Conditions in the music industry are forcing artists to diversify their sources of income to make ends meet. The tour, as well as the derivative products that the musicians sell during their concerts, is essential. However, many venues and festivals require that musicians pay them a commission on the shirts and albums they sell to their fansa situation denounced for several months in the United Kingdom and which now mobilizes musicians here.
The rock group Les Shirley made its Montreal comeback on Thursday evening. For the occasion, its members were selling new long-sleeved shirts, “which we don’t offer on our website to give priority to people who come to the show”, explains Raphaëlle Chouinard, guitarist, singer and main manager of the band.
It was a success: The Shirleys had already sold two-thirds of their production after their concert last Saturday at L’Anti, in Quebec. The sale of merchandise, clothing and albums is a crucial source of income for independent artists like Les Shirley. Thanks to this, the musicians were able to “quickly” reimburse the production costs of their first album, Forever is Nowreleased in 2021. “When you go on tour, it’s thanks to the merchandise that you come home without being in deficit, indicates Raphaëlle. In 2022, the sources of income for musicians are selling show tickets and merchandise. »
Commissions
The Shirleys add their voices to the chorus of denunciations of venues that charge a commission, which can range from 10% to nearly 25% of the sale of merchandise – and up to 35% in a festival, according to testimony that we collected. Sometimes the management team of a performance hall justifies the commission by the fact that the musicians have no one to manage the merchandise kiosk and that they offer to assign one of their employees there.
Jon Weisz, executive director of Scènes de musique alternatives du Québec, says that the majority of its members do not ask artists for commissions, but as a producer and promoter of shows, he has often seen this kind of request: “Generally, it’s between 10% 15% of the sales, but often the rooms will take commissions on the clothes and not on the recorded music […] Then, each situation is different, and it is necessary to take into account the financial arrangement of the production of the show” to judge or not the relevance of this practice.
“I understand that everyone is tightening their belts everywhere and that theaters are also suffering, but for us, it’s an ethical question, explains Raphaëlle Chouinard. These sales come back to us”, a point of view shared by the members of the British organization Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), which, last January, launched the 100% Venues campaign to raise public awareness of the cause by listing the theaters that refrain from charging a commission. “When viewers buy merchandise from artists they love, they want their money to support that artist and expect that to be the case,” argues the AFC.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, because I’ve experienced it myself during my tours, in theaters and at festivals, this year”, says the To have to Canadian musician and author Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon. Last Monday, Pemberton made the news item by speaking out for the #MyMerch campaign, backed by the FAC and the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers. The strategy used is the same as in England: make public a list of “ethical” venues and festivals that do not charge a commission on the sale of merchandise.
“Extortion”
“I have sympathy for what the small rooms are going through, the situation is difficult for everyone, recognizes Pemberton. But I wonder why it should come from the artists, those who attract the public to the halls and to whom, however, we never offer a commission on the sale of drinks at the bar. Musicians are the engine of this industry, why do we have to take money from them? For me, this practice is extortion, because if I refuse, I will not be invited to this room again”, which is even more true in rooms of medium or large capacity, which require higher commissions, tell us the musicians interviewed. Invited to comment, Evenko, organizer of Osheaga and manager of MTelus and Studio TD — formerly L’Astral — did not respond to the request of the To have to.
Located on rue Saint-Denis, the Turbo Haüs room is already on the #MyMerch list. Last October, its manager, Sergio Da Silva, condemned the practice with this scathing post on Twitter “Let me say that if you run a small venue like ours and ask for a commission, there is a special place in hell for you and I hope you get there soon. »
When you go on tour, it’s thanks to the merch that you come home without being in deficit
“If the room puts one of its employees behind the merchandise kiosk, I can understand that it takes a percentage, says Da Silva. Everybody needs money these days, but if you cause trouble for musicians [en exigeant une commission], you cause it too. Groups and rooms are inseparable, everyone should work together to be able to get through the next two years, which are going to be difficult. The manager also makes a link between this practice and the crisis that is raging in the musical entertainment industry: “Commissions, service fees at the box office, the cost of renting rooms, these are all symptoms of a same problem: these companies which, by their size, exercise a form of monopoly and impose their methods on the music industry. »
The issue would also be a source of unease between artists and performance halls, assures Raphaëlle Chouinard.
“One time, we were opening for it, it was packed, and we had sold a lot of merchandise. We had taken care of the booth ourselves, but the venue still demanded its 10% commission. Twice, an employee of the room asked us for the commission – even in the alley, while we were loading the van. We ran away without giving anything. I dare to imagine that if the venue wanted their money, they would have gone to our entertainment agency, but I think the employee knew that didn’t make sense. We never heard of it afterwards. »