Selling our soul for rock'n'roll?

Quoted from: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/

'Or was it T-shirts, asks Adam Sherwin
Our summer colours are peach, muted greens and blues,' declares Keith Drinkwater, fashion guru to music's glitterati, who has come a long way since flogging Status Quo T-shirts out of the back of his van.
It may sound like a preview of the latest Whistles collection, but Drinkwater is outlining the apparel opportunities awaiting the Robbie Williams fan at his summer tour.
Drinkwater is the co-founder of Bravado, Britain's biggest music merchandising operation, which creates bespoke licensing opportunities (that's T-shirts to you and me ) for artists ranging from Iron Maiden to Morrissey and James Blunt.
Merchandising is a £1 billion global business and a pension plan for touring artists whose loyal live fanbase no longer translates into multimillion album sales. The Rolling Stones expect to make £30 million during their current world tour from lighters, handbags, and diamante T-shirts all emblazoned with the famous lascivious lips logo.
But the days when a band could press up a grainy image on to a black one-wash, shrinks-all piece of cotton and rake in the profits are over. These days artists take longer approving their clothing lines than final mixes of a new album. Getting an artist-branded range into a high- street chain means never having to dump those unsold shirts.
'We began planning Robbie's tour range at the 2005 spring and summer collections,' Drinkwater reveals. The Bravado team scoured Berlin's Bread and Butter fair, populated by hip young designers, for inspiration.'
The star's live audience is skewed towards professional women, aged 25 to 40, who might sweep around Topshop and Miss Selfridge once a week, and so the range is targeted at this group. Bravado established that the 'dark, washed-out' look would dominate this summer and the Robbie Williams Milton Keynes Collection of fitted muted blue shirts and zip-up tops is the result.
Like most leading artists, Williams personally approves every line brandishing his name. With fans willing to pay £25 for a top, the quality has to match the high street.
It is an industry in which record companies are seeking to secure a stake. Artists can take a 50 per cent slice of merchandise income, far higher than their royalties. But EMI's £60 million Robbie deal gave the label a cut of his merchandising, too.
Yet how many Iron Maiden T-shirts does the average metal-head need? Bravado, which enjoys a £70 million turnover, ensures that concert- goers take home items of memorabilia which are exclusive to that event. 'Heavy metal fans are the most loyal customers,' Drinkwater says. 'Iron Maiden fans want a T-shirt that says 'I was there' even if they've seen the band lots of times.' Bruce Dickinson's rockers have turned over
£25 million of merchandise during their career. On a good night, their creaking concession stands can take as much as £100,000.
It's no surprise that legitimate sellers are keen to ward off the army of bootleggers who appear outside arenas. 'The industry has become professionalised,' said Drinkwater, whose company was founded 25 years ago and is now owned by the Sanctuary music group.
'We advise bands to trademark their likeness and logos right from the beginning.'
But merchandising is no longer restricted to clothing. Fans are creating 'rocker rooms' packed with wallpaper and action figures immortalising Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses. It is a trend Drinkwater is happy to support, but first he has to check that Morrissey is satisfied with his collection of own-brand rosary beads.
Rolling Stones World Tour reaches London on Aug 20 and takes in Glasgow, Sheffield and Cardiff (www.rollingstones.com/tour). Robbie Williams World Tour reaches Glasgow on Sep 1 and takes in Leeds and Milton Keynes (http://www.robbiewilliamstickets.co.uk)