For those of us who like to rock from time to time (and you know we do), you know the outside of concert venues and arenas are full of people slinging less-than-legal merchandise like T-shirts, drinkware and posters.
Some musical acts, like AC/DC, have taken some big steps to stop this. After all, they want to make some money at their own merch tables, too. And is that such a crime? We don’t think so, but selling illegal stuff sure is.
That’s why Harry Styles, one-fourth of dreamboat collective One Direction, is working with LiveNation to file a lawsuit against creators of unauthorized merchandise ahead of his solo shows in Nashville this week.
According to TMZ, LiveNation is preemptively putting a stop to counterfeiters’ efforts by getting a court order for police to seize all bogus merchandise and destroy it.
This isn’t the only merchandise-related issue Styles is at the center of, mind you.
He’s also gotten some flack from critics who noticed that his tour apparel (the legal stuff, of course) is more expensive if you buy certain sizes. J-14 reported that T-shirts sized XS-M were $40, and sizes L-XXL were $45.
📲| Harry’s merch prices. pic.twitter.com/AvXYrnqK78
— Harry Styles Updates (@HSUpdating) September 19, 2017
Apparently, that was a pricing mistake, though. The singer’s people told J-14 that “There was a mistake in size pricing at last night’s show. Harry and his team were unaware, and this has now been rectified.”
With the increasing number of companies creating plus-sized clothing, this could have been a blemish on any artist’s reputation.