Hi and welcome to edition #9 of Alternative Motive! We are a monthly music newsletter focusing on today’s alternative music scene. If this email was forwarded to you and this is your jam, please click here to subscribe.

Tuned In

Alt Motive’s 2024 “ins” & “outs” for the scene
How many times can I say “discourse” in this article?

INS:

• Bands having no idea what their genre is

• Post-ironic resurgence of the Jarrod Alonge-era pop punk aesthetic (pizza, khakis, low cut Vans)

• Wearing merch for the opening band during their set

• CDs

• Local shows

• Bands on the same tour lineup collaborating on a song and performing it live

• Free water at the barricade

• Concept albums

• Supporting alt-influenced songs that make it on the radio

• Wearing deodorant at shows

OUTS:

• Mosh pit discourse

• Crowd surfing discourse

• Sell out discourse

• “That’s not real pop punk” discourse

• “[Any woman in a band] is copying Paramore” discourse

• Making not eating or drinking water before a concert a personality trait

• Venues without good air conditioning who also refuse to open a door

• Terrible rhyming

• Using power dynamics to take advantage of each other

• “Did I just write the song of the summer?”

Backstage

Cutting It Close
Artists and venues continue to sound off on merch cuts

Conrad Galecki’s face lights up when he talks about producing concert merchandise with his band, New Friends. The bassist, originally from Waterloo, Ont., said that he and his four bandmates find passion in creating merch.

They scout and connect with unique artists to design the merch graphics, source the manufacturers who can print high-quality product at the right price and get excited when the boxes of merch arrive at their doorstep ahead of an upcoming tour.

When the alternative-pop band, who formed at London, Ont.’s Fanshawe College in 2018, take items like branded t-shirts and hats out on the road, it is an opportunity for them to experiment with styles and hear responses from fans.  

“We put a lot of thought and care into it because we want to make it timeless,” said Galecki. “We want the t-shirt that you find next month in your drawer, or 10 years from now in a Tupperware container stacked in the attic, to still be the one that you want to put on.”

But despite the thought, hard work and time that New Friends puts into their merch, they are not gaining all of the profits from their tour merch sales.

Sometimes, the venues they play are pocketing a portion.

Merch cuts, also known as merch rates, refer to the practice of concert venues or promoters taking a cut of a touring musician’s gross merch sales from the night. While the most common rate is known as “80-20” (80 per cent goes to the artist, 20 per cent goes to the venue), some music industry professionals have reported cuts up to 40 per cent. These rates are typically negotiated and put in a contract when the concert is first booked.

Merch settlement is the physical process of splitting the money between the artist and the venue as negotiated. This often happens at the merch table, after a show has ended but before the artist leaves for the night.

“I guess you can look at it kind of like a rental,” said Greg Jones, who is vice president of Jones Entertainment Group and runs daily operations at London, Ont.’s Centennial Hall.

“You’re in a public space selling your product – you’ve got to pay to be able to do that.”

Jones said that merch cuts have been the standard at venues for years. He grew up in the live entertainment business, where his dad managed children’s personality, Mr. Dressup, and author, Robert Munsch.

Jones would sometimes help his dad on tour.

“I remember being at a young age, selling thousands of dollars of books during these Robert Munsch shows, and then at the end, the front of house manager would come up and say, ‘Okay, we have to settle.’”

While merch cuts are common, that does not mean artists and their touring crews are happy with them.

Artists and venues: varying opinions

“Venues should not be having their entire business operate on extracting money from people who already don’t make money,” he said. “It’s just kind of exploitative at that point.”

Artists have taken to social media to discuss the topic.

On Labour Day, American musician, Jeff Rosenstock, shared a breakdown of the merch cuts venues would be taking on his fall headlining tour. The thread, posted on X, showed a range from no cuts to 20 per cent cuts, with some venues also charging for tax.

Closer to home, Canadian rapper, Cadence Weapon, worked with the United Musicians and Allied Workers and Featured Artists Coalition to launch the #MyMerch campaign in November 2022. An extension of the UK-based 100% Venues campaign, #MyMerch compiles a public database of North American venues that have vowed not to take merch cuts.

Tsafatinos and Galecki both said that while merch cuts do not impact their band and crews’ ability to complete a tour, they can affect the team’s daily lives on the road.

“Everyone [sells] merch to get the coffee and the doughnut in the morning,” said Galecki. “The merch money is what keeps you sane.”

Evie Maynes was Good Kid’s merch manager and vendor on the Return of the Kid tour. Maynes said they saw the way merch cuts affected morale.

“Pretty much the first question that any artist I work with asks me at the end of the night is, ‘How did we do on merch?’ And I have to be the one to break it to them that we had to do a really tough merch cut.”

Jones said there is a reason for merch rates. Beyond it being practice charging someone for the space they use to sell a product, merch cuts also help with venue operations.

In the case of Centennial Hall, which has a 20 per cent rate and is owned by the City of London, Jones said that merch cuts lessen how much taxpayers contribute to supporting the venue.

“If you bring in $30,000 in merch revenue over the year, that’s $30,000 less that the City of London has to subsidize Centennial Hall to keep the lights on, heat the place and air condition it in the summertime,” said Jones.

Galecki has previous experience working in a music venue, which he said allows him to see “two sides” of the conversation.

“I understand that venues have to make money – that’s a given,” said Galecki, noting the number of staff that work at venues each day, setting up before and cleaning up after a concert.

But he also mentioned the ways venues generate additional cash through selling alcohol and running coat check.

“There are so many ways that [venues] are making money and it’s like, ‘The last thing that we have to hold on to, you really want to come after that as well?’”

“I really can’t stand it, even though I understand it.”

Looking to solutions

On September 26, Live Nation announced its On the Road Again initiative, created with musician Willie Nelson. According to the website, On the Road Again is meant to “support developing artists and crew at the club level.” One of the program benefits is that participating venues will not charge merchandise rates.

77 Live Nation club-sized venues are participating in the program. Seven of those venues are in Canada. These include Toronto’s Velvet Underground and Danforth Music Hall, both of which previously had 80-20 merch rates on soft goods, according to technical specifications on their websites.

It is unclear how long On the Road Again will last. Live Nation’s press release about the initiative said that it will deliver extra earnings to artists and crews “through the end of the year.”

Some venues have never implemented merch cuts, including London, Ont.’s Palasad Socialbowl.

“I think it’s clear that I don’t really agree with [merch cuts] or I’d be doing it in my venue,” said Marty Novak, who is the venue’s director of operations.

Novak said the only time an artist may have a cost associated with selling merch is if they need a venue employee to sell it on their behalf. The employee is paid minimum wage, which the artist would need to cover.

If the band sells their own merch, which Novak said most do, they keep 100 per cent of the profits.

“[The musicians] printed these things off like two years ago with their own money, probably from their part-time jobs at Loblaws,” said Novak. “I think they deserve to get all the money for their art.”

Novak calls Palasad Socialbowl an “alternative space,” noting that it is not a traditional concert venue. While the venue hosts live music, it also has a full-service restaurant, bowling alleys, an arcade and adjacent escape rooms. Novak says the revenue from these amenities help operate the venue.

“We’re generating revenue streams from a whole bunch of different spots and are not just depending on the music crowd,” said Novak.

Tsafatinos and Maynes both suggested that venues should consider alternate sources of revenue, rather than relying on merch cuts.

“I know it is hard for venues to stay afloat … but I don’t really see how merch cuts are the thing keeping them afloat,” said Maynes. “Maybe look into other ways to make money – set up a pizza joint inside the venue or something.”

“I don’t really see how taking it from the artist is fair.”

Tsafatinos said he would prefer if venues structured their businesses in a way that was more straightforward about making the money they need to operate. He said this could include taking a larger percentage of ticket sales.

“At least it’s a more transparent relationship – we know what to expect and can agree on whether to play the venue or not based on that [percentage],” said Tsafatinos.

Artists have had to find their own solutions in the meantime. A February Substack post by Your Band is a Brand suggests 10 ways for musicians to avoid merch cuts, including asking the artist’s booking agent to put a “no-merchandise cuts” clause into performance agreements, encouraging tips (cuts are not taken from the tip jar) and lying to venues about the night’s sales.

According to Galecki, New Friends does merch cut “damage control” by deciding what products are “worth” bringing into the venue at each show. If a cut is being taken, they look at each item’s profit margins and will only sell what will make money.

Galecki said that the solution to merch cut discourse comes down to mutual understanding.

“The only way a solution will be found is for both parties to listen to each other,” said Galecki. “Empathy has to happen. Otherwise, this conversation will go in circles forever.”

“Where are we cutting each other slack? Where is that middle line where we shake hands?”

Alt New Monthly

December 2023’s Alt New Monthly features new music from Stockholm Siesta, a fresh discovery from Homestyle Dinner Rolls, and of course, some tunes from both Good Kid and New Friends

To find songs previously featured in the Alt New Monthly playlist, check out the Alt New Archives on Spotify.

Thank you for reading the ninth edition of Alternative Motive. This is our last edition of 2023! It’s been a pleasure sharing stories with you this year. Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already and follow Alternative Motive on Instagram and TikTok.

Talk to you next year,
Kendra