Study: What Metal Band’s Merch Do Fans Spend the Most Money on Each Year?

Metal fans love band merch, but which band's merch do they spend the most money on each year? That's one of the revelations in a recent study by Custom Ink delving into the merch-buying preferences of music fans.

For the survey, Custom Ink polled 1,000 American music listeners, with 49 percent men, 50 percent women and one percent non-binary filling out the research pool. Of these participants, nine percent were baby boomers, 27 percent were Gen X, 50 percent were millennials and 13 percent were Gen Z.

Which Metal Bands' Merch Do Fans Spend the Most Money on Each Year?

The answer to that question is Iron Maiden, which should probably be no surprise given the popularity of the band's mascot Eddie who features in much of their album art and artistic representations.

According to the survey, fans spent an average of $422 per year in supporting Iron Maiden through purchasing band merch. That total narrowly edged out Slipknot with an average total for $413. Fans also repped Misfits ($408), Pantera ($408) and alt rockers Arctic Monkeys ($395) as acts in the Top 10 of average yearly merch sales.

Topping the list was K-pop outfit BTS, whose fans shell out around $826 yearly.

Which Genre's Fans Typically Buy Band Merch?

Metal fans top the list with an average of 40 percent of the survey participants saying they buy metal merch. That was followed by electronic music fans at 31 percent, lo-fan fans at 30 percent and indie rock fans at 29 percent.

It should also be noted that metal fans spend an average of $305 a year, which ranks third on the survey. Only K-Pop ($418) and R&B ($323) fans spend more.

What Do Metal Fans Want in Their Merch Look?

According to the survey, metal fans mostly prefer black-colored merchandise (not really a surprise there), with wildly-styled fonts and an artistic logo.

This doesn't really fall far from expectation as the "indecipherable band logo" has become a popular trademark of the more extreme metal bands.

How Do Metal Fans Feel About Third-Party Merch?

In comparison with other genres, it appears as though metalheads are a little more discerning when it comes to purchasing third-party merch. In fact, they rank the lowest among all genres in the survey when it comes to believing that official merchandise is too expensive. Only 60 percent of respondents felt that way, whereas 80 percent K-pop fans felt that official merch cost way too much.

In addition, only 41 percent of metalheads responded that they had purchased third-party merch, which also ranks near the bottom of genres. Those who had purchased third-party merchandise stated that Slipknot was the band they were most seeking in the third-party merch market.

READ MORE: Metalheads Debate Whether Its Wrong or Right to Buy Unofficial Merch

Check out more of the findings on the merch buying habits of music fans through the Custom Ink Study survey.

Just this added reminder that the Loudwire Merch Store is currently open with a wide array of items and designs.