As you are probably well aware of by now, venues have been placing increasingly unfair merch cuts on artists using their space. As a result, many musicians have been speaking out against the practice, including Igorrr, who refused to sell merch during their recent show at the O2 Kentish Town Forum in London, UK. Now, even more artists have come forward. You can see some of their comments below:
Craig Reynolds (Stray From The Path):
didn’t wanna say anything because we literally NEED you guys to buy merch but this o2 venue stuff is insane: they FORCE you to use their merch seller (who is not invested in selling your merch, or doing a good job) and then they take 25% of the GROSS amount that person makes.
— craig reynolds (@reynlord) March 16, 2023
let’s say you do 100 long sleeves at £40 a shirt (for ease) but they cost £20 to make. that’s £4000 gross. They take £1000 for their cut then you have a £2000 merch bill. band makes £1000 – same as the fuckin venue.
— craig reynolds (@reynlord) March 16, 2023
in fact after paying the merch guy you have on tour for their day off – band would make LESS than the venue
— craig reynolds (@reynlord) March 16, 2023
nah we need people to buy merch on tour. not all venues do this. in the U.K. it’s mainly the big corporate ones only
— craig reynolds (@reynlord) March 16, 2023
Schuylar Croom (He Is Legend):
I’ve always said if you want a cut of our merch sales we should get a cut of your alcohol sales right? I mean we brought the people to the show to consume alcohol… what did you do?
— Schuylar Croom Ⓥ (@Crucialdude) March 16, 2023
Normally they ask for a cut and don’t even offer a table or anyone to sell so in this case if they count you in, count you out and sell for you then I can actually understand the cut though I’m totally against it.
— Schuylar Croom Ⓥ (@Crucialdude) March 16, 2023
Tom Williams (Stray From The Path):
They do, they have to make sure they keep the venue sellers stocked throughout the night. More work that we’re responsible for
— Tom Williams (@tomfromstray) March 16, 2023
Steve Micciche (ex-Every Time I Die):
The days of leaving your house with $40 or $50 to see national touring punk & hardcore acts are over. Costs for literally everything in the world have gone up. Performing arts is no different. After admission, drinks/water, a shirt/vinyl, it’s just where we’re at.
— Steve Micciche (@MitchBHavin) March 16, 2023
You either choose to leave your house to support/be entertained or you don’t. All good. Disposable income these days can be scarce. But don’t come down on bands for ticket prices/merch at shows. If you can’t get to a show but wanna support, pick up a shirt online. It helps.
— Steve Micciche (@MitchBHavin) March 16, 2023
Khemmis:
This feels all too familiar here in the states as well. Venues owned/operated by a *certain* corporate entity do this same nonsense & it SUCKS. Selling 1/2 (or less) of your usual amt b/c the mandatory in-house seller has no reason to hustle + massive cut = shit situation https://t.co/1rs1Xzkz0B
— Khemmis (@khemmisdoom) March 16, 2023
And before the chorus of “well your agent/team agreed to this,” please know that support bands on these tours have no leverage. None. Don’t like these deals? Kiss bigger touring opportunities goodbye. Openers have to eat shit and smile the whole time.
— Khemmis (@khemmisdoom) March 16, 2023
“Sell your merch out of your van.” That sounds cool and punk rock but 1) in bigger cities your vehicle may be far from the venue
2) contracts often explicitly prohibit this. yes, fuck ‘em, but again if a newer band gets blacklisted by corporate entities that hold all of the power— Khemmis (@khemmisdoom) March 16, 2023
then your singular act of defiance can easily cost you and your crew a lot more in the long run. Again, it’s a shit situation for openers and it takes the team of the big name bands to facilitate substantial change.
— Khemmis (@khemmisdoom) March 16, 2023
Unless the big names with real industry power give the middle finger to corporate venues stealing from artists, nothing will change and that sucks for artists AND fans.
— Khemmis (@khemmisdoom) March 16, 2023
[via The PRP]
Metal Anarchy 