Unlocking a $4B Opportunity: Why Music’s “Unofficial” Merch Trend Should Inspire IP Licensing on Roblox
The global merchandise market is set to grow to more than $16 billion by 2030, according to MIDiA Research’s new report Music merchandise demand: Who, what, and where. Beneath that headline number is a data point too large to ignore. MIDiA finds that about 25 percent of music merchandise sales are unlicensed, representing roughly four billion dollars in value created outside official channels.
This is not a rounding error. It is a clear signal that fan-driven creativity is not just alive but thriving, even without the blessing of rights holders. For decades the standard reaction to this activity has been to clamp down, to police, to remove. Yet the growth of unlicensed merchandise shows something more important. Fans are not waiting for permission. They are building anyway.
That raises a powerful question. If billions of dollars are already flowing through unofficial creativity, what could happen if IP owners opened the gates instead of closing them? What if, instead of defaulting to takedowns, they designed licensing systems that worked with fans and creators, inviting them in rather than pushing them out?
This is where Roblox offers a glimpse of the future. Roblox is not just a platform, it is a living ecosystem of user generated worlds. Its developers are builders, designers, and entrepreneurs rolled into one. They are the same creative energy that drives unofficial merch, but supercharged by digital tools and network effects. They are already shaping culture at scale. The question is not whether they will create experiences inspired by beloved IP. They already do. The question is whether IP owners will treat them as partners or adversaries.
Imagine a licensing program built for this reality. Lightweight, flexible, and transparent. Pre-cleared assets and design kits instead of dense contracts. Creator incentives that encourage experimentation instead of punishing it. Programs that let developers expand on IP they love, knowing that they can monetize responsibly and legally. In this kind of world, every fan project becomes a growth engine. Every remix adds new value. Every creator becomes a collaborator.
For brands like Winx Club, the opportunity is obvious. Winx is preparing for a Roblox debut, but it does not have to rely only on official releases. With the right frameworks, hundreds of developers could be empowered to build Winx-inspired games and experiences. This is how universes scale in digital culture. Not through central control, but through a thousand points of creative light.
For investors, the logic is just as compelling. Signum Growth has already launched a dedicated Roblox fund. Imagine pairing that capital with licensing frameworks that reward developers who take IP seriously and expand it in original ways. The result is a pipeline of investable creators, sustainable businesses, and fans who feel part of the story rather than excluded from it.
At Spaceport.xyz, this is the model we believe in. IP does not need to be locked down to stay valuable. In the age of user generated creation, IP grows more powerful when it is share, and reimagined within trusted systems. The lesson from MIDiA’s report is that unlicensed activity is not simply a problem to be solved. It is proof of demand, evidence of value, and a roadmap for how the next generation of licensing should evolve.
The choice for IP owners is clear. They can spend the next decade chasing creators in endless cycles of takedowns. Or they can recognize the four billion dollar signal and build new licensing systems that align with how culture now works. The future belongs to those who choose collaboration.
Keith Cook is the Head of BD and Brand Partnerships for Spaceport.xyz and an experienced sales leader executive experience at major software companies like: Unity technologies and GitHub (MSFT) as well as start ups like Parsec & Movella. For more information contact us: https://www.spaceport.xyz/getspaceport
