Rodarius Marcell Green, better known as Rod Wave, revealed on “The Joe Budden Podcast” how taking charge of his merchandise business transformed a six-figure side hustle into a multi-million-dollar operation.
According to his podcast appearance, the platinum-selling artist said he manages all aspects of his merchandise himself.
“It all started when my uncle told me, ‘You can go buy your own clothes, and pay these folks to print it up, pay these folks to transport it, and we gon’ do that,’” Rod Wave said.
That approach helped him grow his merchandise revenue from $200,000 to $14 million.
“If you can make it in the street, you can make it anywhere. If you can make a million dollars on the street illegally, your brain can work,” he added.
Rod Wave said that taking control of his merchandise allowed him to retain more of the revenue coming from his work. He added that artists often receive only a fraction of the money they help generate for music labels.
He also described the business structures that make a profit as a result of an artist’s performances.
“I’m just on stage rapping and other people are running businesses off of me that I don’t even get to participate in. You get handed millions. Even if someone makes $2 million off one artist, they might have five, six, seven others doing the same thing. Being a young man in this industry means going through trial and error. There are businesses inside of businesses inside of businesses,” he said.
Rod Wave’s focus on independence comes amid ongoing legal matters. Former tour promoter Grizzly Touring sued him for $27 million, claiming it paid him that amount in advances for a tour that resulted in canceled shows. He countersued, Vibe reports, accusing Grizzly of creating production problems and routing issues that affected his ability to perform, and adding that completing the tour was “logistically impossible.” He reportedly said that Grizzly’s claim he is still under contract with the promoter for future tours is the equivalent of “indentured servitude.”
To date, Rod Wave has released six studio albums, including 2024’s “Last Lap.” The album follows his 2023 release, “Nostalgia,” and features artists such as Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, and Rylo Rodriguez. It also includes the singles “Passport Junkies” and “Fall Fast in Love,” both of which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, according to Billboard.
