Like many affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, musicians have been hit hard financially. That is especially true when it comes to touring, as much of the industry has been plagued by cancellations and postponements. Now deathcore band Carnifex have become vocal as to just how much they have lost out on from their cancelled North American tour.
Responding to US Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchen’s comment that Americans can live off the $1200 stimulus checks afforded to them by the recently passed $2 Trillion stimulus package, frontman Scott Ian Lewis decided to get specific on how much they lost, relating that the number is more than $250,000. The singer bluntly stated on Twitter:
“Carnifex lost over $250,000 with our tour cancellation. I personally lost about 60K. I don’t get to tour for 6 more months. Burn these people alive.”
Lewis went on to break down how he came to that number, tweeting out total losses in income for each part of the tour:
“Here’s how this breaks down. Confirmed guarantees, $107,000
Projected merch income, $110,000
VIP projected income, $20,000
Backend $ projection, $10,000
Total projected income $247,000”
Another tweet broke down the debt they owe for various tour expenses:
“Debt incurred from cancelation.
Bus deposit $3700
Merch printing $45,000
Rehearsal costs $3000
Production costs $6500
Total active tour debt $58,200
Total financial damage will top 300K when the dust settles.”
Dubbed the ‘Meta X’ tour, the cancelled month-long trek would have been one of the band’s largest to date. A co-headlining run with 3TEETH, it was slated to kick off on March 13 and promised to be “a huge live production” that was “going to roll into cities like an industrialized war machine laying waste to everything in its path.” The Browning and Skold were also on the bill.
Lewis sums it up by saying how quickly all the work they’ve done has suddenly all fallen apart.
“It took Carnifex 15 years of touring to earn our highest confirmed guarantees ever, only to lose it all. Shout out to our amazing agent JJ at 33&West.”
The band remains positive though, commenting that they feel supported by their fans and label. Tweeted Lewis:
“We’ll survive. Our fans and our label Nuclear Blast have our backs like no other. The whole thing is fucked though, so much great talent that needs a chance.”
Carnifex released their latest album, World War X, in August 2019. Nuclear Blast has set up a fundraiser for the band that started on March 21, though you can still donate to it now.
Touring incurs extremely high overhead. Most of that 250K goes to costs brought on by the tour. https://t.co/vkqEA1JQG6
— Scott Ian Lewis (@ScottIanLewis) April 17, 2020
Carnifex lost over $250,000 with our tour cancellation. I personally lost about 60K. I don’t get to tour for 6 more months. Burn these people alive. https://t.co/NvUaE3fIxl
— Scott Ian Lewis (@ScottIanLewis) April 16, 2020
Debt incurred from cancelation.
Bus deposit $3700
Merch printing $45,000
Rehearsal costs $3000
Production costs $6500
Total active tour debt $58,200Total financial damage will top 300K when the dust settles.
— Scott Ian Lewis (@ScottIanLewis) April 16, 2020
It took Carnifex 15 years of touring to earn our highest confirmed guarantees ever, only to lose it all. Shout out to our amazing agent JJ at 33&West
— Scott Ian Lewis (@ScottIanLewis) April 16, 2020
