanks to an innovative approach that creates specialty merchandise individually designed, packaged and marketed for their clients to give fans a unique product they can't get anywhere else, and now it will include artwork by some of the world's most talented yet, undiscovered artists.

"By opening the opportunity to this sphere of creative people we expect to see some inventive, original merch that would have never been created in the confines of the way things normally get done," said BandMerch President Donn Delson.

This new venture is part of a larger effort by deviantART to help their artists reach a mass audience and financially profit from their work. The site allows artists to sell their work online, but is constantly seeking out new opportunities to help their artists succeed in mainstream media.

About deviantART.com:

deviantART.com is home to the largest online art community in the world. The site is determined to bring modern art to the mainstream in a way that makes sense in today's high tech society and to help aspiring artists expose their art to a massive global audience.

About BandMerch:

BandMerch is an artist-driven merchandising company, devoted to achieving brands and products as unique as the artists for which they are developed. Based in Agoura, California, BandMerch, Inc. is an independently owned merchandise company focused on creating unique product lines for the entertainment industry. Additionally, BandMerch create distinctive promotional opportunities for fans creating an extraordinary and intimate relationship between artist and fan.

Source: deviantART.com; BandMerch, Inc.

CONTACT: Rachel Reynolds, gorgeous pr, +1-323-658-9146, fax, +1-323-658-6189, rachel@gorgeouspr.com, for deviantART.com

Web site: http://www.deviantart.com/

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