With the costs of touring already up across the board, the practice of merch cuts/merch rates has become even more taxing upon performing artists. That much decried business move refers to a venue being entitled to a portion of income generated from merchandise sold by an artist during a concert.
These terms are usually contractually agreed upon well in advance of the show taking place, with venues claiming an average of 20% of the gross, though there have been fluctuations in that field. There’s also the issue of local taxes to deal with on top of that. Some venues further agitate artists by employing their own merch people to oversee the sales of the artist’s merch.
Alternative metal outfit Silent Planet recently felt the sting of the dreaded merch rate at their show opening for The Plot In You last night, June 09th, at Alcatraz in Milan, Italy. Ahead of the show, Silent Planet outlined their planned protest in response. Taking to social media, they stated:
“Tonight’s venue in Milan is not allowing us to sell our own merch, and demanding a 25% gross vendor fee (merch rate) and an additional 22% tax. We believe this business model is predatory and cannot afford to lose money on our own merch, especially so far from home.
However, I’ve spoken with so many of you outside the venue already, and I know many have traveled far to be here. So we will be throwing out shirts during the set, and will also provide a discount code for those who isn’t to purchase our merch online.”
True to their word, the band indeed threw out free shirts into the audience last night, with vocalist Garrett Russell tossing them out into the audience mid-song, see below for the footage. You may recall back in 2023, Monuments publicly vented on their own experience with merch cuts in Milan.
Silent Planet‘s ongoing European tour will wind down with a pair of shows in Ukraine later this month, despite the ongoing war being waged against that country by Russia. Dates include:
06/10 Innsbruck, AUT – Music Hall
06/12 Donington, UK – Download Festival
06/13 Hradec Kralove, CZE – Rock For People
06/15 Nurnberg, GER – Z-Bau (feat. Rain City Drive)
06/16 Hannover, GER – Faust
06/18 Warsaw, POL – Summer Punch Festival
06/20 Kyiv, UKR – Atlas Club
06/21 Lviv, UKR – Festrepublic Club
