Georgia mathcore group The Callous Daoboys, are protesting the music industry's continuing problem with merch cuts. The conversation has been ongoing and the Daoboys are the latest band to bring attention to the staggering fees being forced on musicians.
In a statement the band said:
we are unable to sell merch tonight in Milan due to the venue alcatraz, taking a 47% merch cut. We are very sorry, but we would lose money by trying to sell. We will have our merch online after the tour with TesseracT and Unprocessed concludes. Love you.
One fan tried to explain the high merch cut as a VAT tax, but the Daoboys shut that down, clarifying that the venue was taking "a 25% merch cut on top of the VAT tax (22%)”
Others shared sympathy, like cybergrind musician Zombieshark saying “47% is disgusting”
The venue in question had previously caught the ire of progressive metalcore band Monuments who were also slapped with the 47% merch cut.
This is just another incident in a growing pattern within the music and live performance industry of unjust merch cuts being forced on artists and creeping ever higher with “inflation” in a post-COVID world.
Luckily for Italian fans, it seems the Daoboys found a creative solution to the problem.
I DO NOT KNOW WHAT A VAT TAX IS‼️
— The Callous Daoboys (@callousdaoboys) January 28, 2024
🇺🇸🦅 https://t.co/Ec3VfTHW4b pic.twitter.com/GVCoF1PtJs
