Gojira’s Merch Prices On Their New European/UK Tour Spark Heated Debate

After being met with pandemic-related issues and logistical challenges, French progressive metal outfit Gojira recently commenced their previously postponed leg of European/UK touring. However, the acclaimed group have been met with a bit of backlash online regarding the pricing of their merchandise at the shows.

The post that set off the debate can be seen below:

The tweet has managed to rack up over 559k views on Twitter since being posted this past Sunday, February 12th. It is thought to have been taken at the opening Irish dates of the band’s ongoing European/UK trek. For those not native to the UK, the aforementioned prices roughly translate to a $49 USD for a t-shirt, $97 USD for a hoodie, and so on.

As has been detailed in the past, touring in recent times for the majority of bands is by no means an easy feat. With little income generated from streaming for all but a lucky few, and declining physical sales, merch sales from live shows have become the lifeblood of a touring artist in recent years.

Touring has also become an even bigger gamble in the current economic climate. The nature of tours being booked months, if not a year, in advance means that budgeting for them has become highly unpredictable. Faced with staggering inflation, an energy crisis and an industry looking to quickly bounce back from years of pandemic-related income loss, the strain put on mid-level and lower touring artists has been devastating to say the least.

While some have taken to assume Gojira are being greedy, others have rallied to their defense. The eco-conscious band have had a long history of standing firm to their beliefs of environmentalism and sustainability, and as you’ll soon find out, that may play a part in the seemingly ‘inflated’ prices.

Among those to jump to the defense of Gojira is Stray From The Path drummer (and ‘The Downbeat‘ podcast host) Craig Reynolds. Across a series of tweets, he delved into what he feels are the reasons for the higher cost of the merch:

Gojira‘s touring this year includes the following runs:

With Employed To Serve & Alien Weaponry:

02/14 Newcastle, UK – City Hall
02/15 Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
02/17 Cardiff, UK – Motorpoint Arena
02/19 Manchester, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse
02/21 Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
02/22 London, UK – Alexandra Palace
02/24 Bordeaux, FRA – Arkea Arena
02/25 Paris, FRA – Accor Arena
02/26 Luxembourg, LUX – Rockhal
02/28 Lyon, FRA – Halle Tony Garnier

With Mastodon & Lorna Shore:

04/18 Portland, OR – Veterans Memorial Coliseum
04/20 Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion
04/21 Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
04/22 Phoenix, AZ – AZ Federal Theatre
04/23 Las Vegas, NV – Virgin
04/26 Dallas, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
04/28 Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
04/29 Austin, TX – Moody Center
04/30 Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre
05/02 Nashville, TN – Municipal Auditorium
05/04 Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Amphitheater
05/05 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
05/06 Atlanta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
05/07 Asheville, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee Center
05/09 Richmond, VA – Virginia Credit Union Live
05/10 Baltimore, MD – Pier Six Pavilion
05/11 Reading, PA – Santander Arena

Gojira:

06/02 Nurnberg, GER – Rock im Park
06/03 Nurburg, GER – Rock am Ring
06/06 Amsterdam, NET – AFAS Arena
06/07-10 Gdansk, POL – Mystic Festival
06/08 Stockholm, SWE – Sweden Rock Festival
06/12 Budapest, HUN – Barba Negra
06/13 Prague, CZE – Mala Sportovni Hala
06/14-17 Copenhagen, DEN – Copenhell
06/16 Dessel, BEL – Graspop Metal Meeting
06/18 Vienna, AUT – Arena Wien
06/19 Milan, ITA – Alcatraz
06/20 Geneva, SWI – Arena de Geneve
06/22-24 Oslo, NOR – Tons Of Rock
06/23-25 Gräfenhainichen, GER – Full Force
06/27 Tallinn, EST – Noblessner Foundry
06/29-07-01 Seinajoki, FIN – Provinssi Festival
06/30-07/02 Helsinki, FIN – Tuska Festival
07/01 Belfort, FRA – Eurockeennes de Belfort
07/02 Nimes, FRA – Arenes de Nimes

With Mastodon & Lorna Shore:

08/09 Cincinnati, OH – MegaCorp Pavilion
08/10 Cleveland, OH – Jacob’s Pavilion
08/11 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE Outdoors
08/12 New York, NY – Coney Island Amphitheater
08/13 Syracuse, NY – OneCenter
08/15 Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple
08/17 Toronto, ON – RBC Echo Beach
08/18 Laval, QC – Place Bell
08/19 Portland, ME – Cross Insurance Arena
08/20 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall
08/23 Milwaukee, WI – BMO Pavilion
08/25 Hammond, IN – Horseshoe
08/26 Omaha, NE – Westfair Amphitheater
08/27 Minneapolis, MN – Waite Park Amphitheater
08/29 St. Louis, MO – The Factory
08/30 Kansas City, MO – Azura Amphitheater
09/01 Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheater
09/02 Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater