The Global Media Site for Entertainment.
Menu
You read the title correctly, the massive company Live Nation ends merch cuts in all of their club sized US venues starting immediately! It’s all thanks to an unlikely hero, Willie Nelson.
The world’s largest concert promoter, Live Nation announced on 26 September that the company will be halting all merchandise cuts in all of their club sized venues across The United States. Launching this new program is their partner Willie Nelson, the American singer/songwriter who has an extensive career in the live music industry. The program currently holds no expiration date and Live Nation claims the end of merch cuts is to aid performers with the growing costs of travelling across the country to venues.
Large companies like Live Nation have taken a percentage cut of merchandise sales for several decades, but Live Nation is the first company to listen to fans. Fans of the music industry have always known buying merchandise is the biggest way to support their favourite performers, and now they will be supporting them 100% as merchandise sale cuts have been widely unpopular with both fans and performers alike. The fans were not getting the chance to fully support their favourite performers and the performers were losing profits on an already expensive life of being out on the road. Live Nation has also announced alongside the programme that they will be aiding performers by giving them $1500 for travel and gas expenses per show to all headliners and support acts. No other conditions have been announced for how to receive these funds for artists.
“By helping with these core expenses, we aim to make it easier for artists on the road so they can keep performing to their fans in more cities across the country.” A quote from the Press Release from Live Nation.
So what does Willie Nelson have to do with it, and why did he lend his famous hit On The Road Again to be the anthem for the programme? Almost every artist plays at a club, whether it’s at the start of their career like most, or in their own club on Broadway Street once they’ve made it big. Live Nation ending merch cuts in club sized venues helps all of those involved, even the crew as part of the programme includes a donation of $5 million to crew who are facing hardships. With clubs hosting about 70% of all shows in the United States, it’s now slightly easier for artists to travel and tour without having to worry as much about the cost.
Willie Nelson has been a professional artist since 1956 and debuted his hit song On The Road Again in 1980. He has since agreed to let the song be the anthem for the programme as he fondly remembers a touring life of his own. This is the legacy of a legend, helping those who come after him.
“Touring is important to artists so whatever we can do to help other artists, I think we should do it. This program will impact thousands of artists this year and help make touring a little bit easier.” said Willie Nelson on the impact of this programme.
You can find out more about the programme here
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
Read Full Profile
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you so much for reading, but you have now reached your free article limit for this month.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.
