We're talking about bands, though? A band isn't a company. There's a pretty big difference between an artist and a corporation.

I feel like there's a huge difference between individuals choosing to advertise a brand (especially a band or other artists) that they genuinely enjoy vs a company just paying for our attention. The intent behind it matters.

That's pretty obtuse. They don't advertise for a company, they're showing their love for artists they like or feel an emotional connection to. Most bands aren't billionaires, and I wear their gear to support them, because I want them to earn a living and make more music.

Buying merch at the show is the best way to directly support musicians, especially smaller and local artists. If I'm wearing a band shirt then it's most likely I bought it at their show. Most venues share very little, if any, of total ticket sales with artists. Some venues have adopted a "pay-to-play" scheme where the bands "buy" a set amount of tickets from the venue up front, and then hope to recoup the costs through their own ticket and merch sales. That's how a lot of venues in my area operate, and the only people happy about it are the venue owners.

That said, a lot of popular band merch is sold under record company license by corporate retailers, or by online bootleggers/counterfeiters. Either way, most musicians won't see much, if any, kickback from merch unless it's sold at a live show.

There's a difference between Korn and Aéropostale.