CAA gets into a little MSCHF

The Future. Internet provocateurs MSCHF have signed with CAA to bring even more legitimacy and scope to some of the most cutting (and hilarious) satire of the Internet age. While teaming up with such a large firm may invite pressure to pull some punches, MSCHF may actually be perfectly positioning itself to “Trojan horse really interesting conversations to a mass audience they might not otherwise have.”

Ten percent of trouble
MSCHF — the satirists behind the Guns 2 Swords gun-buyback program and the Lil Nas X Satan Shoes made with real blood — have found some willing enablers.

• The Brooklyn-based collective has signed with CAA for representation.
• The collective said that CAA will help them “amplify” their work, move further into the art and entertainment worlds, and facilitate collaborations.
• While MSCHF has no real money-making strategy, it does sell products (some at ridiculous prices when it fits with their story, like the Jesus Shoe) to a loyal, diverse fan base.

Chief Revenue Officer Daniel Greenberg has a message for potential Hollywood collaborators: “We are here for whacked-out ideas.”

The price of viral
Speaking to THR, Greenberg and chief creative officers Lukas Bentel and Kevin Wiesner explained the draw behind the work they do at MSCHF, which has dipped its toes into nearly every industry, including media, tech, fashion, and art. By signing with CAA, the trio said that it allows them to keep “doing whatever we want. The goal is to never be tied down to any specific thing.”

But how does one describe MSCHF? According to Wiesner, “We’re using cultural building blocks to make our own work as a way to talk about issues that we want to talk about.” The term they use, says Bentel, is “cultural readymade.”

Essentially, if something has struck a nerve with the culture at large, MSCHF won’t be far behind in satirizing it.