Independent musicians often find they hit a sour note when it comes to profiting from record sales.

But music has always been about more than music, and Palmer Brown, owner of downtown L.A. apparel company Diystro, has partnered with indie musicians to generate money through branded fashion.

The company helps rappers such as Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator produce their own apparel lines, complete with pop-up retail stores and e-commerce sites.

Next week, the company expects to launch a pop-up store inside retail shop Well in downtown Los Angeles for hip-hop group Odd Future.

“Kids want the newest, coolest thing that only they have,” said Brown. “Kids want authenticity and they want exclusivity.”

Diystro (pronounced die-stro) works with its clients to create a line of clothing and accessories around an album’s release or project. The goal is to create clothing that looks more like an apparel brand than the traditional concert T-shirts plastered with tour dates.

The clothing is sold online as well as in retail stores such as Zumiez and PacSun. The company also has a retail space in West Hollywood in partnership with Odd Future, a hip-hop collective of which Tyler, the Creator is the unofficial leader.

“Most of our business is wholesale, but we have our own Web store, which is the face of the brand,” Brown said.

Of course, the artists can sell the apparel at their concerts, and there are still pop-up stores, he said, so there is a retail component.

Brown, 42, founded the company in 2010 after dissolving his design company, Dashboard Studio. He has a staff of 15 and works with manufacturers in the United States and Asia. He has previous experience in the apparel industry, having co-founded apparel brand Elwood Clothing and skateboard company Aesthetics Skateboards.

He wouldn’t reveal numbers but said Diystro is profitable.

“We’re selective on who the retailers are,” he said. “We’re selective on the volume we ship because that’s best for the brand. And if they’ve got a record that doesn’t have big sales, the clothing stands alone.”

– Subrina Hudson