Photosynthesis t-shirt

[drinkthesunshinezine]

Maybe people more involved in arena shows could confirm this or not, but aren't part of the reason why shirts etc are so expensive inside the gig because the venue puts a levy on merchandise?

When I was a teenager, I think I remember a punk alldayer (Deconstruction?) in about 2000 where the bands took the merch outside and sold it because of a charge by the venue (possibly the London Docklands arena).

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[NikkiS]

Bootleggers have been around forever and aren't going away; artists can't stop them, the law can't stop them, the only ones who can are us lot by not buying the stuff...so help a girl be virtuous here and sell an official PS tee. (Broken record? Me?)

And depressing as it is for recording artists, my selfish streak is revelling in the amount of live music currently out there as bands turn to gigs instead of records for money.

[frank]

Maybe people more involved in arena shows could confirm this or not, but aren't part of the reason why shirts etc are so expensive inside the gig because the venue puts a levy on merchandise?

When I was a teenager, I think I remember a punk alldayer (Deconstruction?) in about 2000 where the bands took the merch outside and sold it because of a charge by the venue (possibly the London Docklands arena).

Correct me if I'm wrong.

yes. the price of my shirts has risen in recent years, as i'm aware, but personally i make pretty much the same on them. nowadays venues take up to 25%, plus you start having to pay VAT on them at my level, which is another 20%. annoyingly though i'm the one who gets it in the neck from people when prices rise. sigh.

[newmy]

Maybe people more involved in arena shows could confirm this or not, but aren't part of the reason why shirts etc are so expensive inside the gig because the venue puts a levy on merchandise?

When I was a teenager, I think I remember a punk alldayer (Deconstruction?) in about 2000 where the bands took the merch outside and sold it because of a charge by the venue (possibly the London Docklands arena).

Correct me if I'm wrong.

If I recall, this is exactly what Beans On Toast did after the Wembley show.

[newmy]

Also on a general note, 'back in the day' when I used to travel from my hometown of Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton and Birmingham for shows, there were a couple of guys from Shrewsbury who used to be out at those show pretty regularly too. They'd always play the bootleggers at their own game and work together to just nick the stuff. Given that these are nasty pieces of work this was probably a pretty risky thing to do, but they always got away with it.

[NikkiS]

Also on a general note, 'back in the day' when I used to travel from my hometown of Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton and Birmingham for shows, there were a couple of guys from Shrewsbury who used to be out at those show pretty regularly too. They'd always play the bootleggers at their own game and work together to just nick the stuff. Given that these are nasty pieces of work this was probably a pretty risky thing to do, but they always got away with it.

Now there's an idea. Newmy, how fast can you run? Want to be a tag team if I find a dodgy bootlegger with a PS tee?

[newmy]

Also on a general note, 'back in the day' when I used to travel from my hometown of Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton and Birmingham for shows, there were a couple of guys from Shrewsbury who used to be out at those show pretty regularly too. They'd always play the bootleggers at their own game and work together to just nick the stuff. Given that these are nasty pieces of work this was probably a pretty risky thing to do, but they always got away with it.

Now there's an idea. Newmy, how fast can you run? Want to be a tag team if I find a dodgy bootlegger with a PS tee?

I'm out of breath if I run 5 metres for a bus. I'd advise you to seek an alterntive accomplice.

[BigStu]

Maybe people more involved in arena shows could confirm this or not, but aren't part of the reason why shirts etc are so expensive inside the gig because the venue puts a levy on merchandise?

When I was a teenager, I think I remember a punk alldayer (Deconstruction?) in about 2000 where the bands took the merch outside and sold it because of a charge by the venue (possibly the London Docklands arena).

Correct me if I'm wrong.

yes. the price of my shirts has risen in recent years, as i'm aware, but personally i make pretty much the same on them. nowadays venues take up to 25%, plus you start having to pay VAT on them at my level, which is another 20%. annoyingly though i'm the one who gets it in the neck from people when prices rise. sigh.

I take it certain venues charge a lot more than others ? I remember speaking to Shaun Flores, the then Dropkick Murphys merch guy, about why a tshirt cost £15 one night at Barrowlands and then £20 the next at an academy group venue, where he said it was their cut of merch price was to blame.

[Bobstains]

I was browsing fleabay yesterday and saw some of Franks lyrics in a picture frame, I checked Franks website and there aren't there so these aren't official, but I like them, so , rather then support someone trying to cash in i'll make my own, all I need is an A3 frame and some of my favourite Frank lyrics.

I also picked out a couple of t-shirts I liked from the store but neither had my size (only small left), any plans to restock the Black Anchor T-shirt and the Green Recovery Tour T-shirt will be greatly received by me.


Missed the merch stand on the way out of Nottingham, too busy singing and dancing my way outta there, wanted one of those tour posters too.

[NikkiS]

Also on a general note, 'back in the day' when I used to travel from my hometown of Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton and Birmingham for shows, there were a couple of guys from Shrewsbury who used to be out at those show pretty regularly too. They'd always play the bootleggers at their own game and work together to just nick the stuff. Given that these are nasty pieces of work this was probably a pretty risky thing to do, but they always got away with it.

Now there's an idea. Newmy, how fast can you run? Want to be a tag team if I find a dodgy bootlegger with a PS tee?

I'm out of breath if I run 5 metres for a bus. I'd advise you to seek an alterntive accomplice.

If speed is not an option, maybe we need a distraction instead. Do you know of anyone who could whip a few hundred fans into a strategically placed frenzy?...

[DTM11]

I've stopped buying merch at gigs over the past couple of years because of rising costs and decreasing salary. I much prefer waiting until after the tour when any leftovers get put on the band/artists webstore. Usually it's cheaper and I'd like to think the band get the same cut if not more. I know bands like Iron Maiden only sell shirts with tour dates at the events and change them for the website after but with my fan club membership I can usually buy 2 t-shirts after I've seen them for the price of one at the gig.

I hate touts and fake merch people but sometimes I do have a chuckle over the poor quality stuff they sell. Best thing I saw was after a maiden gig in 2011 on the Final Frontier tour there was a guy selling scarfs and T-shirts with Finol Frontir 2012 tour written on it! what a joke. I just wish there was more that could be done to rid the pre/post gig experience of these nasty people.

[marowak]

there are some interesting articles out there if you google this ...

i think its a shame that the music industry (not sure what organisation this would site under though) does not try and put more pressure on the necessary bodies to stop this and touting happening.

it would not be hard to police a large venue and arrest / move on people who do not have a street selling licence and the fact that they are illegal merchandise.

i guess there is not enough resource out there for it to happen.

interestingly i've seen a lot of bands putting up blog posts etc asking people not to buy it and also make sure they announce it in their shows - the sad thing is a lot of people would not understand why this is being asked and probably think 'they are just saying that so they make more money' rather than understanding the problem.

in a slightly related manner - i think its great to see the tickets board in this forum doing so well and things like that will help ticket touting in the future ... if fans can exchange tickets at a face value price it will help reduce the demand for touts.

lunchtime rambling over for now .

[newmy]

there are some interesting articles out there if you google this ...

i think its a shame that the music industry (not sure what organisation this would site under though) does not try and put more pressure on the necessary bodies to stop this and touting happening.

it would not be hard to police a large venue and arrest / move on people who do not have a street selling licence and the fact that they are illegal merchandise.

i guess there is not enough resource out there for it to happen.

interestingly i've seen a lot of bands putting up blog posts etc asking people not to buy it and also make sure they announce it in their shows - the sad thing is a lot of people would not understand why this is being asked and probably think 'they are just saying that so they make more money' rather than understanding the problem.

in a slightly related manner - i think its great to see the tickets board in this forum doing so well and things like that will help ticket touting in the future ... if fans can exchange tickets at a face value price it will help reduce the demand for touts.

lunchtime rambling over for now .

I'm certain that outside a few gigs I've been too I've seen police with something along the lines of 'fraud protection officer' or 'copyright protection officer' on their uniforms. I'd have thought they were there with the explicit aim of shutting fake merch guys down, but they just seem to look on and do nothing.

[As Good As It Gets]

Maybe people more involved in arena shows could confirm this or not, but aren't part of the reason why shirts etc are so expensive inside the gig because the venue puts a levy on merchandise?

When I was a teenager, I think I remember a punk alldayer (Deconstruction?) in about 2000 where the bands took the merch outside and sold it because of a charge by the venue (possibly the London Docklands arena).

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I was at that Deconstruction and remember it well. It was 2001 though.

13 years ago, god i'm getting old.

[MariaCollette]

I find that unofficial merch isn't as pretty as the official merch anyway. Plus I'd rather pay more and support the artist, only if there is official merch I like.