Pollstar (06/24/22) Allen, Bob
Pollstar's 2022 Mid-Year Report shows a resurgent concert industry in North America, with high ticket costs not an impediment. Gross averages rebounded in the first half of the year with an average box-office take of $856,206 per show, a 24.4% gain over the $688,535 gross average in 2019's mid-year estimate. Higher average ticket prices may help underpin the increased grosses, showing an upward mid-year trajectory with the average ticket costing $108.20 — 17.8% higher than the 2019 average price of $91.86 for the 100 leading North American tours. Meanwhile, the overall gross for the top 100 tours in North American venues amounted to $1.69 billion in 2022, a 9.1% increase over 2019's $1.55 billion. Live shows by the top 100 touring artists in the first two quarters generated an average sold-ticket count of 7,913, topping 2019's ticket average of 7,496 by 5.6%. Box-office grosses at concerts this year show upward momentum among major artists with tours at the arena and stadium level following the most calamitous period in the history of the industry, on the heels of 10 years of double-digit growth in global concert touring. Worldwide, only the average ticket price is higher this year with a 14.2% increase to $105.55. Still, gross and sold-ticket averages globally declined this year from 2019.
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