Kanye West, Jack White, and Pearl Jam all have something in common—Tom DeLonge, Blink 182’s guitarist and singer. More specifically, his software platform, Modlife. The same guy who rose to Billboard chart-topping fame with naked live shows and videos (see: “What’s My Age Again?” for a censored version), is now making web software for the biggest rock stars on the planet.

Tom DeLonge Photo: Johnny Buzzerio

You’re probably confused. DeLonge is used to the blank faces, even from music-business insiders. “People always go, Wait, this is Blink’s company?” he says.

Modlife is a customizable software platform that streamlines the process of selling digital and physical product packages. Thinking about buying an iTunes album? Modlife will encourage that purchase with a hand-screened poster to go along with it. Want to see the live show? Modlife provides the opportunity to pay extra and get access to the usually off-limits soundcheck. “We’re making the band revenue by providing tools to monetize all these different elements of their business,” DeLonge says.

And it’s a lot of revenue. When Angels and Airwaves, DeLonge’s current band (whose new album, Poet Anderson The Dream Walker, is out Dec. 9), went on its last tour, DeLonge sold a limited number of VIP ticket packages–which doubled the tour income. Forty percent of revenue from each new Angel and Airwaves release comes from direct-to-consumer digital and physical multimedia packages via Modlife. The software also cuts costs by integrating programs like a live chat into its platform, so artists don’t have to pay for a third-party host. They’ve even innovated a way to avoid scalpers by creating a lottery system where VIP fans sign up to win the chance to purchase prime seating for a variety of concerts in different venues. Even if they won, scalpers would potentially have to travel to nearby cities to sell their tickets, taking away most cash gains and incentive. When Pearl Jam used the lottery program to sell tickets to its Ten Club members, one of the biggest rock n’ roll fan clubs in the world, it was the first time ticket sales didn’t crash the band’s website. After that, Live Nation developed its own version of the Modlife software.

Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 at the Showcase Theater in Corona July 18, 1995 Photo: Flickr user Kerry Key

But wait. This is Blink’s company?

Startups are actually nothing new to DeLonge. As his public punk persona was selling chart-topping albums with titles that were also masturbation puns (see: Take Off Your Pants and Jacket), he was also messing around in the tech space. Enema of the State sold a million copies within two months of its 1999 release, but “we were looking into a plan B,” DeLonge says. “Napster was just hitting and the epicenter of our fan base was suburbia where everyone had the newest Apple computer.”

So that year he built loserkids.com. It was one of the first websites curating, selling, and monetizing the California surfer-dude lifestyle that Blink-182 represented. It turned out to be a profitable leap during a major industry transformation. Ever since Napster, many bands haven’t been able to rely on income from album sales. On top of that, third-party distributors sell a band’s tickets, records, and merch, taking a cut from each sale. So DeLonge started thinking about how he could monetize other aspects of a band’s experience. Out came Modlife in 2007, right around the time Blink-182 decided to part ways.