Slipknot Offers Fans Tattered Ready-to-wear

By Mitchell Peters

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Slipknot will join the ranks of such artists-turned-entrepreneurs as Jay-Z and Sean "Diddy" Combs when the mask-clad metal band launches its own clothing line this summer, Billboard has learned.

The band's clothing line, Tattered and Torn, is named after a song on the band's self-released 1996 album, "Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat," and will initially be sold exclusively in North America at Hot Topic stores beginning in late July, according Tom Bennett, CEO of Bravado, the merchandising arm of Universal Music Group.

"It's just something more for our fans," Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor said. "It's a way for them to get cool clothing at affordable prices."

Tattered and Torn will launch with "basic boys and girls hoodies" before becoming a "full-range clothing line," Bennett said.

Slipknot manager Cory Brennan acknowledged that merchandise is the largest revenue stream for the band, citing touring as a close second. "People who wear Slipknot merchandise wear it as a badge of honor," Brennan said. "They want to show the world that they support this band and are a part of this culture."

Slipknot percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan said that some diehard fans have been known to wear the band's merchandise for months on end. "The teachers would call their parents and say, 'These kids aren't washing their clothes,'" Crahan said. "But in fact, the kid is coming home every night and washing the shirt, because he wants to represent his mind-set."

But of all the merchandise Slipknot offers to its "Maggot" fans, as the band refers to them, T-shirts and sweatshirts with an image of the nine members are still the hottest sellers, according to Brennan.

The idea to sell Slipknot's one-of-a-kind masks, which change slightly with each new album cycle, came after the band's inner circle noticed that fans were wearing homemade masks to the act's concerts. Those tend to sell best around Halloween, according to Bennett, and Slipknot's management is hoping that the band's newly designed masks, which were recently revealed on AOL Music's Spinner.com, will be ready in time for Halloween 2008.

Reuters/Billboard







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