Merch Market 2026 London: Tim Burgess Announcement
Here’s a summary of the article, focusing on the key points about The Charlatans’ involvement in the campaign against venue merch cuts:
* The Issue: Tim Burgess of The Charlatans has been a vocal critic of venues taking a percentage of artists’ merchandise sales, arguing it’s unfair, especially for bands reliant on merch income. He pointed out that a 25% cut is significant, considering the already limited markup on items like vinyl.
* The Campaign & Progress: The Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) launched a directory of venues that don’t take a commission on merch. As of a recent update,400 venues have signed up,agreeing not too take a cut. Though, many venues still haven’t joined the scheme.
* Burgess’s Motivation: Burgess emphasizes that his advocacy is about “fairness,” not personal financial gain. He notes that The Charlatans often generate significant bar revenue for venues.
* A Potential Solution: Warren ellis of The Bad Seeds suggested artists could request a percentage of the venue’s bar take as a counter-balance to the merch commission, arguing it’s equally reasonable.
* Recent News: The article also mentions The Charlatans recently released a new album, ‘We Are Love’, and NME recently interviewed them about it.
In essence, the article highlights Tim Burgess’s ongoing fight for fairer treatment of artists regarding merchandise sales at venues, and the progress made thru the FAC’s campaign.