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Business Analysis

Business Analysis

2009 | YEAR END BUSINESS ANALYSIS

andi has been to set an- 2009 Year End nual gross revenue records and to do so by BUSINESS Analysis selling fewer but ever POLLSTAR more expensive tickets. # This year proved to be a 1 Tours for the last 22 Years discretionary funds to indulge major exception due at least ONE YEAR ARTIST GROSS themselves in a night out to in part to the fact that, al- see their favorite performing though industry decision- 2009 123.0 artist. With all the home fore- making is highly isolated and 2008 105.3 closures, layoffs and bankrupt- fragmented, everyone real- 2007 133.2 cies, one would think that fewer ized the climate they would 2006 138.5 fans would be attending shows, be touring in. The right ad- 2005 The Rolling Stones 162.0 and promoters would be spilling justments in pricing and 2004 87.4 red ink at every settlement. packaging apparently got 2003 115.9 But that was clearly not the made in advance. There will 2002 Paul McCartney 103.3 case. always be stiff dates on nearly 2001 U2 109.7 Pollstar estimates total North every tour, but no high-profile 2000 Turner 80.2 American concert ticket sale rev- treks in 2009 could be labeled 1999 The Rolling Stones 64.7 enues jumped by nearly 10 per- complete bombs. cent to a record $4.6 billion in The Top 100 Tours in 1998 46.2 2009. More than $4 billion of North America sold a mod- 1997 The Rolling Stones 89.3 that amount is contained in the ern record of nearly 40.5 1996 KISS 43.6 more than 35,000 detailed box million tickets. That was not 1995 Eagles 63.3 office reports in our database, only more than 12 percent 1994 The Rolling Stones 121.2 leaving a relatively small amount higher than 2008’s 36 mil- 1993 45.6 of missing data that needed to be lion, but it was substantially 1992 U2 67.0 estimated to compile our charts. higher than any year this 1991 Grateful Dead 34.7 Apparently many people still decade. The previous high- 1990 74.1 wanted to be entertained and, for water mark was the 38.7 one night at least, put the eco- 1989 The Rolling Stones 98.0 Counter Intuitive million tickets sold in 2003. nomic chaos out of their minds. The total combined gross 1988 27.6 Expensive tickets to the hottest he year was dismal for the of the Top 100 Tours was In Millions Of U.S. Dollars U.S. economy with unemploy- shows still got snapped up and also a record at $2.53 billion, T fans may well have reallocated ment rising rapidly and a gener- up more than 4 percent over ally depressed mood settling in dollars that otherwise would have the $2.43 billion in 2008. among the populace. Very few gone to more expensive big-item The average number of tickets clined by nearly $29,000 to purchases or vacation outings. business sectors had anything sold by the Top 100 Tours was $626,813, but artists made up positive to crow about amid what 10,018, which was up 787 seats for it by working more markets seemed like a neverending parade More Butts In Seats or more than 8 percent over the than in years past. of negative business news. previous year’s 9,231. The concert business is de- ver the past decade, the The average gross per show pendent on fans having the Oindustry’s modus oper- among the Top 100 Tours de- Price Matters he average ticket price for Tthe Top 100 Tours declined for the first time since we began compiling such data in 1996 when the average ticket cost only $25.81. This year’s average price of $62.57 represented a drop of $4.76 or seven percent from 2008’s record high of $67.33. Generating record sales revenues along with record unit sales is a very healthy sign for the concert industry.

Big Shows he Top 200 Concert Grosses Tin North America were do- minated by the big ticket combi- nation of Elton John & , who occupied 25 slots, and the

6 JANUARY 18, 2010 | 2009 | YEAR END BUSINESS ANALYSIS

The year’s biggest gross was to use the same venues, the -show finale by Bruce many of them contractually Springsteen at tied to Ticketmaster, as in that grossed $22.5 million from the past. The difference will TOP more than 260,000 fans. be that the entity selling 50 The world’s largest gross was their tickets could now be Grossing Tours Of All Time In North America generated by the three shows a competitor rather than a TOP50 GROSS ARTIST YEAR U2 did at Croke Park in Dublin theoretically neutral vendor. that grossed $28.5 million from One alternative would be 1 162.0 The Rolling Stones 2005 more than 243,000 fans. to allow multiple ticketing 2 138.9 U2 2005 companies to service a venue. 3 138.5 The Rolling Stones 2006 In an age where all sales 4 133.2 The Police 2007 Worldwide Business are essentially digital trans- 5 123.0 U2 2009 ollstar produced its first actions, that kind of change 6 121.2 The Rolling Stones 1994 PTop 50 Worldwide Tours would be far less difficult to 7 115.9 Bruce Springsteen & E St. Band 2003 chart this year as we continued contemplate than it would 8 109.7 U2 2001 have been just a few years the expansion of our interna- 9 105.3 Madonna 2008 ago. Of course, that only com- tional box office data collection. 10 103.5 Pink Floyd 1994 plicates the highly controver- The Top 50 grossed a combined 11 103.3 Paul McCartney 2002 $3.34 billion and sold 45.3 mil- sial issue of who “owns” the U2 stadium trek that filled customer sales data. 12 98.0 The Rolling Stones 1989 lion tickets. 13 94.5 Bruce Springsteen & E St. Band 2009 16 positions. U2 was clearly the most suc- If the merger doesn’t 14 94.0 2008 did 13, Bruce Springsteen & cessful act on the road no matter go through and Live Nation The E Street Band and Kenny what the territory. Of the Top 50 and Ticketmaster are forced 15 92.5 2006 Chesney each had 10 while acts, only 14 made the chart to continue operating inde- 16 89.3 The Rolling Stones 1997 AC/DC added nine shows. purely on North American busi- pendently, the game will still 17 88.8 Tim McGraw / 2006 Band, the ness. Some acts, like Madonna materially change. Can either 18 88.0 Elton John / Billy Joel 2009 top-selling act of the decade public company be profitable and Tina Turner, made it solely 19 87.9 The Rolling Stones 2002 despite never having the No. 1 enough on its own to survive on their overseas business. 20 87.4 Prince 2004 tour in any given year, added the ravages of Wall Street’s In the future we expect to pro- 21 86.8 *Nsync 2001 eight shows to the Top 200, vide year-over-year comparisons expectations? Can their out- as did Celine Dion. standing debt needs continue 22 85.9 Madonna 2006 but, judging by what we have to be financed in this eco- 23 82.5 Britney Spears 2009 seen, the international concert was the most active venue, with nomic climate? 24 82.1 2001 business was even stronger than eight box office bonanzas. That And then there is the mat- 80.2 Tina Turner 2000 in North America this past year. 25 was followed by Mexico’s Foro ter of who would sell Live Pink had a hugely successful 26 79.9 U2 1997 Sol and Montreal’s Nation’s tickets? Do they re- year that was capped by a run 27 79.5 Madonna 2004 with six. Things were good up vive their CTS Eventim plat- of 40 sold-out arena shows in 28 79.4 Eagles 1994 in the Great White North with form and compete head-on Australia, something no other 29 78.4 Eagles 2005 the Air Canada Centre account- with Ticketmaster or do they international act has ever come 30 77.9 AC/DC 2009 ing for five big shows while the make a deal with TM or an- close to doing. Rogers Centre in Toronto added other ticketing company? 31 77.3 Paul McCartney 2005 The Top 100 International four more. BankAtlantic Center, Does Ticketmaster go into 32 76.4 *Nsync 2000 Giants Stadium and the swan concert grosses may have been the concert promotion busi- 33 74.1 New Kids On The Block 1990 dominated by U2 but there were song for the Wachovia Spectrum ness as it had been threaten- 34 73.6 2002 plenty of other gigantic shows also generated four big grosses. ing prior to the merger? Does 35 73.4 Eagles 2008 around the world. It took a gross Irving Azoff grow weary of 36 72.2 2008 of more than $4 million to even running a cumbersome con- 37 71.1 Kenny Chesney 2009 make the list as compared with glomerate and revert to his the $2.7 million needed for the 38 71.1 Kenny Chesney 2007 primary passion of being an 39 70.6 2007 same position in North America. artist manager and finding 40 70.4 2008 another major game-chang- 41 69.8 2009 Deal Or No Deal ing move for his Front Line stable of “rights holders”? 42 69.3 Bruce Springsteen & E St. Band 2008 he pending merger of Live Lurking outside all of this 43 69.3 Eagles 2003 TNation and Ticketmaster is AEG, which has been rela- 44 69.0 2003 is a deal changer no matter what tively quiet about what its re- 45 68.2 Cher 2003 government regulators decide. sponse will be to the merger. 46 68.2 Dave Matthews Band 2002 If the merger is completed You can bet there’s a Plan B 47 67.0 U2 1992 without forcing significant being formulated at the house 48 66.0 Kenny Chesney 2006 structural changes on the play- of Anschutz for whatever the 49 65.8 Elton John 2005 ers, the way everyone else future holds. 50 65.5 Elton John / Billy Joel 2002 functions in the concert busi- Buckle up, because there’s ness will be affected. Every no doubt that interesting other promoter will still have times lie ahead. |Gary Bongiovanni| 8 JANUARY 18, 2010 |

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