TORONTO — Just how much are music fans willing to pay to publicly proclaim their love for their favourite artist?

Some Bon Jovi fans haven't flinched at dropping US$750 for a tour jacket, and a few White Stripes diehards have parted with hundreds of dollars so they could look a little bit like singer Jack White.

With record sales down and music companies looking for ways to create new revenue streams, there are some novel - and increasingly expensive - items being sold alongside the traditional T-shirts and posters at concerts.

And some fans seem more than willing to buy almost anything that's put in front of them.

The White Stripes have had a variety of kilts for sale - in their official tartans registered with the International Tartan Index - the most expensive selling for US$280. It's made of 100 per cent wool and only 10 were made, making it an exclusive collector's item for the serious fan.

The band also sells two custom-made cameras - the Jack Holga and Meg Diana, named for bandmates Jack and Meg White - for US$180 each. Only 3,000 of each camera were made.

For women who want to throw their underwear on stage, a growing number of rock bands are thoughtfully incorporating thongs into their selection of merchandise available at shows, including Canadian group Three Days Grace, which sells panties for $20 each.

Prince sold pillowcases for around US$30 during his tour last year.

But perhaps the most expensive merch currently on sale is Bon Jovi's "Grade A distressed cow hide leather" tour jacket, selling for the jaw-dropping price of US$750 - and fans are buying.

One Norwegian fan commented on the band's official website that she just had to have one - even though her size was no longer available - and was thrilled with her purchase, despite the fact that it didn't really fit properly.

"It's a little big for me, being a female, but I still love it. It will be fine in the winter, nice to have some place for a sweater," she wrote. "This is the most amazing (piece) of clothing I have ever owned!"

Others have opted for a bottle of wine from the Bon Jovi signature collection, ranging between US$21.95 for a Chardonnay to US$145 for a 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon.

And for parents who want to pass on their love of Bon Jovi to their kids, the band has its own baby merchandise line, including onesies for US$20 and blankets for US$30.

It all seems a little ridiculous to Toronto concert buff Mark Churaman, although he admits to having dropped $120 on a Bon Jovi hooded sweatshirt that he only somewhat regrets buying.

The 23-year-old - who goes to as many as three or four shows a month - is the music industry's dream consumer, willing to pay whatever it costs to get the latest, coolest piece of merch sold by their favourite artists.

"If it's someone in the top five artists that I love and I go to their shows, obviously I want to buy a T-shirt or something," said Churaman, who works as an administrative assistant for a major financial company.

"If I'm spending $100 for a concert ticket and it's someone I really like and I want a souvenir, then price really isn't an issue."

With the slowdown in album sales and a new reliance on concerts and merchandise to bring in revenue, giving fans what they want has become increasingly important to the music industry, said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of music industry magazine Pollstar.

"It used to be 20 years ago that artists toured to help sell records, but today they tour to make money and hopefully, maybe, they'll sell a few more records along the way," Bongiovanni said.

"Merchandise sales are now a very significant part of their revenue streams, to the point it wouldn't surprise me if most (popular) recording artists make more money off their merchandise than they do off of their recording."

For fans that can't buy a concert ticket - or can't afford one - the same merchandise is often available on artists' websites, which can resemble full-blown retail outlets.

Avril Lavigne's online store features 78 items, ranging from a .99 cent glowstick to a hooded sweatshirt selling for $69.99. She also sells underwear, comic books, belt buckles, tuques, change purses, hand bags - and, of course, T-shirts.

Marty Peters, the merchandising manager for Nettwerk Management, which represents Lavigne, said merchandise revenue is definitely growing and T-shirt sales can sometimes account for as much as 30 to 70 per cent of a concert's gross profits.

He said merchandise companies are thinking of gimmicky new products to sell simply because they know fans will buy them.

"The companies that are savvy are seeing where the niches are in the merch business and are always chomping at the bit to give you the next best item to offer your artist, to get their name out there and increase their exposure and their sales," Peters said.

There's a willingness to take risks to come up with the next new hot piece of merch, and the industry is closely monitoring trends in what sells and what doesn't, Peters said.

"When one or two T-shirt designs are making 40 to 60 per cent of a gross on a show, that's a trend we pay attention to, naturally," Peters said.

Artists are being allowed to come up with their own products, but the more out-there ideas can backfire - like the super-limited edition White Stripes kilts that are still available for sale.

"Sometimes the artists think there's certain items the fans may like and then it ends up they don't," he said.

"Things will get tried, and if they don't work then we just drop it."

Overall, the best business is coming from younger fans whose parents are often accompanying them to concerts and picking up the tab for whatever their kids insist they "must" have.

"The per head is how we gauge concert tours, and there's a significant difference between sales at a Barenaked Ladies concert and an Avril Lavigne concert," Peters said.

"Parents are more likely to drop a credit card than people at a Barenaked Ladies concert, where you have older fans that are still going to buy something but they're going to be a little more sophisticated in their decisions."

For Churaman, he's willing to spend but draws the line at band-branded candles, wine and $750 jackets.

"I could go see like seven Bon Jovi shows for that money," he said.

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