Collaborations and licensing deals involving musical instruments mostly fall into the realms of guitars, amps, and accessories, as well as drum kits and related products. Pianos and digital keyboards are not as common as a focus of collaboration deals. But these types of agreements do pop up from time to time, typically yielding very limited […]
Archive | Licensing
Get Ready to Be Horrified this Halloween
With the ongoing strength of both licensed experiences and the horror genre, it makes sense that collaborative haunted houses have become a popular form of location-based entertainment in the past few years. Not surprisingly, the partnerships most often involve properties associated with horror or other dark themes, including several examples just announced for fans making […]
Holding All the Cards
Interest in trading card collecting — which, like many hobbies, was rejuvenated during the pandemic lockdowns — is still going strong, with consumer sales of cards on both the primary and secondary markets on the rise. As a result, sports and entertainment properties continue to actively forge agreements in the category. Following are some of […]
Influencing Home Décor Choices
Influencers who have built their fame mostly through social channels have amassed targeted and loyal followings that are attractive to marketers of consumer goods. As a result, these digital-origin celebrities have become ubiquitous as collaborators in their specific areas of expertise, whether that be fashion, beauty, or cooking. A case in point: the home furnishings […]
Squeezing Out the Licensing Potential of Squishies
Squishy toys have spiked in popularity this year. These playthings have a number of characteristics that are appealing to Gen Alpha consumers and beyond, including their stress-relief properties, their Asian-influenced look-and-feel, and their collectibility. Circana credited squishies, in part, with propelling the 13% increase in dollar sales in the U.S. toy industry in the first […]
A Passion for Romance Novels
The strength of the romance category in the publishing industry has led to several outbound licensing programs of late (as we have covered here and here). These include examples that have crossed into mainstream distribution, such as Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series, as well as many more specialist programs targeting bookish readers mostly through e-commerce and […]
The Return of Licensed Home 3D Printers?
Sales of 3D printers have been spiking, especially entry-level consumer models, according to a report from Context. It found that Q1 2026 revenues for global 3D printers grew 32%, fueled by the entry-level segment (machines priced at $2,500 or less) with growth of 54%. In fact, entry-level machines have become the largest market segment, at […]
Bringing in the Heavy Hitters
Pairings of sports entities and character/entertainment properties — for merchandise, experiences, content, and/or promotions — have traditionally featured entertainment properties with all-ages followings or properties that skew toward the teen-and-older demographic. The former include the likes of Hello Kitty and the other Sanrio characters, the Disney/Lucasfilm/Marvel family, the Minions, and the Looney Tunes, while the […]
Safety-First Footwear
Safety shoes and boots have long been an active niche within the licensed footwear space. These are products with features such as reinforced steel or composite toeboxes, non-slip soles, waterproofing, moisture-wicking, electrical hazard protection, and/or added cushioning, designed for use on the job site and beyond. Partnerships typically involve work boot and sneaker companies pairing […]
Cultivating Gardenwear
Over the past couple of years, fashion designers and celebrities — especially those with expertise in the home space — have been creating collaborative apparel, accessory, and tool collections specifically for gardeners. While the number of examples remains relatively low, the frequency is slowly growing. A few representative projects illustrate the trend: Most recently, British […]