LOS ANGELES (AP) - Concert tours by the Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand and country duo Tim McGraw and Faith Hill were among the top-grossing tours in North America in 2006, helping drive ticket revenue to a record US$3.6 billion, according to Pollstar, the industry trade magazine. The figure represents a 16 per cent increase over 2005, when North American concert ticket sales totalled $3.
1 billion, said Gary Bongiovanni, Pollstar's editor-in-chief. Concert receipts for the year's top 100 tours totalled $2.3 billion, up 12.
6 per cent from last year. "Not only did we set a record for gross revenues, but we did it by selling more tickets rather than more expensive tickets," Bongiovanni said. Fans bought 37.
9 million tickets to the top 100 concert tours, compared with 36.3 million in 2005, according to Pollstar. The average ticket price for those tours was $61.
45, up eight per cent over last year's average of $56.88, Bongiovanni said. "That's a good sign for the business," Bongiovanni said.
The Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour, which actually began in the fall of 2005, led all other concert tours this year with $138.5 million in gross receipts, Pollstar said. The average Stones ticket was $136.
63. The tour sold about 1.01 million tickets.
Streisand's tour ranked second, generating $92.5 million in gross sales. The average ticket price was $298.
36. The tour by McGraw and Hill earned $88.8 million in gross receipts, with the average ticket selling for $80.
92. Meanwhile, Madonna's tour racked up $85.9 million in gross ticket sales.
The average ticket price was $183.76. Country crooner Kenny Chesney's tour led all others in the number of tickets sold with 1.
13 million. His tour pulled in $66 million in gross receipts. Among other veteran acts that ended the year among the top 25 in sales receipts were Coldplay, Barry Manilow, Celine Dion and The Who.
News RSS