Although a few very popular racist bands can earn money with their music, most reap little in return.  Many "gigs" don't offer much more than expense money.  However, there is money to be made in the white power music world.  The people who make it are those who distribute the racist music:  white power record labels and distributors.

Resistance Records

The first truly significant racist music distributor to arise in the U.S. was Resistance Records, founded in 1993 and based in Michigan.  It sold as many as 50,000 CDs a year before experiencing legal troubles that eventually led to its purchase by William Pierce, the then-leader of the National Alliance, the largest neo-Nazi group in the U.S., who moved Resistance to his West Virginia headquarters.   Pierce saw that Resistance could not only be a lucrative source of funds, but could spread the influence of the National Alliance in the white supremacist world.  He gave the company to Ohio National Alliance leader Erich Gliebe to run. 

Resistance Records quickly became the National Alliance's most significant source of income, taking in as much as a million dollars a year—quite significant for a white supremacist group.  Through its magazine, Resistance, and increasingly through its Internet Web site, Resistance Records received dozens of orders per day from around the world. 

Resistance's success not only brought money to the coffers of the National Alliance, but made Gliebe one of the most important leaders of the neo-Nazi group.  When Pierce passed away in 2002, Gliebe emerged as the most likely successor and was quickly confirmed as the group's new "fuehrer."  The National Alliance soon became wracked by factional infighting and disputes, however, many of them of Gliebe's own making. 

Nor were Gliebe's troubles limited to the National Alliance membership once it became known that he had made derogatory comments about racist skinheads, who, after all, were Resistance's biggest customers.  As a result of Gliebe's missteps, the National Alliance suffered a considerable loss of membership during the period 2002-2003 and Resistance Records suffered a comparable loss of income.

Panzerfaust Records

The troubles at Resistance opened the way for other distributors of racist music to expand, especially its main competitor, the Minneapolis-based Panzerfaust Records.  Started in 1998 by Anthony Pierpont and former Resistance employee Eric Davidson, the company has strong ties to racist skinheads in the U.S., especially the Hammerskin Nation, the largest racist skinhead group, which organizes concerts that Panzerfaust sponsors.  Davidson left, but another former Resistance employee, Bryant Cecchini (who prefers to call himself Byron Calvert), joined and has further strengthened their credibility among skinheads.  A convicted felon, Cecchini managed Resistance's warehouse before leaving to join Panzerfaust.  Panzerfaust now claims to outsell Resistance and probably does.

One reason for Panzerfaust's relative success has been its ability to link hate music with the good of the white supremacist cause.  In September 2004, for example, Panzerfaust announced "Project Schoolyard USA," an explicit attempt to target children for recruitment by using hate music.  Panzerfaust created a special compilation CD of hate music that it offered for sale for just pennies, intending that white supremacist groups would buy large numbers of the CD and distribute them to children at schools, concerts, and other venues.  A number of white supremacist groups enthusiastically endorsed the scheme.

Other Labels and Distributors

In addition to Panzerfaust and Resistance, smaller racist music labels and distributors abound in the U.S., including, among others, Diehard Records (Chesapeake, Ohio), Micetrap Records & Distribution/RAC Records (Maple Shade, New Jersey), MSR Productions (Wheat Ridge, Colorado), Vinland Winds Records (New York, New York), White Power Records (Wilmington, North Carolina), and Final Stand Records (Newark, Delaware).  Racist music distributors can be found around the rest of the world, too, from the H8 Store in Germany to Ash Tree Records in Italy.  However, the U.S.-based distributors play a very important role in shipping white power music around the world—even to those countries that may prohibit it, such as Germany.

More than Just Music

The network that these distributors and labels have created distributes much more than simply music.  They market a wide array of accessories and clothing as well.  From buttons to bomber jackets, and t-shirts to tattoo designs, they provide eager white supremacists with the tools to turn hate into fashion.   One of the best examples of this is the Texas-based Aryan Wear, sold through Resistance Records, which produces a line of white supremacist clothing from shirts to boots, as well as items such as "My Boss is an Austrian Painter" bumper stickers.   

In keeping with its attempts to reach out to young people, Resistance Records even markets a white supremacist video game, "Ethnic Cleansing."  The game is a first-person-shooter in which the player takes on the role of a white warrior in a future "Race War," who must kill all non-whites to ensure "the survival of your kind." 

Not to be outdone in innovation, Panzerfaust Records have introduced "Radio White," a set of six Internet "radio stations" that provide constant streaming audio feed from a playlist of more than 4,000 hate music songs.  The six stations include one that provides a mix of music, as well as specific stations for metal/hatecore, Oi!/RAC, Folk/Ballads, and NSBM music.  The sixth station plays German language music.