Guitar Slingers

For decades, musical instruments have been a leading area of interest for licensing-savvy musicians, attracting well-known instrumentalists and music industry types such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Randy Jackson, to name just a tiny fraction. They have signed licensees for signature guitars, or whatever their instrument may be, as well as accessories such as strings, picks, or drumsticks. Many music clubs (e.g., the House of Blues and the Cavern Club) also have entered this arena.

Over the last few years, marketers of musical instruments are more frequently looking to associate their brands with licensed properties from beyond the core music sector. They have been especially drawn to characters from TV and film, but also to corporate brands, sports teams, and other property types. While this strategy serves in part to bring in new young fans—as well as collectors—and while some of the licensed examples are sized for children, these are real instruments and not toys.

Some recent examples of licensing deals and extensions in this category:

• In December, Fender announced it would produce a special-edition StratoCaster electric guitar featuring the London Tube map, licensed by Transport for London. In 2014, Fender expanded its relationship with Major League Baseball, gaining the right to produce StratoCasters based on the leagues’ teams, after having created a limited MLB All-Star Game edition in 2013.
• Access All Areas debuted a collection of Scooby Doo instruments in late 2015, ranging from ukuleles to tambourines and maracas, as well as accessories such as guitar picks and straps, under license from Warner Bros. Consumer Products. It also works with WBCP on Big Bang Theory, DC Comics, and Tom & Jerry. Meanwhile, Access All Areas signed a deal for Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time last fall, encompassing a similar line of products.
• John Hornby Skewes (JHS) expanded its license with D.C. Thomson, adding a full-sized electric guitar to its range of musical instruments tied to The Beano magazine, in 2015. It also freshened its SpongeBob SquarePants line of guitar and ukulele outfits and accessories and junior drum kits that year, which it produces under a longtime license from Nickelodeon, and added Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to its Nick mix in 2014.
• Hal Leonard, best known for its sheet music, signed a deal with Woodrow Guitar to be the official distributor in North America of the latter’s licensed guitars, ukuleles, and accessories tied to the teams of the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, starting in fall 2015.
• Peavey signed a number of licenses in 2013 and 2014 and has a current roster of properties that includes Marvel, Star Wars, The Simpsons, The Walking Dead, and DC Comics, as well as Jack Daniel’s.

It should be noted that musical instrument licensing deals are as likely to be U.K.-centric as they are to target North America; JHS and Access All Areas are both based in the U.K., while some of Fender’s agreements have been focused primarily on the U.K. or EMEA markets. Both the U.K. and U.S., of course, boast a significant number of noted global rockers and other famed musicians that have roots in their respective territories.