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POLLSTAR’s 2002 Round Up
That is, by the way, the first time the Stones have toured North America in the last 20 years and not come out at the top of the heap. Their average ticket price of $119.20 didn’t top the charts either; McCartney’s average ticket price was more than $10 steeper.
When it comes to affordability, one winning candidate is the Dave Matthews Band, which had an average ticket price of $39.84. The band also was a big winner for accessibility – more than 1.5 million tickets were sold to see DMB in concert, more than 400,000 from the band’s nearest competitor, and the band played 77 times. It was probably that last statistic that helped the band get the fifth biggest tour of the year.
By the way, here’s a good bar bet question: Can you guess the third highest-grossing tour of the year? Sure, the know-it-all hipster at the end of the bar (the one wearing the scruffy soul patch on his chin and talking about which foreign beer is the “best”) will probably say Bruce Springsteen. Hey, it’s a safe choice. Might not be his particular cup of tea, but The Boss draws them in.
Bonk. The answer is Cher. The diva’s farewell tour, which continues, racked up $73.6 million by December 31st. She played 84 cities last year and 93 times total. Springsteen and the mighty E Street Band played 39 shows and made $42 million.
The Top 10 in order was McCartney, the Stones, Cher, Elton John / Billy Joel, DMB, Springsteen, Aerosmith, Creed, Neil Diamond, and Eagles.
If you’re an Eagles fan, there could be a larger tour this year.
Here’s the next ten for you: CSN&Y, *Nsync, The Who, Britney Spears, Jimmy Buffett, Rush, “Ozzfest 2002,” Tool, “Lord of the Dance,” and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.