K-Pop has been growing in popularity in the U.S. for the past few years. In 2019, BTS—the bestselling K-Pop act globally and the biggest K-Pop brand in the U.S. and most other markets—tied the Beatles as the only other group to have three albums hit number one on the Billboard charts in a single calendar […]
Archive | Music
Musicians Chime In with PPE
Like property owners from across the spectrum of licensing, many musicians have lent their names or other IP to COVID-related merchandise. In some cases, their products have involved creative twists on their music or look. Key categories include: Hand sanitizer. Wu Tang Clan introduced “Protect Ya Hands” hand sanitizer—a riff on their song “Protect Ya […]
Music and Merch
There has always been a strong connection between music and merchandise, but the relationship between the two is intensifying and broadening of late. Musicians continue to look for ways to strengthen their revenue streams from licensed products to help compensate for the album sales that used to be their bread and butter but have plummeted. […]
Album Appreciation
It has become the norm over the past decade for musicians to put forth merchandise collections tied to specific albums, tours, and songs, not just for concert tour merchandising at the venue but for sale through retail channels as well. These ventures have proliferated over the years and can take a number of forms, many […]
Hard Liquor’s A Gonna Fall
The announcement last week that Bob Dylan was getting into the spirits game with a collection of premium whiskeys is just the latest in a raft of deals pairing musicians with wine, beer, and liquor marketers. More than a half dozen agreements announced this year so far illustrate the wide variety of music genres, business […]
Remixing Fashion for Ravers
DJs from the world of electronic dance music (EDM) have become increasingly active in fashion collaborations over the past five or six years, with both the number of musicians involved and the number of deals being done continuing to rise. Compared to other genres of music, such as country, classic rock, or rap, EDM stars’ […]
Singers Take a Chance On Slots
Licensors of all sorts continue to try their luck in the slots category, with musicians being a particularly vibrant property type in this arena. Musical acts typically enter the category in one (or more) of the following ways: Branded games for casinos. Madonna and her agent Epic Rights licensed Aristocrat for a line of casino […]
Soaking Up Festival Culture
Music festivals—from Bonnaroo, Coachella, and the Electric Daisy Carnival to Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and Firefly—have not only proliferated throughout the years but have become highly visible among consumers at large, especially in the summer. They attract attention on celebrities’, attendees’, and marketers’ social platforms, in mainstream news and fashion publications, and through mass advertising and promotional […]
Living On Through Licensing
Two decades ago, celebrity licensing skewed strongly toward merchandise tied to the estates of deceased musicians, actors, and athletes, rather than living personalities. The thinking was that estates were less risky; not only had the celebrity’s fame often stood the test of time, but there was no danger of bad behavior causing problems for licensees. […]
Musicians Are Pet Lovers, Too
Musicians have comprised one of the most active groups of licensors in recent months when it comes to licensing into pet products. Among those launching or announcing pet collections within the past year: Miranda Lambert teamed with Petmate for a brand called MuttNation Fueled by Miranda Lambert, which includes everything from bedding and apparel to […]