TORONTO –
Live Nation is making policy changes at some of its concert venues to give musicians a hand as they grapple with the rising costs of touring.
The world’s largest concert promoter says it has launched a new program that pledges to no longer take a cut of a musician’s merchandise sales at some of its club venues across North America.
The company says it’s also giving US$1,500 stipends for each show to cover travel expenses, a payment that comes in addition to the act’s nightly performance compensation.
Seven club venues operated by Live Nation in Canada have signed onto the initiative, with four of them in Toronto.
They include the Danforth Music Hall, History, Opera House and Velvet Underground, as well as Midway Music Hall in Edmonton, the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver and the Kee to Bala in Bala, Ont.
Live Nation says the On the Road Again program, named after Willie Nelson’s classic song, will save musicians “tens of millions of dollars annually.”
