Cait Stoddard May 8th, 2023 - 6:18 PM
According to blabbermouth.net during a interview with Spain’s The Metal Circus, In Flames‘s lead singer Anders Fridén discussed demand artists have toward the music venues and promoters eliminating the fees they charge bands to sell merchandise at live events.
“I think in the beginning it was a way for clubs to say, Okay, if we have shows and not enough people are coming, we have to take some money out of the merch because people are not drinking enough so we’re not getting money from the bar. But we know that is not true, because people are still drinking a lot when they come to the shows. So it’s just a thing that just stuck there. And for bands that are relying on the merch sales, it’s really, really tough.”
Fridén adds: I think it sucks, but there’s nothing I can do, I tried many, many years ago to start a debate and talk about this, but not enough bands were saying ‘we agree’ or were acknowledging the fact that it was a huge problem. And then it kind of disappeared. Everyone has to react; it can’t be just a few bands that say something. I don’t know what to do against it. It’s a huge cost. I mean, we sell a fair amount of merch, and the money that goes to someone else, even though we sell it ourselves sometimes, it’s crazy.
The frontman continues with: “It’s insane. But it’s way tougher for smaller bands that live from solely the merch; they have to get the merch money to pay gas to get to the next venue or to pay so they can maybe sleep in a motel or get some food or whatever. And then someone comes and just takes 20 percent out of their pocket for nothing. It’s horrendous.”
Many venues require bands to pay them a percentage of their merchandise sales. The split is 20/80, which means for every dollar a band makes selling a t-shirt, the venue gets 20 cents. It’s an accepted industry standard that has touring bands, especially those acts for whom merch income is still crucial for ensuring that a tour is profitable.
The Metal Circus asked Fridén if problem can be “fixed” if enough artists voiced their opposition to the commissions on how venues charge on merch sales at live shows.
“I don’t know about ‘fixed’, but it’s something that we have to be united, I guess. Everyone has to react. It can’t be just a few bands or someone in a band saying something and complaining, ’cause nothing is gonna happen. ‘Cause the whole cooperation, or whatever you wanna call them, that takes this concession money, it’s such a huge… It’s like David versus Goliath, but bands have to turn into the Goliath instead.”
In recent months some venues have said that they will take away merch fees. Ineffable Live got rid of their 20% merch fee in response to the testimony of Clyde Lawrence from the independent soul-pop band Lawrence, who spoke in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this past January about the “lopsided deal mechanics in certain aspects of the live music industry.”
