If you’ve ever been to a concert, I think we’re all familiar with the kiosks sitting conspicuously outside the venue. Festooned with printed shirts from practically every tour, and of varying levels of quality, bootleg merch and shirts are kind of part and parcel to the concert scene. Whether the band likes it or not. Considering these pop-up vendors only appear when it’s performance time, it’s a little hard to crack down on it. Merch Traffic, who handles items for rock icons Metallica, is gonna give it a good try.
Metallica is currently wrapping up their North American tour. Through the whole of the US, profits that could have gone to the band have gone to the cash boxes of bootleg vendors. Merch Traffic has filed a lawsuit actively banning the sale of bootlegged merchandise around the venues. Apparently cracking down on phony paraphernalia in previous stops such as New York, Texas, and New Jersey.
Cracking Down! Only Took 42 Years…
According to Merch Traffic, “The infringing merchandise is of the same general appearance as plaintiff’s merchandise and is likely to cause confusion among prospective purchasers. Further, the infringing merchandise sold and to be sold by defendants is generally of inferior quality.” Furthermore water is wet and the sky is blue. Most concert-goers don’t care that much about quality when merch inside a venue is sold for upwards of $60 when they can get a b-grade knock-off for $20. There does come a point when the price of real merchandise reaches the outrageous. Hence, your friendly, neighborhood bootleggers.
All of this comes a little late given how long Metallica has been around. And it’s not likely to put the stop to bootlegs as much as Merch Traffic hopes. There’s also the wonder as to whether or not it’s even worth it. According to drummer Lars Ulrich, “Big picture, and I know this may sound like a little bit of a cop-out, I’m just happy that fucking anybody cares about what we’re doing and shows up to see us play and still stream or buy or steal our records or whatever.” Which is a changed tune from when Metallica sued Napster in 2000 for copyright infringement. For this crack down to happen after 42 years feels a liiiittle bit silly.
The band finishes up their “M72 World Tour” in St. Louis and Detroit.
