She wasn’t wrong. After the T-shirts came tote bags, pins and hoodies. Then customers started asking for coffee cups. Water bottles. Aprons. Baby clothes. “If people ask for it, we give it to them.

The most popular band to sport on a T-shirt was AC/DC — 21.4 percent of the participants said they own at least one of their shirts. Aerosmith, Queen, Pink Floyd and Green Day were the other ...

And just as a Metallica T-shirt identifies its owner as a proud lover of loud music, a restaurant tee instantly reveals the wearer to be an experienced diner who may be open to a new food experience.

The sale of branded merchandise—from sweatshirts and T-shirts to fanny packs and beanies—has become an increasingly popular and lucrative business for many artists, particularly rappers.