I’ve been done there.
No-one’s forcing anyone to buy an Afghan Whigs vinyl, at a gig of theirs for £25 when you can buy it for £18 in a shop.
In fact no-one’s forcing anyone to buy an Afghan Whigs album on vinyl, when it costs £8.99 on other formats.
I don’t see a distinction between these 2 things. I think spending a premium on vinyl is odder than spending a secondary premium on it at a gig. But there we go.
the merch stand is so much warmer
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Yeah but loads of other fans are there. And we all know Hell Is Other Fans.
buying an album by the national would be taking the piss out of myself, yes
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WHIGS FELL OFF
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It seems to be getting worse, I remember a tenner or less was pretty standard for a t-shirt or record. I often bought t-shirts of bands I didn’t even necessarily love just to have as clothing if I liked the design. Or to look cool, whatever. And punts on albums from support bands I enjoyed. Now it does seem odd that I could get the same album online cheaper - but then I lose the spur of the moment thing and just don’t bother, I have seen t-shirts for over 20 quid, just seems crazy. So they have lost out on a sale from me.
I presume they have put at least some thought into it of course. And I have probably had nights where I’ve spent the price of an album at the bar without complaint.
20 quid shirt? fuck off!!! i’ll have 3 pints of carling for 6 quid each ta
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I’ve always found the merch desk a bit cheaper, I guess it depends on what bands you see
Hi CG !
I have had some success smuggling in cans of Red Stripe. If they have the cheek to serve them in a can from behind the bar at £3.50 a pop, I can put one down my trousers and bring it from the corner shop down the road.
It is silly the beer thing, problem is you pay in instalments. You don’t necessarily set out to spend that on beer, you just find you fancy another.
Yeah I have no idea what this thread is about. Tshirts cheaper than anywhere else I have found.
Or sacrifice one of the 12 pints of CAMRA-approved real ale you sink to put towards said records.
Two important factors that don’t seem to have been mentioned are price-matching (support acts being forced to sell their t-shirts and vinyl at the same or a higher price than the headline act is doing, so they don’t “lose” sales to them), and venues charging artists an assumed cut of merch sales.
When you’re paying £20+ for a t-shirt, it’s often because 25% of that is going to the company that owns the venue.
So going by this, buying a band’s merch at the gig won’t be supportng the artist as directly as one might assume.
Plus the support bands not being allowed to price their merch below the main act seems really harsh on them and must cause a few potential sales (and future fans) to be lost.
I guess you are supporting them directly in that they’re effectively being taxed on your support, and passing that cost on to you.
David Gedge of the Wedding Present commented on this when they played the Roundhouse earlier in the year. He refused to increase merch prices to incorporate their cut so took the hit making sure the fans didn’t pay more. Fairdo’s to him.
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it’s so common, I’m surprised it isn’t talked about more.
That’s one of the (many) reasons I like Tufnell Park Dome so much. They make a real effort to avoid rip-off ticketing agencies wherever possible, and don’t take a cut of merch, you can go see an international touring act for £15 and pay about the same for a t-shirt.
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i’ve seen it vary a lot, i think often it depends on the quality of the t-shirt above all - if it’s an ill-fitting Fruit of the Loom t-shirt it’s more likely to be a tenner. i do get put off by the t-shirt prices sometimes though.
Did yourself by not liking the Afghan Whigs, to be fair. 
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