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The metalcore band Silent Planet threw free shirts to the audience during their Tuesday night show in Milan, Italy. The move came in protest of the venue Alcatraz’s apparent demands to take a significant percentage of merch sales from the band.
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Merch cuts started to make headlines in the post-COVID lockdown touring economy, with venues taking up to 25% percent of the price of merchandise sold for bands both large and small.
Live Nation even went so far as to rescind the merch cuts at their venues, offering a $1,500 stipend for gas and travel with other undisclosed bonuses for crew, tour managers, promoters and more in the wake of the controversy, although it is unclear if the program is still running.
Silent Planet said in a statement on social media before the June 9th concert:
“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 wish to purchase our merch online.”
Video footage posted on Silent Planet’s Instagram shows singer Garrett Russell tossing several of the band’s shirts into the crowd.
Silent Planet are currently on tour in Europe supporting The Plot In You. They are slated to appear at this year’s Inkcarceration festival before hitting the road supporting Saosin in the US this fall. Get tickets here.
See the aforementioned video of Silent Planet throwing shirts into the audience, as well as the social media posts from before the show, below.
English (US) · 