This is well worth a read to understand what artists are up against
Rare to see any artists doing a breakdown like this but it should become the norm
A lot of venues will take a “merch cut” of anything between 15-30% of a band’s gross income on merch. We will not play venues that take a merch cut. More bands at our level should adopt this policy.
I wrote an essay about the merch cuts some venues take for TheQuietus a few years ago
It’s an interesting read. But also - this is why bands generally play more than one show if they go somewhere, it splits the fixed costs.
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Said it before and I’ll say it again: more matinées.
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But equally, if you don’t have the confidence you can sell the tickets/merch etc… Not so much of an issue for LC, but for someone who’s going on their first headline tour or something…
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When I regularly started going to gigs aged 15-16 I don’t remember very many of them being 18+ (raves and club stuff - yeah obvs)
But your barfly (coopers) and your welsh club and your students union always let kids in. Has that dramatically shifted? I wouldn’t have noticed…
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Yeah but there are added costs and that can lead to more losses if there aren’t big enough offers in day Wrexham en route or Belfast on the way back
Plus if band are working day jobs, factoring that loss of earnings in too
Am sure there are more complex reasons why they didn’t do more shows
It also makes postponing shows due to ill health (hello covid) all the more costly too
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The Anchoress fanbase have been saying the same
We should be ending all shows on the upcoming tour by 10pm but looking to do matinees in future - obviously only possible at weekends and many venues can’t open for soundcheck before certain times due to staff needing 12 hours between shifts if they have events or clubs the night before so there are interconnected issues before considering the artist having to get up at 5am to get to 10am soundcheck or adding in an extra night’s accommodation for band and crew
Also, hate to out myself as captain capitalism but if your income isn’t covering your outgoings you probably need to be charging more.
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Its a good and very interesting article but im not sure ‘it should become the norm’…
Sure. And I imagine a combination of these things is why they’ve not been to Ireland in a very long time.
I just find it slightly frustrating when these things are held up to be bigger than they arguably are. Bands aren’t exempt from market forces; they literally sold out the show, they made as much as they could, it was just an expensive thing to do. How can that be mitigated except by either more shows or a bigger show? I just don’t think it’s really symptomatic of anything bigger. They’re not losing £1000 on every show, are they?
My main takeaway tbh is “it’s actually really nice that they did this, good for them.”
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No idea how when it’s not half term but Laura Marling sold out an Albert Hall (Manchester) matinee yesterday, Thursday afternoon, with a curfew of 5pm. That was added after selling out two evening shows so they will have had an idea of the demand, but I imagine still a bit of a risk that has paid off.
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I didn’t clock that. I guess it will need artists at that level and above to shift the mindset
I’m sure Taylor Swift could play at 5am on a Monday morning and still sellout a venue
I’m glad they’re transparent about stuff like this but fucking hell, the whole landscape for bands in particular is so depressing.
Dunno how anyone ‘on the up’ is meant to manage - you either tour literally all year long to make a living or do a day job and are only able to gig on weekeds etc which will hobble your career. Just bleak
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Interesting article and helpful to know as a punter where your ticket money is going. £18.50 is far too cheap for a 7 piece band of their standing though
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I imagine that typically most bands start out when they’re in their late teens / early 20s so work commitments / holiday allowance / fixed income is less of a priority than people who are older like LC! (children, spouses, mortgages etc)
Not disagreeing with you btw
laura marling did three shows in the last two days at the albert hall in manchester. a thursday matinee is pretty common in the theatre, and she’s unusual in that she’s only doing these three shows for this record and then going on maternity leave, and they were with strings and a choir and stuff, but still interesting that she was able to do a thursday matinee at a 1000 cap (fully seated) venue
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sounds like they need to be a little Less Campesinos and a little more Compensated
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read the thread before posting viney!
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Well they aren’t called Profit Campesinos!
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