Yard Act offer 25% off merch during pop-up stall in Leeds
Yard Act will be running a pop-up merch shop in Leeds ahead of their show at the O2 Academy on November 24th. The homecoming concert forms part of their sold-out UK headline tour, which commenced with a concert in Glasgow and will conclude with a show at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum.
The band recently took to Twitter to explain their plan to sell merchandise at The Social on Merrion Street between 5pm and midnight. Items will be 25% per cent cheaper than they would be at the O2 since the Academy takes a “25% cut of all merch sold” on-site.
Explaining the move, Yard Act wrote: “We decided to give people who will stuggle to get to the pop-up the chance to buy some merch so there will be a range at the Academy, but wanted to highlight the issue that certain venues are taking big cuts of income that is pretty necessary to keep artists on the road.”
Alongside other tees and merchandise, the group will be stocking their exclusive Leeds T-shirt and Leeds show posters. Yard Act will be on the stall “from 6 til 7, having a pint if you want to say hi or get owt signed.” The stand will also be running post-show.
The band will be operating a “pay-as-you-feel” policy on merch salvaged from bassist Ryan Needham’s old print studio. Proceeds will go to the West Yorkshire homeless charity Simon On The Streets.
Yard Act aren’t the only artists waging a merch war against major venues. The Big Moon started setting up their own stores in response to the 25% cut many of these establishments ask from bands selling merch on their premises. Elsewhere, US musician and producer Jack Antonoff called for venues to “stop taxing” merch sales, noting that it’s “literally the only way you make money when you start out touring”.
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