The Callous Daoboys Combat Merch Cuts By Selling Sh*t Out of Their Trailer

It’s hard out there for a band trying to make it on the road. You gotta keep your van running, people need to eat, and I don’t know if you noticed, but both of those things have only been going up in price in recent months. One way they make ends meet is by selling merch, so when The Callous Daoboys hit Europe with TesseracT and Unprocessed, they surely factored those costs in and figured they would have to sell some shit to fans to end up coming out in the positive.

But then came (BUM BUM BUMMMM) merch cuts. During their stop in Milan, Italy yesterday, they were hit with a particularly hefty merch cut of about 47% at the Alcatraz venue. Motherfucker, that’s nearly half of every Euro they’d earn going to a 22% value-added tax (VAT) and a 25% venue merch cut. Fuckin’ oof.

In an initial post on their Twitter account, the band announced that they decided to not sell any merch at the venue as a result. Instead, they told fans to wait until after the run of dates ends so the band could make their tour merch available online.

But this is The Callous Daoboys we’re talkin’ about here, so that only lasted a few hours. As fans responded on Twitter calling the venue cuts absurd, the band decided to simply sell their shit out of their trailer outside the venue.

This isn’t the first time a band’s called out ridiculous merch cuts. Everyone from Bad Omens to Fear Factory to Alpha Wolf has had a run in or an opinion on the tactic, which many sees as venue owners sticking their grubby hands into the bands’ cookie jar as it were. Opponents of the practice say venues inherently gain tons of money from concession sales and a portion of ticket sales already, so the fact that they’re taking a cut from merch sales as well feels extra shitty.

Hopefully the rest of the tour won’t be met with such insanely high merch cuts. A band’s gotta eat, man! Speaking of which, if you’re in Europe right now and want to catch a great show at a venue near you, check out the dates below and grab yourself a ticket or two. Then buy their shit — as long as the money’s all going to the band.

01/30 Zurich, SWI – Komplex 457 [Tickets]
02/01 Prague, CZE – Palac Akropolis [Tickets]
02/02 Munich, GER – Backstage Halle [Tickets]
02/03 Vienna, AUT – Simmy City Festsaal [Tickets]
02/04 Budapest, HUN – Barba Negra [Tickets]
02/06 Berlin, GER – Columbia Theater [Tickets]
02/07 Warsaw, POL – Progresja [Tickets]
02/09 Tampere, FIN – Tavara [Tickets]
02/10 Helsinki, FIN – Tavastia Club [Tickets]
02/12 Stockholm, SWE – Klubben Fryshuset [Tickets]
02/13 Oslo, NOR – Vulkan Arena [Tickets]
02/15 Copenhagen, DEN – Amager Bio [Tickets]
02/16 Hamburg, GER – Docks [Tickets]
02/17 Cologne, GER – Carlswerk Victoria [Tickets]
02/18 Utrecht, NET – Tivoli [Tickets]
02/20 Nottingham, UK – Rock City [Tickets]
02/21 Birmingham, UK – O2 Institute [Tickets]
02/22 Bristol, UK – O2 Academy [Tickets]
02/23 London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town [Tickets]
02/24 Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz [Tickets]
02/25 Glasgow, UK – Galvanizers Yard [Tickets]
02/27 Dublin, IRE – The Academy [Tickets]