Prince heads list of concert moneymakers

[vashti1999]

Prince heads list of concert moneymakers
12/24/2004, 2:09 p.m. CT
By JAKE COYLE
The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Prince is the concert tour king. He's in the No. 1 spot on Pollstar's Top 25 tours chart for 2004, grossing $87.4 million.

His 69-city/96-show tour was "by far the biggest tour he has ever done," Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, the concert industry trade publication, told The Associated Press. "It's kind of a renaissance for him."

Celine Dion, who's been appearing at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for a long string of shows, was in second place, coming in at $80.4 million, followed by Madonna, $79.5 million; Metallica, $60.5 million; and Bette Midler, $59.4 million.

Other acts in the top 10: Van Halen, Kenny Chesney, Sting, Toby Keith and Elton John.

It was a good year for country music. Chesney's tour had a total gross of $50.8 million and Keith's grossed $43.7 million. Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and Alan Jackson's tour with Martina McBride were also among the top 25.

Bongiovanni said he wasn't surprised that most of the top acts were familiar faces.

"Just because baby boomers are older now doesn't mean that they turn into Glenn Miller band fans," he told the AP Thursday. "They are a large population base of people that have the funds."

Usher and John Mayer were two of the younger acts to gross over $20 million.

"I don't know if today's kids look at music the same way the aging baby boomers do," Bongiovanni said. "We don't seem to be developing the long-term headliners."

Another factor could be the cost of tickets, which for the top 100 acts came at a record average of $52 each.

The most expensive concert ticket? Elton John, at an average of $158 per ticket.

[vashti1999]

Prince reigns in 2004
By CBS MarketWatch


CHICAGO (CBS.MW) -- Prince, the artist formerly known as "the artist formerly known as Prince," has another new moniker: He's No. 1.



The pop star took the top spot in Pollstar's ranking of 2004 concert-tour gross proceeds. He grossed $87.4 million with a 69-city, 96-show tour that was ``by far the biggest tour he has ever done,'' Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of the concert-business trade publication Pollstar, told the Associated Press. ``It's kind of a renaissance for him.''

Elton John boasted the most costly average ticket: $158.

Among the top 100 acts, the average ticket price -- a record, according to the Associated Press -- was $52.

Celine Dion, appearing at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas under a three-year contract inked in 2003, took the 2004 rankings' second slot, with $80.4 million, followed by Madonna at $79.5 million

Metallica, with $60.5 million, and Bette Midler, with a $59.4 million gross, comprised the remainder of the year's top 5.

Nos. 6 through 25:

Van Halen, $54.3 million.
Kenny Chesney, $50.8 million.
Sting, $50.1 million.
Toby Keith, $43.7 million.
Elton John, 43.3 million.
Rod Stewart, $42.5 million.
Dave Matthews Band, $41.2 million.
Tim McGraw, $40.1 million.
Jimmy Buffett, $34.6 million.
Shania Twain, $34.5 million.
Alan Jackson/Martina McBride, $34 million.
Cher, $29.1 million.
Usher, $29.1 million.
Eric Clapton, $29 million.
Josh Groban, $28 million.
Aerosmith, $25.6 million.
George Strait, $24.8 million.
Phil Collins, $23.8 million.
Kid Rock, $23.7 million.
John Mayer, $23.6 million.

[SBTB Geek]

He ought to be, have you seen how much he charges per ticket?

[vashti1999]

Originally posted by SBTB Geek
He ought to be, have you seen how much he charges per ticket?

Who, Prince? Yes, I've seen how much he charges, and it's alot less than most of the people in the top ten. Going by this thread that I posted a couple months ago, you can see the price per ticket numbers for all the artists' concerts. Judging by those numbers and the $158 Elton John ticket price mentioned in the article, it cost less to see Prince than it cost to see six of the other artists in the top ten and not much more than the other three. So what's your argument?



1.Prince ($61.59)
2.Celine Dion (137.65)
3.Madonna ($174.17)
4.Metallica ($57.29)
5.Bette Midler ($101.29)
6.Van Halen ($74.00)
7.Kenny Chesney ($47.98)
8.Sting ($69.92)
9.Toby Keith ($48.25)
10.Elton John ($158.00)

[Jrnygrl]

He certainly deserves to be at the top of the list. He is so underrated as a guitarist!

Even Journey is going to use his idea of giving out copies of their new CD on their next summer tour.

[Hollow]

Originally posted by vashti1999
4.Metallica ($57.29)

if it weren't for me, they would be $50 poorer. think of everything ewe can buy with that kind of money.