BY MELISSA RUGGIERI/AJC Music Scene
Record sales might remain in a slump, but the live music industry continues to thrive.
At least according to the figures tallied by concert industry trade magazine Pollstar in its annual mid-year report.
Through June 30, the Top 50 Worldwide Tours grossed a combined $1.97 billion, which is just shy of last year’s record $1.98 billion. The total number of tickets for the Top 50 shows, however, increased 3.5 percent to a record 23.4 million (the average ticket price also lowered 3.5 percent, from $87.51 to $84.40).
Here is Pollstar’s ranking of the Top 10 (of the Top 100) North American tours so far this year:
1. U2 ($118.1 million gross)
2. Metallica ($68.7 million)
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($60.5 million)
4.Eric Church ($54.5 million)
5.Garth Brooks ($48 million)
6. Bon Jovi ($39.1 million)
7.Tim McGraw/Faith Hill ($36.3 million)
8. The Weeknd ($35.1 million)
9.Cirque du Soleil’s “Kurios” ($31.2 million)
10. Dead & Company ($31 million)
On a worldwide scale, Guns N’ Roses is having an excellent year. The band’s two shows at London Stadium on June 16-17 grossed $17.3 million, about $1.5 million more than the band with the second-highest worldwide gross, U2, for its two shows at the Rose Bowl in California May 20-21.
Guns N' Roses, which played Atlanta in July 2016 , is also the only band to sell more than 1 million tickets this year.
Atlanta landed on the Top 100 Worldwide list with one show – Billy Joel’s April 28 inaugural performance at SunTrust Park, which grossed $4.6 million.
