Most concertgoers do not realize how merch really works.

A band does not just show up, carry in boxes, set up a table, and keep every dollar.

There is a whole business side behind it.

Merch sales still involve state and local sales tax.

It is not just cash changing hands.

Somebody is responsible for paying that tax, whether it is the artist or the venue.

Then there is the financial split.

That is where the hot topic comes in.

Venues or promoters taking a percentage of merch sales has become a big conversation with fans online.

But not everything is treated the same.

CDs, DVDs, vinyl, meet and greets, and VIP experiences can be separate from regular merch.

Those may go straight to the band or be handled as a different business piece.

So when fans buy a shirt at a show, there is more going on behind that table than most people think.

Taxes.

Splits.

Venue agreements.

Tour deals.

And a whole lot of business behind the madness.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #MerchSales #BandMerch #ConcertMerch #MusicBusiness #TourLife #ConcertProduction #VenueLife #PromoterLife #LiveMusicBusiness #BackstageStories #ConcertStories #MusicIndustry #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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Lollapalooza 1992 at Starplex.

Ministry hits the stage, and Max tells Jeff they are going down front.

Right into the pit.

By the time they get close to Al Jourgensen, everything is already coming apart.

People are ripping rows of seat cushions and chairs loose from the cement and passing them over the crowd.

The pit is chaos.

Bodies moving everywhere.

Bones flying from the stage.

Ministry doing what Ministry did in 1992.

Then a kid comes up beside Jeff and asks him if he can knock them around some.

Jeff is 6'4.

This kid is maybe five-foot-nothing.

So Jeff gives him the old shiver with the elbow, and the kid drops.

Then he pops right back up, high-fives him, turns to his buddy and says, “This guy’ll knock you on your ass.”

That is a very specific kind of Lollapalooza memory.

Ministry at Starplex.

Seats getting ripped out.

A pit full of madness.

And one kid who just wanted the full experience.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #Lollapalooza #Lollapalooza92 #Ministry #AlJourgensen #Starplex #MoshPit #IndustrialMetal #ConcertStories #90sConcerts #RockHistory #LiveMusicStories #BackstageStories #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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Touring is expensive before the band ever plays a note.

The conversation starts with the difference between a bandwagon and a tour bus.

A bandwagon is basically an RV setup for bands, usually with a trailer.

Even that can run $3,000 to $5,000 a week.

And that may not include a driver.

Then you move up to a real tour bus, and the cost jumps fast.

Around $750 a day.

Plus driver.

Plus mileage limits.

Plus fuel and insurance.

If the bus company is out of Nashville, you may also be dealing with union drivers, hotel rooms, food, and daily travel requirements.

Then scale that up.

Ten buses.

Sixteen semis.

A crew of 100 people.

Now you are talking massive money just for travel and transportation.

Maybe a quarter million dollars a week.

Maybe more.

Tour life sounds glamorous.

But behind the scenes, it is logistics, money, miles, and a whole lot of moving parts.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #TourBus #Bandwagon #TourLife #MusicBusiness #ConcertProduction #RoadCrew #TouringBand #BackstageStories #LiveMusicStories #ConcertStories #RockAndRollStories #MusicIndustry #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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Jay says he was the first radio DJ in North America to play Bullet For My Valentine on the radio.

And he has a cease and desist story to prove it.

A record rep came in with an early release and told him it was not going to radio for another month or two.

The band was young.

The name was Bullet For My Valentine.

Jay listened to it in the studio, had it in audition, and it was not going out over the air yet.

But he also recorded the feed to his computer.

Then he played it on UK in the OK.

The next day, the angry phone call came from the record rep.

That became Jay’s first cease and desist.

A young Bullet For My Valentine.

An early radio play.

A DJ who could not wait.

And one very mad record rep.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #BulletForMyValentine #BFMV #UKInTheOK #RadioDJ #RockRadio #Metalcore #CeaseAndDesist #ConcertStories #MusicStories #RadioStories #EarlyRelease #BackstageStories #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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Country music keeps moving in waves.

Max talks about seeing the classic country market change over time.

Artists like Charlie Pride, Charlie Daniels, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, and others carried that earlier generation.

Those names are legends now.

But as time moves on, a new group steps into that role.

Then you get the Tracy Byrds.

The Mark Chesnutts.

The Tracy Lawrences.

The Clay Walkers.

That 80s and 90s country generation becomes the next classic country crowd.

That is how the market keeps staying alive.

The names change, but the lane continues.

Then the question becomes, who is next?

That newer regime is artists like Eric Church and Luke Combs.

They are the ones carrying the next version of that country audience.

It is a cycle.

The legends build the foundation.

The next generation steps in.

Then another generation comes behind them.

Country music keeps evolving, but the fans keep following the songs, the stories, and the artists that feel real.


#HeresTheDealPodcast #CharliePride #CharlieDaniels #LorettaLynn #GeorgeJones #TracyByrd #MarkChesnutt #TracyLawrence #ClayWalker #EricChurch #LukeCombs #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahomacity

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This one starts with a simple question.

If Max Baker passes away, should there be a backstage pass for his funeral?

And of course, the first guess is the Rolling Stones tongue.

But then the conversation turns into something even more Max.

There is a company that can take your ashes after cremation and press them into a vinyl record.

That gets everybody thinking.

What would your final record be?

Max says he would want his ashes pressed into wax with The Rolling Stones.

More specifically, “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.”

That answer surprises everyone.

The Rolling Stones part makes sense.

But the reason hits deeper.

Max says the song puts feeling back into his heart that he thought he had lost.

A backstage pass funeral.

Ashes pressed into vinyl.

The Rolling Stones playing forever.

That is a very Max Baker ending.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #RollingStones #TheRollingStones #SweetSoundsOfHeaven #LadyGaga #VinylRecords #BackstagePass #RockAndRollStories #MusicStories #PodcastStories #ClassicRock #ConcertStories #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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August 1, 2003.

Weird Al Yankovic at River Parks.

A floating stage already makes that show memorable.

But the merch booth story might be even better.

Max and Sean McGillicuddy were working merch that night under a tent.

Then the weather started turning.

The clouds went black.

The storm rolled in.

The girl working merch for Weird Al saw what was coming and took off.

Max and Sean stayed behind and tried to hold the tent down.

Then the wind started lifting it into the air.

At some point, they realized they were about to go flying with it.

Like Toto.

So they finally let go.

Weird Al on a floating stage.

A merch booth in a storm.

And two guys trying not to fly away with the tent.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #WeirdAl #WeirdAlYankovic #RiverParks #MerchBooth #ConcertStories #OklahomaWeather #TornadoStory #LiveMusicStories #BackstageStories #MerchLife #TourLife #FunnyConcertStories #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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The Reverend Horton Heat Shows

Reverend Horton Heat is one of those bands that built the whole world around the music.

The merch.

The logo.

The records.

The posters.

The live show.

They had something for everybody, from $5 items to $100 items, and that iconic oval logo was everywhere.

Max talks about seeing Reverend Horton Heat all over the place.

The Diamond.
Cain’s.
Boar’s Head.
ZZ Dee’s.
Texas.
Tulsa.
The Zoo.

They played club shows, festival shows, radio shows, Warped Tour, and bigger mixed bills.

Then the conversation gets into the art and vinyl side.

Coop posters.

Re-released records.

Smoke ’Em If You Got ’Em.

Liquor in the Front.

It’s Martini Time.

The funny part is that major labels did not really know how to market them.

They thought Reverend Horton Heat fit into the swing revival lane.

But he was not swing.

He was psychobilly.

And nobody did it quite like the Rev.

#HeresTheDealPodcast #ReverendHortonHeat #JimHeath #Psychobilly #Rockabilly #SmokeEmIfYouGotEm #LiquorInTheFront #ItsMartiniTime #DiamondBallroom #MaxBakerJr #JeffBrownen #oklahoma #oklahomacity

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