By most estimates, Odd Future gave away nearly 20 albums worth of free music prior to signing various distribution deals. The strategy increased their visibility—landing them on numerous blogs, websites and magazine covers—but it wasn’t initially profitable. Having signed individual deals with XL, Fat Possum and a group deal with Sony, the collective has seen their first group, retail release OF Tape, Vol.2 reach the number 63 spot on Nielsen’s weekly SoundScan report. Now the group is also supplementing their sales by opening pop up shops in cities where they perform.
“We just pop up wherever we at, set up shop…slang and make our money,” Leftbrain explained to Sam Smith of BBC’s “Newsnight.” “Then we dip. Ain’t nobody taking no taxes from us—no cuts.”
Odd Future manager Chris Clancy would later dispute the issue of not paying taxes. But the pop ups do allow fans an intimate, albeit expensive experience. Group members hang out with fans in the temporarily converted stores. Brick Stowell, who managed The Hundreds streetwear store in Santa Monica prior to working with Odd Future, says handmade, tie-dyed shirts were retailing for 100 British Pounds (roughly $160) each in the U.K. And a cursory look at the footage from any Odd Future pop up store shows many fans were gladly lining up for hours to fork over their cash.
“There’s no marketing,” Clancy explained. “It’s exposing it at the right place at the right time. So when you have kids that are completely themselves, you don’t necessarily market. Because you just take who they are and expose it, right? So it’s not like a push.”
RELATED: Odd Future Releases Full Stream Of “Loiter Squad” First Episode
give it a few years…. FORGOTTEN.
Give it a few years, they’ll still have way more cash then you. Maybe forgotten but still able to afford whatever they want.
In a few years you’ll be saying the same ignorant shit.
reporter was a complete dickhead
SWAG!!!!! kids having fun and getting paid
I am shocked that they have any following but they making money. Good 4 them.
Get money bitch and suck my dick fucking Mc hammer up there hahha you broke ass nigga
DrebinSlevin— few years… try a few months.. theses satanists are garbage
Definition of a atheist- is the term given to a person that either rejects the belief in the existence of a god or gods or lacks a belief in the existence of a god or gods.
With that being said, I was going to ask you if you went to church every week since you cared about others beliefs. Now I just want to know if you ever finished the third grade?
Give it a few years, they’ll still have way more cash then you. Maybe forgotten but still able to afford whatever they want.
ye for a year or two and then they will be broke
i probably got more money in the bank than them
rappers dont make much money now
Look what hiphop has become to, it’s just so sad to see a ape looking retarded like tyler the creator is even welcomed
It’s a sad day in hip hop when people like you don’t like an artist because of the way he looks.
All you Gay Money fans i Mean Young Money Fans shut the fuck up and go get butt fucked while listen to Drake or
Nicki Fags
with a gay ass email adress like that you are probably a hairy fat mexican
anon why u got be a ignorant dumb fuck commenting a racial assumption
^^because he is an ignorant dumb fuck.
I wouldn’t pay 160 cents for a shirt from these faggots
Talking in riddles! Please, tell us what you REALLY mean.
You are a very sick as well as stupid person. I wish you would put your real name an picture on here. I’m sure folks in your hometown would have enough dirt and jokes about you to bury this whole world…….lol.
i dont hate on this creatures nor respect them i just don’t see what these young people see in or hear in their music but sooner or later they will break up so i don’t mind their 15 minute fame
its been 2 years of fame so far
I am sure he did not mean really 15 minutes dumb fuck how stupid are you little OF fans in the industry 2 small years is close to 15 min and guess what DING its over but hey you can buy a t-shirt to wear back to school when you repeat what ever grade your in
Lol the second anonymous is actually a 40 year old pedophile touching himself in his mothers basement. You really put thought into that comment didn’t you?
DING!
Hahahahahhahahahhaha
I find it funny that the people who say that young people have no taste are the same cats whose parents told them the same thing about Wu Tang with GZA’s crazy sounding lo fi beats, and their parents parents told them the same thing about punk rock and so on and so forth. Just accept that this is something that you probably will never understand, just don’t dismiss it as a fad too early in the game. Also, I don’t know if you are guilty of this, but don’t judge these cats off a few songs you heard or from one album you skimmed through. You really have to dig deeper in the catalog to appreciate these cats. I wasn’t a fan at first until I did the same, the first verse of MellowHype’s “Chordaroy” was the official tipping point for me.
the kids who buy this overpriced crap must be spending their parents money, i cant see someone who works for a living wasting that much money on a homemade t-shirt
Spending it on $160 Jordans or $200-300 jeans is a better expense?
they better hope the irs didn’t see this article cause they will be getting those taxes
fuck that these kids got no business ethic I give this gimmick another year before declining album sales TV show cancels and these shits end up in the recycle bin
LOL, isn’t that what cats were saying last year and the year before that? Hmm…
2 yrs ago no one knew who they were and no one gave a fuck
80 babies might hate this but odd future wolf gang kill them all is like the too late less talented suburban not at all gangsta or lyricly spiritual wu tang clan…i mean not in a music sense just the energy and creative vibe of thier movement you aint got to like it just recognize it.
4chan shock rap is only creative if you’re a sheltered white kid with the money and lack of sense that would lead you to buy $160 t-shirts
Shock rap has a short shelf life better cash in now besides these guys are to wu tang what the monkees where to the beatles.internet memes acting like rappers.but like all these fly by night new age internet artist they are entertainers who rhyme words over beats cannot call them rappers if dont make sense.
I don’t disagree that they gotta cash in while their 15 minutes is still on the clock, just that what they do is especially original.
haha you basically just took all the things that define Wu and took them away from OF while stressing the likenesses of the two groups. Anonymous got you hahaha
all I’ma say is this, I went to that show in brixton and shit was the most live performance i’ve ever seen (and this is coming from someone who’s been to all kindsa shit in the past) You can hate but end of the day, no ones got to their level off saying what they want since em.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the desire of White suburbia to be dangerous and Black.
they buy them cause their white, stupid, and got their parent’s money to blow
This video is worth it just for the bemusement on Paxmans face at the end. Freaking lol
haaa yeh, Paxman is ace.. another bemusing/notable aappearence on NN is from Dizzee Rascal. It coaxed the same type of facial expression and had Paxman referring to Dizzee as ‘Mr. Rascal’ hahaah
I don’t know why Newsnight aired this utter shite, it’s one of the only news programmes worth watching and now they’ve gone and sullied the name by allowing these nincompoops on it. Who the fuck cares? It’s basically just touting crap t shirts… go ask the guys outside every football ground in england selling stuff if they pay tax.. prob not.. and car boot sales. If tasteless kids want to part with mummy and daddys hard earned for fuckin tie dye t shirts (lol) then fuck it, let them tits do that. NOT NEWS.
all i see is hatin niggas talkin shit and fanboys defending OF…odd future is just another group of niggas tryin to make bank by doin what they love…no one forces you to listen to them, and no one forces you to not…so in reality what anyone thinks doesnt matter because people are gonna do what they want at the end of the day no matter if its their choice or if someone inspired them to…so shut the fuck up @ EVERYBODY below me…buncha bitchin ass niggas damn…keep your pointless comments to yourself with all that bullshit for once because no one really gives a fuck
you deserve a medal
shut up
shut up biatch
so you support someone who influences thousands of teens speaking about fuck school, rape, burn shit, and kill people. kids are stupid and some of them think they really mean that shit even if they dont. they’re ignorant punks and do not deserve the money or the fame
To the guy above me, I guess we could say the same shit about Eminem right? Oh that Em, what an ignorant punk he used to be! The majority of kids that listened to Em obviously grew up to be failures and serial killers right?
@anonymous1
Obviously you do care since you commented. And here’s an idea: If you think people’s comments are stupid and pointless, don’t read them. So really who has the dumbass comment? It’s you fool.
@Anonymous2
So someone like Lil Wayne talking about killing people with every gun known to man in his songs is any different.O, and please listen to the song your referring to. That is not the message of the song.
With that being said,can you name any rappers that tell kids to go to school, treat women with respect and not to do drugs? It just music. It’s like attacking Al Pacino for playing Tony Montana. People don’t believe it.
person above me.
“dont make the mistakes i made, go to school get good grades. dont worry about tryna get paid.”-saigon
“they push beef you cook it right,thats cool but whats your GPA looking like? fortunately for me i got rap so schools optional, but between you and victory school is your only obstacle.”-emperor chi
“you’re judged as a man for everything you amount to, and the respect that you show the women around you. so think about that stuff when you diss her, thats somebody’s daughter, somebodys mother and somebody’s sister”-lowkey
@ramiro excuse my ignorance. Point taken and thanks
You jacked off in san diego and also fuck you
this what happens when all your fans are rich white kids
IS IT ME OR DOES FRANK OCEAN SEEM OUT OF SORTS WITH HIS GROUP… HE IS DEFINITELY THE ODD BALL FROM THE “NORM” OF ODD FUTURE
Q: Odd Future, Explain Why Fans Line Up For $160 Shirts
A: Because the average IQ of our fans is 25
haha couldn’t have said it better myself
Cause they are fucking retarded not to mention band wagon dick riders.
Kids these days are morons…
bc their fans are morons
I see their rap music as harmless. It’s more like the old Beastie Boys attitude with more members like the Wu.
No one took the Beastie Boys serious but parents were scared as shit of them.
Wu talked about religion, 5 percent ideas, social issues and real life. Odd Future talks about none of that. The only similarity is the fact that theyre black hip hop groups.
Wutang=Samurai
Odd Future=Clowns
your retarded and you have herpes on your face
ODD SELLOUTS
are these the guys that had that song called “swagger like us”
I have an easier explanation: Because your fans are retarded.
These niqqas dumb ass fuck. Y’all don’t no shit about hiphop. Y’all niqqas come hop on that Birdman YMCMB bidness. Ya herd I rock shanell niqqa.
fuck you
fuckin morons.i support hip hop, but i aint gonna spend that much on a shirt, these teenagers these days are idolizing these fucks to much to where there rapin chicks doing drugs and worshipping the devil
Their cloths are at least better than rocawear or trukfit..Smart kids they will make a lot of money, they dont suck as much as people say there in the art of shocking peolpe thats there whole thing. They wilding out like the beastie boys,large crew with dark beats like wu-tang and lyrics like eminem with white guys on their cloths and cd covers.. they pushing whats norm in hip hop, no jewls they like cats.. one of them will be the firstto come out and say they gay next,,
One of them is already gay you idiot.
I honestly gave these guys a chance … they are below mediocore and seriously try too hard to be different …
They’re goin for shock value. But i think tyler is really just weird in general.
Thats kinda tight…Jay-z, Diddy and others have overpriced clothes taking money out of a lot of poor peoples hands. Odd Future is taking rich kids parents money instead with overpriced shirts.
Take advantage of the youth buy selling them overpriced clothes. $160 for a tye die t-shirt is crazy. Odd future will have a short future in the rap game.
In six months we gonna hear, IRS seeking xx million in back taxes. I hope these guys enjoy it, like about 5 mins left on their 15 of fame
domo is fucking bakd in the interview…lmao
I think Tyler needs to bust a nut, calm his a$$ down….
Omg it’s funny how you guys are hating off of Odd Future talking about “their 15 minutes of fame is almost up.” you sound so stupid. Those dudes are here to stay for a long while. lol you guys are probably all old as fuck anyways so how would I expect you guys to understand Odd Future. Smh
you’re probably young so how would we expect you to understand how the world works…
http://raprise.com/2012/04/11/new-album-spitta-hd-i-am-spitta-hd-ii-growth-expectationsdd/
I used to diss these dudes but after doing some research about them and actually listening to there music I have to admit they are nice on the mic and I personally believe they represent hip hop to the fullest.
Respect to odd future
What a brilliant Merchandising scheme. Git ur Doe.
As a member of the core Dj’s, I and many of the other Core Dj’s don’t like what these skateboard wannabe jackass takeover’s are about and we will not play their records.
You don’t need a DJ to press the play button on someones personal IPod…. Your irrelevant to these guys and they proved it with there success.
who gives a shit. I have all of their stuff on my ipod and I have never heard of you and your core djs or whatever the fuck that is.
You haters are working overtime right now. If you don’t like OF then don’t click on the article. No one forced to read this. YOU took the time to read it AND comment, so you may as well be apart of the biggest haters this world has to offer. Everyone likes different shit. Not everyone has to like what YOU like and vice versa. Don’t be dumb people. Move along.
That’s a weak argument”If you don’t like them, then why’d you click on the article? Because the majority of ppl on this site and other music sites are….you guessed it, Music fans. Music fans keep up with the latest news and releases of artists or pseudo-artists. That’s the same as me saying to a political buff “you don’t live in Japan, why are you reading an article on Japan?
Japan’s new foreign affair policies?”.
Nah bro, Japan’s foreign affair policies haven’t changed. Their married businessmen still prefer to fuck underage American girls.
Totally agree.
When you see the words Odd Future, why click through just to read and hate? lol.
@Ross
It is understandable to keep up with artists, new and old, but when it comes to an artist you clearly have NO respect for what so ever, then what is the point of reading an article just to skim though it so you can post a hate comment? If you do not do that, then I clearly wasn’t even talking to you. I am speaking to the haters that can’t go a day in their life without having some sort of animosity towards someone. HGH
@TxS I see
Fuck Odd Future! who the hell charges his “fans” $160 for t-shirts?! his “fans” should be insulted, or fuck it, if theyre dumb enough to pay for it. ive talked to kweli after a show. ive chopped it up with pharoah monch after a show. and you know how much that shit cost me? IT WAS FREE. and they didnt even ask me to buy their album, i did it cause i support them and it was the right thing to do. you put out 20 free albums? sorry it took you that much be on the radar, but dont blame that on the fans, thats on you. oh and someone wanted to mention jay and diddy clothing lines. well with them you know youre at least getting quality clothing when you buy that, and nobody is putting a gun to “those poor kids’ buying that shit. better money spent then on some cheap ass shirt homie whipped up in his kitchen. damn shame.
Blah blah blah …. You were just looking for a reason to tell everyone that you chopped it up with some rappers. If people want to pay $160 for a shirt than that is their issue. As for odd future, Their ideology of generating money is very invasive. I wouldn’t be surprised if there idea becomes the norm for other upcoming artists.
@hiphopmexi: Co-sign. The whole experience of meeting your favourite rapper shouldn’t be an expensive affair. Certainly not when said rapper isnt very good lyrically and doesnt deserve your hard earned money. Then again thats just It, Odd Future fans rely on their parents hard earned cash to buy into stupid shit like $150 tie-dye shirts, that look like they cost $5 to make. Real recognizes real, stupidity embraces the stupid.
You do know that you can enter these pop up shops without even purchasing a single thing right? So just like you saw Kweli and Pharoah free, you can also see all these cats for virtually free and not purchase a single thing if you can’t afford it or don’t want to. Getting backstage to see artists is usually really hard to do and involves money so not many people get to do it, I’m happy that you were fortunate enough to do so cause most people don’t get that chance. As a fan wouldn’t you be excited that your group is making themselves more accessible to you for the price of standing in line to do so? I think this method is genius, it pleases and serves the fans and puts money in the pockets of the group members as well. So yeah, I have no problem with the high price tag for certain merch cause that’s ultimately what it takes to keep these places running from city to city. Niggas gotta eat and that’s a big ass group to divide money in.
odd future are brilliant business people. as far as those dumbass kids, paying 100 pounds for a shirt that costed OF probably 5 bucks to produce is fuckin ridiculous
Odd Future Explain Why Fans Line Up For $160 Shirts At Their Pop Up Shops:
becuase they are white!
“WORD”
We ain’t got that kinda’ money to just blow like that. We gotta’ get more money conscious these days. And plus they foreigners. They gonna’ blow that shit on anything from America that’s of “Urban” decent.
Just because someone comments on OF being wack doesn’t make them haters. It just means they are not feeling OF. You young dudes get way too offended if someone doesn’t support or critiques your favorite weirdo celebrity. Calm down and pull your skirts up.
this is the problem with comment sections, at least say, maybe something thoughtful? critical?
critical thinking is whats wrong with america, i don’t think anyone in this comment section actually doess, yeah i just insulted all of your intelligence, TAKE THAT, I JUST HOPE YOU DON’T GO ALL OVER THE INTERNET COMMENTING HOW YOU DONT FEEL THE KIDS CAUSE THAT, WOULD, JUST BE ESPECIALLY FOR SOMEONE LIKE YOURSELF WHO IS I GUESS OLDER AND MORE MATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF HIP HOP MUSIC, PRETTY SAD
Paying $160 for a t-shirt is just proving how ignorant you are regardless of who is profiting.
to title this post with a price that you saw somewhere else on the internet is just bad blogging, but i guess thats the problem with music journalism in the internet age.
its like say what you want to say about the kids its not like this wave of mockery about them is going to effect them or their fan base but, anyone whose actually been to one of the shops knows that none of the tshirts are $160, GET REAL
Its makes sense OF would push their merch since artist’s don’t typically make most of their money off album sales. It’s creative and a cool approach to the evolving music business. Limited quantities also make collecting a must have and probably explains why I’m buying the OF Tape Vol. 2 on vinyl on record store day.
SHUT THE FUCK UP MOANING. ODD FUTURE PRICE THER SHIRTS UP BECAUSE ITS THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE MONEY SINCE SHIT RADIO STATIONS WONT PLAY THERE FUCKING SONGS.IF IT’S SO BAD THAT THERE NOT CHEAP WHY DO PEOPLE BUY THEM AND STILL LOVE OF? IF YOU DON’T LIKE ODD FUTURE DON’T BOTHER COMMENTING WITH YOUR BITCHY SHIT,NOW GET BACK TO JUSTIN BIEBER YOU FUCKERS.
GOLF WANG