POLLSTAR RECAPS THE 2019 LIVE BIZ

Pollstar has released its mid-year data for the concert industry, where we’re not surprised to learn Elton John is a big money maker and Madison Square Garden attracts a lot of concert-goers.

Between 11/28/18 and 5/22/19, Elton pulled in the most money—$82.6m— while Trans-Siberian Orchestra sold the most tickets, nearly 895,000. P!nk was right behind Elton’s farewell tour, raking in $81.8m.

Other bigtime ticket sellers were Ed Sheeran (733,000 tickets sold), Travis Scott (686,000), Metallica (635,000) and Mumford & Sons (616,000).

Among promoters, Live Nation topped the billion-dollar mark, pulling near almost $1.2b on 13.5m tickets sold; AEG was a distant second with $343m from 4.3m tickets.

Among venues, Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, bested Madison Square Garden in tickets sold—700,000 vs. 668,000—but the Garden is the top revenue generator in the world, pulling in more than $78m in ticket sales. Beyond the Garden, three other U.S. venues are among the Top 10 globally: Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena (527,000 tickets sold); The Forum in Inglewood (503,000); and the Allstate Arena outside Chicago (435,000).

The biggest ticket sellers in the States among theaters were the Fox Theatres in Atlanta (363,000) and Detroit (324,000) while two Texas venues, Toyota Music Factory in Irvine and The Cynthia Woods Pavilion in The Woodlands, were the top amphitheaters in the country.

For their breakdown on the year, click here.