Merch cuts have been a hot topic over the past few years. Bands have started to hit the road again in a post-pandemic world, but things are way more expensive than they used to be and venues taking a cut of merch sales surely isn’t helping. Sepultura’s Derrick Green got pretty angry about it recently, while Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares spoke on how the practice is making staying afloat financially pretty difficult. Though maybe Dream Theater‘s Jordan Rudess put it best – “it sucks.”
Now former Amaranthe vocalist and current Cyhra frontman Jake E has weighed in, and his opinion is predictably not positive. In an interview with Metal Mal, Jake E goes on a (rightfully) expletive-laden rant about how merch cuts are basically the mafia method of “protection.”
“I’m actually, I’m actually participating in a fight against all that together with [Dark Funeral‘s] Lord Ahriman. Me and Ahriman have been fighting a lot about that or against that. It’s so fucking fucked up that companies can come in, make deals with venues saying that ‘we are the only one allowed to sell merchandise at this venue’ and bands coming in have to pay a cut.
Continue here: Metal Injection
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