Anyone who knows me professionally is likely to have heard me rant about the issue of venues charging small/independent artists unreasonable commission on CD sales. I just wanted to address this now to make my position completely clear.
Many venues and festivals are likely to charge 10% commission, quite often 20% and sometimes even higher, not making any distinction between artists signed to major record labels, and independent artists trying to subsidise their living by selling a small number of CDs after a gig.
The highest rate of commission ever proposed to me was at a gig in the Royal Albert Hall Café-Bar, where they were insisting on taking 40% for us to sell our own CDs from the stage!
This appalled me to the degree that I dealt with it by giving CDs away for FREE….Yup, 40% of nothing is…?
What is unreasonable here is that the venue is making no distinction between a major artist like George Michael performing in the main hall to 5000 people per night (charge= 40% on merchandise) ,and a small independent, unsigned jazz group from Glasgow playing to 50 people in a café (charge=40% on merchandise). Not only that but the venue was offering no service whatsoever for their 40%. So why should they get a cut of a product that they have made zero investment in?! It’s ludicrous! Imagine that on Dragon’s Den! “OK, I’ll make you an offer – I want 40% equity in your business, for which I’m going to give you NO money, and on top of that, offer you NONE of my expertise.” Ha HA! No thank you Theo!!
How about this for an idea – we’ll give you 40% of our CD revenue if you give us 40% of your café and bar takings. After all, we’re bringing in customers to YOUR venue, who WE sourced at OUR expense through building a fan base, and who wouldn’t otherwise be buying your overly-priced beer, coffee or pain-au-cholcolate. We’re providing you with customers FREE of charge! Perhaps it would be reasonable, in return, to let us sell our product free of charge. That is to say, a product which is the culmination of years and years of study, practice, composition, arranging investment of time, money, blood, sweat, tears, late nights, arguments, market research etc.etc…
Just a thought – fair’s fair…or give us 40% of the bar takings, it’s up to you.
Don’t get me wrong, I do see why it can seem perfectly reasonable for venues to impose some sort of commission on merchandise, and it’s been a fact of life for years. However – it is now the 21st Century, and the music business - especially the record industry - has changed vastly, while music venue policies in this area have failed to adapt accordingly. We need to start introducing some common sense into this area, specifically that venues make policy distinctions between small, independent artists selling a handful of CDs, and huge commercial acts signed to Sony, or EMI – rather than aggressively pursuing flat-rate merchandise commission as a non-flexible piece of income revenue. Venues need to look at their policies and be prepared to exercise some reason and common sense, supporting and encouraging enterprising artists who are investing a great deal of time in building audience, not only for themselves but for the venue too. One good way of showing this support to artists is to consider exercising discretion in merchandise commission policy. It could be like a ‘thank you’ to the artist for bringing their fan base to the venue. All of this is ultimately going to be good for the reputation of the venue, the quality of its relationships with artists, and its successful integration with the modern music industry.
Then there’s the responsibility that lies with artists. We need to start standing up for ourselves in general, but also not allow venues to bully us by ambushing us, often on the evening of the gig, with whatever commission they see fit. If we want to do this properly, it has to be viewed as a business proposal with a contract that is negotiable and not one sided. If a venue is to take a cut on merch sales, we need ask the question “What service are you going to provide for your 20%?” In other words, what are the variables here? Will CDs be available before the gig? During the interval? After the gig? And for how long after? Where will the merchandise stand be located and how will it be presented? How will it be staffed? Will there be appropriate signage provided by the venue? If you are a club charging commission, do you offer a table to table service?....These are things that should be offered by the venue if they are going to insist on commission – artist’s shouldn’t simply sit back and allow them to take this lazy option for additional revenue.
There needs to be a fair deal.
It might also be a good idea to negotiate a sliding scale with variable rates of commission depending on how many units are sold. This provides incentive for the venue to be more proactive in selling the product, and driving CD sales. More CD sales means more revenue for both the artist AND the venue.
So, rather than a venue blindly hitting artist with a commission fee without obligation to provide any sort of quality of service, perhaps we should be using something like this as a basis for negotiating the terms of our contract:
First 5 CDs – No Commission
5 – 20 CDs – 10%
20 CDs and over – 20%
Services to be provided by venue :
- CDs to be available for purchase 30mins before the show, during the interval, and for 30mins after the show.
- Well presented table in a clearly visable location in foyer, bar or other suitable
- Printed posters directing audience to point of sale, displayed around the venue.
- CD presentation stands – maximised product visability
- Clear pricing notices at the table
- 2 Staff
- Allow audience members to sign up to our mailing list
To me this seems completely reasonable, and it is beyond me why we continue to let this area of our income lie solely in the hands of a venue’s bureaucracy.
Rather, we need to take control of the revenue stream that WE created.
Power to the artist!
P x
