There’s nothing like seeing your favorite musicians perform live – and it seems like more and more of us want to do so. Taylor Swift’s recent Eras Tour was the highest-grossing tour of all time, with total attendance of more than 10 million people and box office revenues of more than US$2 billion. Meanwhile, 15 years after they split up, British rock band Oasis recently announced a series of concerts to take place in July and August 2025. The dates immediately sold out.
The popularity of live events shows the value that fans place on connecting with musicians and bands. For many fans, buying memorabilia and merchandise is a way to continue that relationship and identify with their heroes.
Merchandise is increasingly important for many of today’s stars, given the limited returns available from royalties from record sales and streaming. According to a recent report by MIDiA, the global merchandising market will grow to US$16.3 billion by 2030.
“Musicians can maximize the benefits of their IP with merchandising. It can diversify their income and expand their brand as well as creating more ways to connect with their fans,” says Hayleigh Bosher, Reader in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel University of London in the UK.
However, to be successful, a merchandising strategy requires careful management of IP rights such as trademarks and designs, and negotiation of licenses and agreements with third parties.
Hip-hop merchandise: a branding revolution
Anyone who has been to a gig or record shop since the 1960s will be familiar with the range of goods that fans of performers and bands can buy, from T-shirts and posters to key rings and toys.
But in some musical genres, merchandising has always had a bigger role to play. Professor Kevin Greene of Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, California, argues that merchandising was particularly important for hip-hop artists from the 1980s onwards.
Professor Greene, who recently published an article titled “Goodbye Copyright? The Rise of Trademark and Rights of Publicity in the Hip-Hop Music Industry” tells WIPO Magazine: “The music industry was rotten for many marginalized communities. But hip-hop brought with it the inner city ethos of hustling.”
Greene argues that IP has historically adversely impacted African American music creators to the benefit of multinational corporations: techniques such as sampling were disapproved of and copyright did not adequately recognize works created by African Americans. But in 1986, he says, the hip-hop band Run DMC “smashed the door open” when they became the first band to partner with a major athletic brand, launching the song “My Adidas”.
Run DMC have been followed by artists such as Drake and Travis Scott (both with Nike), Jay-Z (Puma) and Cardi B (Reebok). Today, says Greene, “it’s de rigueur to have a branding contract right out of the gate.”
Celebrity clothing brands and fashion collaborations
Some musicians even have their own fashion labels or work with luxury brands as designers. Rihanna launched the Fenty Beauty brand in 2017 and led the Fenty fashion brand (owned by LVMH) from 2019 to 2021. Since 2014, she has also had a collaboration with Puma under the Fenty X Puma brand. The singer is estimated to be worth US$1.4 billion, largely due to Fenty Beauty and her other business ventures.
A key decision for musicians is whether to develop their own brand, ensuring full control and creative freedom, or working with a licensee.
US musician Pharrell Williams is now working with Louis Vuitton as Men’s Creative Director. In January 2025, Williams and Japanese DJ and designer Nigo unveiled a men’s streetwear collection at Paris Fashion Week that won rave reviews.
And the money is not just in fashion. For example, rapper Megan Thee Stallion has deals with Nike, Revlon, Cash App and Popeyes. Dr Dre sold his headphone company Beats by Dre to Apple for US$3 billion in 2014.