Music merchandise: the new key to branding for musicians

Source: WIPO Magazine

From Taylor Swift’s record-breaking tour to Rihanna’s billion-dollar Fenty empire, discover how top musicians leverage merchandising to generate income that often exceeds streaming revenue.

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.

It is critical for musicians to ensure they control the rights to their name and associated intellectual property.

“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.”

Alamy Stock Photo/Sipa USA

RUN DMC x Adidas Originals pop-up and art installation in New York, marking 40 years of the legendary Hip Hop group, August 2023.

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.

How to protect artist brands with trademarks

While the rewards of successful merchandising can be enormous, especially for established musicians with a broad fan base, several obstacles have to be overcome.

1. Control over stage name

First and foremost, it is critical for musicians to ensure they control the rights to their name and associated intellectual property, such as logos and images. In K‑pop, for example, there have been several disputes between agents and singers or bands (including G‑Dragon and iKON) over the ownership of names.

Disputes often arise when band members join or leave a group. The former members of the 1970s British band the Rubettes (famous for the song “Sugar Baby Love”) ended up in court after one of them applied to register UK and EU trademarks for “Rubettes”. The UK trademark registration was eventually invalidated in a High Court ruling, while the EUTM registration was cancelled.

2. Trademark protection for all goods and services

A second key point is to ensure that trademark registrations cover all the required goods and services in all relevant jurisdictions. The Madrid System, which currently covers 130 countries, can be an invaluable tool in this respect. Trademark filings should also cover any products that are planned in future, taking into account grace periods to show use of the mark.

3. Protection of celebrity fashion and product designs

Third, other IP rights such as registered designs and the right of publicity (where available) may be relevant. Design rights are crucial in industries such as fashion and furniture. But, given their high media profile, musicians have to be particularly attentive to novelty requirements and the risk of invalidating designs through premature disclosure.

Puma v Forever 21 lawsuit over Rihanna’s Fenty shoes

This risk became apparent in a recent case before the EU General Court (Case T-647/22), involving a registered Community design (RCD) for shoes filed by Puma. An RCD is a unitary industrial design right that covers the European Union. Since May 2025, all Community Designs have been renamed European Union Designs (EUD), following amendments to the EU Design Regulation (EUDR).

In the Puma v Forever 21 case, the Court upheld a finding that the design lacked individual character on the basis of designs disclosed by the singer Rihanna in photographs posted on her Instagram page and elsewhere in December 2014.

The Court stated that, because Rihanna was a world-famous pop star in December 2014 (more than 18 months before the RCD application was filed), both her fans and specialists in the fashion sector had developed a particular interest in the shoes that she wore on the day she signed the contract with Puma.

“That being the case, it is perfectly reasonable to take the view that a not insignificant proportion of the people who were interested in music or in Rihanna herself, including her clothing, in December 2014 viewed the photos in question closely in order to discern from those photos the appearance of the shoes that the star wore, thus recognizing the features of the prior design,” wrote the Court.

Puma’s appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU was not permitted to proceed (Case C‑355/24 P), meaning the decision is final.

Musician owned branding vs celebrity endorsement: a dilemma

Given the complexities involved in IP management and protection, a critical decision for musicians is whether to develop their own brand, ensuring full control and creative freedom, or work with a licensee, which can reduce upfront costs but means giving up some control and a share of revenues.

Whichever approach is taken, says Ms Bosher, “artists should make sure that they receive a fair share of the income from their merchandise. In some cases, we have seen that venues make more money from the merchandise sold at a gig than the artist, because of unreasonable commission fees.”

Enforcing trademark rights for unofficial merchandise

While the benefits of merchandising can be enormous, there are significant risks – including litigation. When launching any merchandising programs, it is vital to ensure that others’ IP rights are respected. This is particularly important when branching out into new product lines where established brands may already exist.

Musicians may also have to go to court to enforce their rights. In 2013, Rihanna sued retailer Top Shop in the UK over its sale of T-shirts with her photo on them. The Court of Appeal upheld a first instance finding that there was passing off, as some members of the relevant public would think that the T-shirts were endorsed by the singer.

In 2016, Run DMC launched US lawsuits against Walmart, Amazon and other retailers over what they claimed were unauthorized sales of goods bearing the band’s name. The band sought damages of US$50 million. Rapper RZA of the band Wu-Tang Clan has also reportedly sued online marketplaces over the sale of bootleg products.

Celebrity endorsements gone wrong

In some cases, overexposure or egregious behavior can cause damage, ultimately leading to merchandising deals being canceled.

An example of the dangers of overexposure is the rapper MC Hammer. “He was everywhere in the early 1990s,” says Professor Greene. During this period, MC Hammer endorsed Taco Bell, Pepsi and KFC and starred in an animated TV show, Hammerman. But then he lost credibility and was pilloried. “Oversaturation (and massive overspending) had done him in,” writes Professor Greene.

When it comes to bad behavior, meanwhile, Professor Greene describes the experience of Kanye West as “a cautionary tale”. Adidas ended its 10-year relationship with the US rapper and withdrew all Yeezy footwear in 2024 after he made antisemitic comments. Travis Scott is another rapper who lost millions of dollars in deals after 10 people died at one of his shows in 2021.

Balancing art and commerce

Rock’n’roll purists may be uncomfortable with the rise of music merchandising, while some musicians such as Prince famously refused to do commercial deals. But in an industry where careers can be short and often end abruptly, it can be powerful and lucrative.

As Professor Greene observes, in today’s celebrity-driven culture: “Superstar musicians are also social media influencers and their brands depend on trademark and copyright.”

In an ideal world, argues Ms Bosher, musicians would make sufficient income just from their music, while merchandising would be more about connecting with fans rather than diversifying income. But that is not the reality today.

“Carefully considered merchandise can create wonderful ways for fans to connect more deeply with the music that they love,” she says. “It is also a great way for fans to support the artists they care about, as long as the income from the merchandise does go into the hands of the artists, which unfortunately isn’t always the case.”