New York hardcore legend Roger Miret has delivered a blistering critique of the modern music industry, asserting that independent bands are now forced to survive primarily on t-shirt sales while CEOs and ticketing platforms siphon off the profits.
In a candid new interview with Neeka Rogers of Metal Nation, the Agnostic Front frontman broke down the harsh economic reality facing musicians today. While acknowledging that streaming platforms like Spotify have revolutionized access to music, Miret argued that the financial model is fundamentally broken for the artists creating the content.
“A lot of of people don’t realize, for example, Spotify and all that stuff… Either you’re with it or you’re not with it. And if you’re not with it, you’re left in a corner,” Miret explained. “But they know that. But the musicians are getting ripped off in a horrible way. It’s all CEOs making the money. They’re not creating the music. They just figured out how to kind of rip everybody off.”
Miret’s frustration extends beyond streaming payouts to the live music sector, where he believes excessive fees are gouging fans and hurting attendance, with none of that extra revenue reaching the performers.
“You wanna go see a band, and it’s $15, $20, and by the time you checked out, you paid $38 — of a fee on top of a fee on top of a fee on top of a fee. It’s just wild what they do,” he stated. “And the bands don’t see that — trust me. We get [paid] based on your $15 ticket, $20 ticket, whatever. Everything else, someone’s making a… There’s a sixth bandmember somewhere that you don’t even know about.”
He warned that this monopolistic trend is no longer just a U.S. problem but is actively spreading across the Atlantic, threatening the independent venue ecosystem in Europe.
“It’s starting to move into Europe too… They’re taking over the clubs. It’s like taking over mom-and-pop coffee shops — mom-and-pop music venues, and they’re taking them over and they’re corrupting them and doing the same thing. And it’s kind of sad. Leave music alone.”
The solution, according to Miret, is for the industry to back off and allow fans to spend that extra money directly on the artists they love. He revealed a stark truth about what keeps bands like Agnostic Front afloat in 2025.
“The bands are living off the soft merch [clothing, hats, tote bags]. I’ll be honest with you, as a bandmember telling you. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t even know. That’s how bad it is.”
He continued: “Instead of [charging] them another $18, let them take that money so they can buy a t-shirt, support the band and have something they really love at the end of the show, a memory of. Not a ticket stub that costs you $38.”
Miret referenced a recent similar outcry from Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, noting that even larger acts are feeling the pinch. “She said that her band makes an average of $38 a month on Spotify, and stuff like that. It’s just wild. It’s wild what they do. But it’s gonna stop someday.”
Agnostic Front recently released their latest studio album, Echoes In Eternity, via Reigning Phoenix Music.
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