A Guide to the Death Grips’ Business Model

Image via

Last week genre abductors Death Grips made their latest record Government Plate, freely available to fans. Recorded and produced independently, it was a worthy edition to the band's long list of things they’ve leaked. In the last year the Californian two-piece featuring Stefan “MC Ride” Burnett and drummer Zach Hill, have gained more attention for their controversies than their music—which is a shame because their music is good. In doing so, they've succeeded in creating one of the most riveting hip-hop soap operas since R. Kelly’s “Trapped In The Closet”.

With fewer people buying records each year, the music industry is constantly trying to develop new streams of revenue. Death Grips are breaking with the trend of being scared shitless about going broke and have pioneered their own business model—it’s worth noting their model is unique as it restricts almost all forms of getting paid.

The bands’ what not to if you’re trying to make money approach has not surprisingly caused a lot of tension with the people around them who do have expectations of remuneration. But Hill explains their behavior thusly: “The place where we're coming from sometimes transcends logic”. Lets prove him wrong by examining Death Grips’ business model.

LEAK YOUR OWN ALBUMS

Off the back of their major label debut, 2012’s The Money Store, Death Grips were keen to release the follow up NO LOVE DEEP WEB later that year. This led to a dispute with their label Epic who wanted to hold off on the release until 2013. The band, not being too fond of the contractual obligations they had agreed to, decide to leak their record on BitTorrent and share it through social media.

This created a frenzy amongst fans and caught the imagination and attention of the mainstream music press—all without a dollar in marketing. Although what was saved in marketing spend was probably lost by no money being exchanged for any of their work. NO LOVE DEEP WEB has only just found an official release a year after the leak, available to the public as of November 19, 2013.

Death Grips once again stifled the opportunity for fans to legally purchase the material, aka make any money, just days before the scheduled release of their latest LP Government Plates they dropped it themselves. Their second leak in a year caused more media hysteria and diverted attention from their first physical release since The Money Store (the irony of the title just now dawning on me). If nothing else, it’s safe to assume that Death Grips just don’t want your money.

CAMPAIGN TO BE DROPPED FROM YOUR MAJOR LABEL CONTRACT

When Epic records dropped the band last year they released this statement: “Epic Records is a music first company that breaks new artists. That is our mission and our mandate. Unfortunately, when marketing and publicity stunts trump the actual music, we must remind ourselves of our core values. To that end, effective immediately, we are working to dissolve our relationship with Death Grips. We wish them well.”

The aforementioned stunt has only been partially covered here; in addition to leaking material, which was contractually the property of Epic, Ride and Hill leaked correspondence between the label and the band that outlined their displeasure at being fucked over.

Their response, via Facebook, was a simple “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW FUCK OFF”. Apparently the only thing Death Grips hates more than you legally acquiring their music is the contractual support of a record label.

PLAN RELEASES AROUND THE POSITION OF THE MOON

In an interview with Pitchfork last year, Hill expressed remorse at the way Death Grips were handled at Epic. Early on he highlighted the labels enthusiasm for his music but their inability to “cultivate it”. He went on to explain, “From the start, a lot of things we have done as a group—whether publicly releasing something, shooting a video, working on music—have always been aligned with the moon.” Presumably, these are the “lycanthropic manic cycles” Ride raps about in “Get Got”.

On the day Death Grips released Government Plates the moon was a waxing gibbous, meaning it was 92% full. Preceding a full moon, a waxing gibbous is more noticeable in the daytime than other phases. It’s only logical to assume that this reflects either the level of notoriety Death Grips wished to achieve with their latest release, how complete the record was before deciding the word should hear it, or that it is a precursor to some sort of magnum opus which will be released on a full moon.

MARKETING ON THE CHEAP

Death Grips have a history of doing things on the cheap. Why drop a couple of hundred thousand dollars on a music video when you could record one using the reverse video cam from a Prius, or simply have a single shot of money and weed in a tumble dryer?

To coincide with Government Plates, they released a video for each track on YouTube. Once again, these fit into the point-at-something-and-hit-record style of film clip making. Between their music and rare interview spots, Death Grips expound an abounding sense of paranoia. This feeds into their DIY-clips trend of prolonged shots of their faces or dark rooms with strobe lights.

Leaking albums certainly saves in distribution, marketing, and pressing costs. Additionally, why bother hiring a photographer or designer for your record when all you need is a sharpie, a cock, and a camera?

As is widely accepted nowadays, the real money is on the road. Festival spots and headline shows are your bread and butter, so why sink money into records? Get with the times, industry.

CANCEL GIGS OR JUST DON’T BOTHER SHOWING UP

This year alone Death Grips have pulled out of Lollapalooza, cancelled gigs in various cities across the United States (informing fans before promoters and venues), and presented a concert that only their instruments (and a fake suicide note) showed up to. This led to disappointed fans trashing their gear and storming the stage.

They also pulled out of Fun Fun Fun Fest, and a full Australian tour. At SXSW earlier this year they managed to find a middle ground that allowed them to perform without having to be in a venue with the audience who payed to be there: Skype.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY

Hill and Ride blur the line between ingenious self-promotion and self-destruction. However, Death Grips' business model has succeeded in maintaining the interest of the mainstream music press for their antics and the underground for their music.

Money isn’t important to them, as Hill has stated many times before, and their source of income is yet to be determined. But it’s pretty clear to see they don’t want your money, so you should probably just stop trying to give it to them.

Follow John on Twitter: @johnd145