A fresh selection of artists have been announced for the inaugural Manchester Merch Market, including New Order, Inspiral Carpets, The Charlatans and many more.
Taking place on May 25 from 11am, artists from all backgrounds will be able to sell their merchandise whilst keeping 100 per cent of the income for themselves.
Entry to the market will be free and bands will run their own stalls, as well as live performances and on-stage interviews for fans to dig their teeth into.
The event was first announced last month by Tim Burgess. The Charlatans frontman aims to tackle the growing problem of venues taking a hefty cut of merch sales, previously stating how “the whole system needs addressing”.
Multiple sites in Manchester will host the market, although they are all within a couple minutes walk of each other. Participating venues include 02 Ritz Manchester, Dog Bowl, Gorilla and more.
Burgess, the organiser of the event, has been speaking out for years about the problems with venues taking an unfair cut of merch sales. In a 2021 tweet he said: “This isn’t about The Charlatans, it’s about those bands who need merch income to survive.”
Big respect to those venues that don’t take a percentage of a band’s merch sales. This isn’t about The Charlatans, it’s about those bands who need merch income to survive. Some places take 25% A quarter of the full selling price. Vinyl doesn’t even have that mark up to begin with — Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) December 9, 2021
The ‘One To Another’ singer has now put actions to his words by announcing this Merch Market. Every artist ranging from north-east legends such as New Order all the way to new, up-and-coming musicians such as Ruby J will have the opportunity to sell their merch and meet fans.
Ruby J took to Instagram to share her excitement and announce that she will performing at the event in May.
Discussing the event with NME, Burgess said: “No fees, everything kept by the artists for whatever they want to spend it on – more to announce soon but I’ve texted lots of friends in bands and it’s going to be a brilliant day.
“I can’t quite believe what’s happened with The Merch Market – a New Order stall with Stephen and Gillian doing an on-stage interview would be enough for me but so many amazing artists got in touch, from bona fide legends to younger bands taking their first steps.”
It’s not the first time Burgess has openly tackled this problem, as he has been a vocal supporter of the ‘100% Venues’ campaign run by the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC). This initiative gives venues the opportunity to sign up to give artists 100% of the merch sales.
Over 400 venues have signed up to the FAC 100% Venues directory, and late last year a Government committee backed the campaign, giving hope that true change will eventually happen.
But until legislation is bought in to tackle the problem, Burgess will carry on to lead the charge for a fairer ecosystem for up-and-coming artists.
With the market being free to attend, be sure to get down to Central Manchester on May 25 to check out this exciting event. Artists and businesses looking to get involved can still sign up to request a stall. This can be done via the Help Us Help Bands website.
