Chart Scene: Metallica Resumes ‘M72’ Tour, Scores Top Debut On APX

Metallica appears on the Artist Power Index for the first time in 2024 following the return of the “M72 World Tour” that resumed in May in Munich, Germany. After playing 22 headlining performances at stadiums in Europe and North America in 2023, along with a handful of festival dates, the rock veterans extended their trek into this year with plans for more stadium shows booked on both continents.

Munich’s Olympic Stadium hosted the first two concerts on the current European leg of the tour on May 24 and 26, while future two-show engagements are also planned in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Warsaw and Madrid through mid-July. Then a final North American leg will run in August and September with multiple-night stadium dates booked in six cities.

Of the venues that hosted the tour in 2023, two U.S. stadiums were among the most successful at the box office with MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, grossing a whopping $20.8 million from 163,028 tickets sold Aug. 4 and 6. Then, in the Los Angeles market on Aug. 25 and 27, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood recorded a two-show gross of $17.5 million from 142,738 sold tickets. And earlier, during the opening leg of the tour, Metallica’s grosses from double stadium shows at venues in Amsterdam, Paris and Hamburg each topped $10 million in sales.

Joining the heavy metal legends with a debut on the Artist Power Index is T-Pain who scores the No. 40 spot following club dates in Houston and Las Vegas. Also, Anitta lands at No. 42 based on recent club and theater performances in Canadian, Mexican and U.S. cities, while Avril Lavigne follows with the 43rd ranking. She enters the chart fueled by amphitheater shows in the San Francisco, Portland and Seattle markets along with a May 22 concert at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, the first date on her Live Nation-produced “Greatest Hits” tour.

On LIVE75, 10 touring headliners are making their debut in this issue led by Niall Horan who has the highest ranking among them at No. 14. The Irish singer-songwriter averaged 11,945 sold tickets per concert at five arena performances in Australia and New Zealand on “The Show,” his current world tour is booked not only in Oceania, but also in Europe, Asia and the Americas through September.

In New Zealand, he played for 8,259 fans at Auckland’s Spark Arena on April 26, the first of the shows Down Under. Four concerts followed in Australian cities beginning with an April 28 date at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, attended by a sellout crowd of 10,825. His Sydney performance followed on May 1 with 14,550 tickets sold at Qudos Bank Arena, then he wrapped the brief trek with a two-night event at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. His show on May 3 logged an attendance of 12,868, while 13,225 Melbourne fans filled the house the next evening.

On both the Artist Power Index and LIVE75, Taylor Swift and Luke Combs maintain their holds on the No. 1 rankings based on concerts during their ongoing stadium tours. Swift tops APX for a third consecutive week after kicking off the 2024 European leg of her “Eras Tour.” Multiple performances in Paris, Stockholm and Lisbon fall in the chart’s eligibility time frame, solidifying her stand at the top.

Combs is LIVE75’s No. 1 touring artist, also for the third week in a row. Seven concerts on his “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour” earn the country superstar an average sold-ticket count of 49,888 and a gross average of $6.49 million per show – both the highest on the chart – to remain at No. 1.

LIVE75’s “Noise Maker” is comedian Andrew Schulz who jumps 25 positions on the chart in one week, landing at No. 24 based on performances at three venues. Among them is New York City’s Madison Square Garden with 24,275 tickets sold at two shows, May 3 and 4, and a $1.75 million gross.