NEW YORK – Led by American singers Beyonce and Taylor Swift, whose Eras Tour was the first to bring in more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion), ticket revenues from the top 100 concert tours of 2023 jumped to a record US$9.17 billion, industry magazine Pollstar said on Dec 8.
Total sales for the 2023 tours – stretching for a year starting from mid-November 2022 – skyrocketed 46 per cent as compared with the previous year, which was also a record.
“2023 was a colossus, the likes of which the live industry has never before seen,” Pollstar said on its website.
All metrics showed increases: The average revenue from a concert was up 53 per cent at US$2.37 million, total ticket sales rose 18 per cent to 70 million, and average ticket prices were up more than 23 per cent at US$130.81.
Swift’s tour broke new ground, becoming the first in history to surpass the symbolic US$1 billion mark in ticket sales in 60 dates from March to November 2023.
But Pollstar predicted that the 33-year-old pop megastar, named Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Dec 6, could pass the US$2 billion mark by the time the tour eventually wraps up.
The only one to have come close to a billion up till now was British singer Elton John, whose marathon Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour – 328 dates over five years – chalked up US$939 million.
Beyonce took in US$579 million over 56 dates for her Renaissance Tour for second place in 2023, while American singer Bruce Springsteen, British rock band Coldplay and English singer Harry Styles rounded out the top five.
Pollstar noted that this was the first time in 15 years, when American pop star Madonna and Canadian balladeer Celine Dion dominated the rankings in 2008, that two women were at the top of the rankings, calling it “an extremely positive sign for this industry”.
“The duo not only smashed the glass ceiling but also created a more inclusive roof in their wake,” Pollstar said.
The outlook for 2024 appears to be promising, with more concerts from Swift, Springsteen and Coldplay, plus tours from English band The Rolling Stones, American band Foo Fighters and American country singer Carrie Underwood. AFP
