The issue of venues demanding cuts of touring bands’ merch money has become a major talking point lately. Earlier this month, Jeff Rosenstock posted a breakdown of all the venues that he’s playing on his current tour and what percentages the venues were demanding from artists’ merch, kicking off a spirited Twitter debate with Steve Albini. Other artists like Jack Antonoff have called for venues to stop demanding merch cuts. Now, the great indie singer-songwriter Sarah Beth Tomberlin has posted about a recent experience where she ultimately decided not to sell merch while performing at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia.

The merch cut is a pretty recent development, and it’s become widespread since the pandemic, as companies like AEG and LiveNation have been buying up more and more of the venues on the touring circuit. Sarah Beth Tomberlin’s touring operation is very small; she plays solo-acoustic and tours in a rented car. Right now, she’s opening for Ray LaMontagne, and that tour is taking her to some larger venues, like the outdoor amphitheater Wolf Trap.

On Twitter last night, Tomberlin wrote that Wolf Trap was demanding a 41% cut of her “soft merch,” along with various extra charges. As Tomberlin points out, Wolf Trap lists itself as a nonprofit and accepts donations, which adds an extra level of insult to the demands. As a result, Tomberlin wrote that she opted not to sell merch at the show.

On Instagram this morning, Tomberlin posted a longer explanation of what was happening, writing that “it was an extremely unfair rate and that altogether a merch cut is an archaic rule and truly a made up model by the heads of these venues and company’s to continue to profit off of the labor of those who’s labor is already undervalued.” Tomberlin says that the decision was a “major loss” for her but that she “did not want to charge [fans] $60 for a shirt to make a profit.” Here’s what Tomberlin wrote:

last night i played in a venue in vienna, va called wolf trap.

they had the most aggressive merch cuts i’ve seen so far with a forced venue sell (meaning my seller i pay each day could not sell for me and we could not use our own square account) the cuts: 30% of soft merch (anything that is not music), 10% on recorded merch , a 5% card fee, and a 6% tax (which they retain)

aside from trying to talk them through the fact that we are two people on a 6 week tour, chasing a bus each day and night, doing everything ourselves while above all else trying to treat others with respect and kindness and share music each night with you- i felt it was an extremely unfair rate and that altogether a merch cut is an archaic rule and truly a made up model by the heads of these venues and company’s to continue to profit off of the labor of those who’s labor is already undervalued. that is why we have to go on tour and become a walmart and sell you tshirts. to make a living. because we artists today, especially those of us starting out the last few years, cannot afford to make a living if we don’t sell you t shirts.

after a lot of back and forth and i would say inappropriate anger towards me and my tour manager from their merch manager who barred her from entering the merch booth unless we agreed to a cut, that i would not sell this evening. this is of course a major loss to me as this was one of the largest shows of this tour so far. it felt appropriate and right to make this decision. i shared from my heart on stage that i was so thankful for the attentive audience and their time for listening to my set, i would chose not to sell merch tonight because i did not want to charge them $60 for a shirt to make a profit. i felt support from you to audience and even some employees of the venue. i am grateful for this small platform i have to share. i am passionate about change being made in an industry that i work in and want it to be better for all of US. these corporations and “non profits” will not suffer by doing the right thing.

(or just give us a cut of the bar tab each night, ha)