Bdrmm forced to crowdfund after non-payment of “largest” career fee from festival
Hull shoegazers Bdrmm have announced that they’ve been forced to start a crowdfund after a festival promoter didn’t pay them a fee of £6,500, in what would have been their “largest” payment to date. This has had severe financial and mental health implications for the band. As it stands, the quartet are unable to fund their planned October and November tour as a result.
Announcing ‘The bdrmm got effed over fund’ on social media, the quartet wrote: “Hello! As a band we’re going through some financial hardship due to non-payment by promoters for a performance outside of the country – a show which heavily cost us to get to. This, paired with inflating tour costs, has left us unable to fund our October/November tour.”
Continuing: “As an independent band, touring is vital to our survival and we rely on promoters to do the decent thing and actually pay us. This is something that hasn’t happened recently regarding a show that promised a substantial fee and has left us seriously out of pocket… Anything you can give to help us get this show on the road would be greatly appreciated.”
To cover the significant loss incurred by travelling to the unnamed festival earlier this summer, Bdrmm is offering exclusive t-shirts, as well as “all” of their tour stock of vinyl and other tees, which are available for a discounted price on Bandcamp. Elsewhere, they’ve restocked the vinyl and CD issues of their debut LP, Bedroom and their recent second effort, I Don’t Know. Tote bags and posters are also up for purchase.
Speaking to Far Out, Bdrmm bassist Jordan Smith offered more insight into the position they have been put in by the promoter not paying them such a substantial fee. He said: “We played at a festival a few months back which promised us a pretty hefty payment for doing so – the largest we’d have ever been paid to date. These fees would have covered the money we laid out to get to the festival as well as the purchase of a van, which we rely upon to take our full backline abroad. The payment would have also allowed us to be able to start planning our upcoming UK/EU tour – booking flights, ferries and accommodation.”
He outlined the outcome of not being paid: “The knock-on effect of this has been monumental. We’d planned to take a crew on the tour for the first time ever to bolster our live show, as well as alleviate the admin side of touring, such as selling merch, managing accommodation, as well as covering the drives we’d have to do across Europe which can be pretty hectic sometimes. None of which could be achieved without the festival paying us for our art.”
“As well as our own financial worries, it’s taken a massive toll on our mental health. The prospect of not being able to tour is heartbreaking and would undo the hard work of not only us, but the management, agents and label who have been working tirelessly to help us take our live show on the road,” Smith added.
Expressing gratitude for the support they have received at such a time, the bassist concluded: “Crowdfunding is such a brilliant tool to help us continue with the tour without struggling, but it was such a hard decision for us to make as we didn’t want to rely on people who also may be struggling with the cost-of-living crisis in the UK. The kindness of everyone who has donated to the crowdfund or bought merch today has been overwhelming and reminds us just why we do this in the first place. We can’t thank anyone enough.”
This is a developing story. You can help the fund here.
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