Pollstar (11/22/19) Gensler, Andy
The live music business boomed in the second decade of the 21st century, with reports estimating the average gross per show on Pollstar's top 100 Worldwide Tours chart between 2010 and 2019 was up 87% from about $674,000 to approximately $1.26 million. Total gross was up 57% from $3.2 billion to roughly $5.1 billion, average tickets sold per show were up 36% from 9,585 to about 12,994, and average ticket price rose 38% from $70.33 to $96.86. The live music industry is seen as filling the void left by the collapse of the wider music business during the Great Recession, with the recorded music sector particularly hard-hit. Concurrent with live music's explosive growth in the 2010s was consolidation, with Live Nation and Ticketmaster merging in 2010 into an industry behemoth that owned, operated or had booking rights for and/or has an equity interest in 128 venues. Meanwhile, the festival market has transitioned from mega-festivals to boutique and artist-curated events. The market surged worldwide as well, as global tours regularly ran through territories that a decade ago were barely of interest.
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