British artists are rallying against "crippling" merchandise fees taken by venues that can reach up to 25% of sales, according to the Featured Artist Coalition.

In an open letter, the U.K. organization says the “onerous and outdated commission rates are making live touring unsustainable.” The “excessive” fees, they say, can mean venues are making more money from merch than the artist themselves.

“This would be bad enough in the best of times, but after the financial pressures of lockdown, and now a full-blown cost of living crisis, it is simply unsustainable.”

The letter has been signed by more than 60 industry bodies and businesses, including the Musicians’ Union, Music Venues Trust, PRS for Music and the Music Managers Forum.

It calls for venues to back the following principles:

• Support acts must never be subject to commission charges on merchandise sales;
• Artists should be offered the option to staff and operate merchandise operations at their own shows;
• There must be no surprises for artists regarding commission rates when they get to the venue— rates must be agreed up front;
• Every show must be open to negotiation on merchandise commissions.

The letter follows on from a campaign launched by the FAC in 2022, which collated a public database of venues that charge no commissions on merchandise sales. Today, it’s launched a petition to spread wider awareness of the issue.

“Ironically, it is when artists step up to play bigger venues, and the moment their costs and opportunities increase, that the most crippling fees kick in,” David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition, said. In many instances, venues have sold on or outsourced their merchandising rights to a third-party—meaning that fees appear “baked in” to employee costs, with little room for negotiation.

“It is these outdated contractual terms that we now intend to address, but, if every U.K. venue implemented the four pragmatic principles outlined in today’s open letter it would mark a significant step forward.”