From 1 October 2026, artists playing Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall will keep every penny of what they sell on the merch stand. The Musicians' Union reported the change on 11 September, following its pressure on the two venues, and it puts two of Northern Ireland's best known rooms among the places where a touring act no longer hands over a share of its T shirt sales.
The case against merch commission has been building for years. Venues and the concession firms they appoint have taken as much as 25 per cent of gross merch sales, and where a third party handles the stand, VAT is often added on top of that cut. The Featured Artists Coalition built its 100% Venues directory to list the rooms that take nothing, and the Musicians' Union has backed that campaign since 2023.
The sums explain why it matters. Take an illustrative tour night where 60 shirts sell at £25 each. That is £1,500 through the stand. A 25 per cent commission with VAT on top removes £450 before anyone is paid. If the shirts cost £8 each to print, the band clears £570 on the night. Without the commission it clears £1,020, almost 80 per cent more from exactly the same sales.
That £450 is rarely spare money. For most acts on the road, the fee covers the players and the merch covers everything the fee does not: the van, the diesel, the next night's hotel. John Robb, speaking as a Featured Artists Coalition board director in 2022, put it plainly: "The reality of touring for 99 per cent of musicians means that selling merch makes the difference between break even and loss."
Belfast agreeing is the easy part for anyone booked into those two rooms. Everywhere else, the question has to be asked before the contract is signed, not at the stand at the end of the night. Ask for a clause stating that the artist retains 100 per cent of gross merchandise receipts, and that no commission, concession charge or VAT on any such sum will be deducted by the venue or any third party it appoints. Where a venue insists on supplying its own sellers, agree a flat staffing fee in advance rather than a percentage of your takings.
If the answer is no, that is worth knowing too. It is a cost to be priced into the offer, not a surprise to be discovered on settlement.
