Pollstar Half-Year Figures

TOURING OFF: It doesn’t take a weatherman to figure out which way the wind is blowing as Pollstar's list of the year’s Top 100 Tours for the first six months boasted a combined gross of $965.5 million, down $196.8 million, or 17%, from the same period a year ago. It’s the lowest six-month figure since 2005, when the volume was $730.9 million. Pollstar shows Bon Jovi as the half-year leader, playing 38 shows in 28 markets, selling more than 500k tickets for a total of $52.8 million. The James Taylor/Carole King tour finished second, according to Pollstar, playing 33 shows in 27 markets, selling just over 473k tickets for a gross of $41 million. There was some controversy, though, as a press release from the Eagles camp insists the trade left out 22 of the band’s dates, which would have given the group the #2 slot, with 440k tickets sold for a gross of $48.7 million. The rest of the mag’s touring leader board included Taylor Swift ($34.2m), Paul McCartney ($31.6m) and George Strait/Reba/Lee Ann Womack ($29.8m). (7/12a)