Brand Power: What Metal Bands Have Built the Strongest Brands?
Although metal bands have traditionally been viewed as existing just outside the commercial mainstream of the music industry, a creeping commercialization has been taking place in the metal world for quite some time. Between brand deals, endorsements and product launches, even metal bands have been unable to avoid the commercial realities associated with running their acts.
While the knee-jerk reaction to this kind of commercialization among metal purists is often one of dismissal, we shouldn’t necessarily be so quick to dismiss this trend. In fact, there is a strong argument to be made that by embracing the commercial realities of the music industry, certain bands have been able to spread the global reach of metal — and the subculture associated with it — to even greater heights.
With that said, who are some of the most commercially successful metal bands? And how have they built such strong brands?
Metallica
When it comes to commercial success, there are perhaps few bands that have reached the heights of Metallica. Since being founded at the beginning of the 1980s, these L.A.-born metalheads have gone on to become not just one of the most commercially successful metal bands of all time, but one of the most successful in any genre.
In fact, Metallica have had such a successful run in their four decades of touring that they have grossed an estimated $1.4bn in revenue. This is a truly staggering figure for a band that plays music far removed from what you might ordinarily consider “commercial.”
In addition to knowing how to produce album after album of genre-defining music, Metallica have also proven themselves to be incredibly commercially savvy. Alongside a relentless touring schedule and shifting over 125m albums worldwide, Metallica have strengthened their brand through a wide-ranging commercial strategy.
That approach has included conventional commercial enterprises such as merchandising and music licensing deals, although according to drummer Lars Ulrich, Metallica turn away the vast majority of businesses that approach them for commercial deals.
This commercial strategy has also involved closely guarding the Metallica brand itself, with the band constantly fighting trademark and copyright battles to protect their intellectual property.
Guns N’ Roses
As perhaps the most iconic band to come out of L.A. in the mid to late 1980s, Guns N’ Roses are one of the most popular heavy bands of all time. In fact, there are arguably few metal bands that have managed to achieve quite the same level of crossover appeal as Guns N’ Roses in their multi-decade career.
This is all the more astonishing given that the band has had quite a tumultuous history, having gone on various forms of hiatus and break-ups over the years.
Despite all of these ups and down, the Guns N’ Roses brand name has remained strong, helped in no small part by the iconic status that their merchandise has achieved over the years. You’d struggle to find a vintage store that doesn’t stock some kind of generic Guns N’ Roses t-shirt these days!
However, it isn’t only licensing and merchandising deals that have helped the GNR brand power remain strong over the years. GNR have also strengthened their commercial power through various other brand deals.
Perhaps the most unique of these is the branding deals GNR have struck with online casino game developers. Guns N’ Roses are now the face of an incredibly popular online slot game developed by one of the most prominent games developers in the online casino space.
Evidently, the branding efforts of GNR have paid off in places like Finland, which has a long and storied history with metal and rock. Perhaps this also explains the popularity of online casinos and slots in Finland, which is, by all accounts, an enthusiastic gambling market. The multinational nature of the industry has inevitably created Finnish language options, which in turn give rise to games that Finns are inclined to enjoy.
Iron Maiden
It would be negligent to compile a list of the most commercially successful metal bands and not include Iron Maiden.
As one of the pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Iron Maiden have since gone on to sell well over 100m records world-wide. This despite the fact that, unlike other metal icons such as Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden have received relatively little support on mainstream TV or radio stations.
A lack of mainstream airtime has not hurt their commercial success, however. Despite existing firmly on the long-haired fringe of the music industry, Iron Maiden have generated hundreds of millions in revenue over the years.
In fact, Iron Maiden have proven so successful that they even have a customized 747 plane to fly them around the world!
In addition to licensing agreements and merchandise sales, Iron Maiden have strengthened their brand power through savvy commercial moves such as their own beer, a particular savvy move given that there are few things that go together better than heavy metal and beer!
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