Features
Full Spectrum: Mid-Year Tours Cover The Bases
Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns – Glitter In The Air
Pink’s business is soaring with the No. 1 North American touring numbers for 2019 so far.
The highest-grossing road warriors on Pollstar’s Top 100 Tours – both worldwide and North America – come primarily from the rock and pop universe, but Pollstar’s annual Mid-Year rankings run the full gamut of musical genres. Artists young and old – all styles, all types – populate the list, but it’s a legend on his final tour taking home the coveted No. 1 ranking. Elton John edges out Pink on the worldwide chart with sales estimated from his Farewell Yellow Brick Road jaunt, but the diva owns the top ranking on the North American chart. John’s gross tops out at $82.6 million based on box office earnings from the last four months of his tour’s opening North American leg as well as the first three weeks of his 2019 European run.
Veteran rock acts like Metallica (No. 4), Fleetwood Mac (No. 5), KISS (No. 7), and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (No. 9) fill out much of the Worldwide Top 10.
Eminem notches a Top 20 slot on the worldwide chart with sales from the stadium tour in support of his latest album Kamikaze, released in August 2018.
Along with an appearance in Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium, the rapper sold out four dates promoted by TEG Dainty set in Australian stadiums along with one in New Zealand during February. At six performances, he grossed $37.9 million from 335,637 tickets to take the No. 18 ranking.
Also taking command internationally this year, Shawn Mendes opened his current world tour with a trek through Europe during March and April, racking up more than $25 million. It was the first leg of his 2019 headlining jaunt that is booked worldwide through late December. “This year he’s at 16 shows, with 49 in North America, 27 Europe and UK, 10 in Asia, nine in Australia and 11 in Latin America, and it’s just been incredible,” Paradigm’s Matt Galle (Mendes’ agent) tells Pollstar regarding the pop star. “With (manager) Andrew Gertler and The Messina Group, we planned out the world about a year ago in advance, and now we’re already doing the same for when he goes back out, looking for a big 2021, and going to try to step it up as big as you can.”
Newcomers like Travis Scott (No. 10 worldwide) continue to make big gains. Post Malone (No. 20 worldwide) has also had a big year in international markets playing Europe during February and March followed by an Australia/New Zealand jaunt in April and May.
During the Aussie leg, he scored his top box office record in the mid-year counts with a $4.3 million take from 46,247 tickets at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on May 7-9.
From 31 shows, his overall gross in the mid-year recap is $36.4 million from 414,782 sold seats.
Pink’s chart-topping stint on the North American Top 100 Tours is a repeat performance for the touring juggernaut who nabbed the No. 1 ranking in 2018’s mid-year report as well. The pop star has been touring in support of her Beautiful Trauma album since March of last year, grossing more than $250 million from 1.8 million sold tickets worldwide. During the first year of the tour, she covered markets in North America and Oceania, and in March 2019 began a second run through U.S. and Canadian cities. Tallies from the most recent trek that ended on May 22 earn her this year’s No. 1 with a combined gross of $81.8 million from 573,040 sold seats at 39 shows.
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Eric Church doubled down on arenas this year but also did his first stadium gig, with 56,521 tickets sold for his May 25 show at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, which grossed $5.81 million.
Eric Church, at No. 10, is the highest-ranked touring artist among the 11 country acts that hit the North American chart. He took his career to the next level during the first half of 2019 with his “Double Down” tour, playing two shows every weekend in a different market – as well as his first headlining stadium gig in May that broke attendance records at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Altogether during the mid-year eligibility period, he amassed $46.4 million from just under a half-million tickets. He also topped the country field in 2017, ranking fourth that year among the top North American tours at mid-year with his Holdin’ My Own run.
Rock artists Panic! At The Disco and Twenty One Pilots land on both of the Top 100 Tours charts with box office grosses from North America and Europe. Panic!’s Mid-Year rankings come from the Pray for the Wicked Tour that began last July following the release of the band’s sixth studio album. Ranked at No. 43 worldwide and No. 31 in North America, sales from 252,436 tickets at 29 shows produced a $15.1 million gross.
Twenty One Pilots (No. 30 worldwide, No. 72 North America) launched its Bandito tour last October with a fall run through U.S. cities. A European trek began early this year with shows booked in 28 markets including London where the duo played for 31,995 fans on three nights, but a second North American run launched on May 1 and continued through the end of June. Commenting on the latest stretch of North American shows, the band’s agent, Andrew Simon with Creative Artists Agency, said, “To come back and do another 34 dates in North America this time around and just do huge business has been great. A lot of it goes to the band, they put a lot of time and effort into the show and I think that’s what people respond to.”
Simon, who reps both bands, stressed the role new headliners play, stating, “When you look at the Panic! At The Discos and the Twenty One Pilots, it’s really investing in the next generation and carrying the torch. [Bands like] the Stones and U2 have been carrying the torch for a long time, and I think the most exciting part is the investment in the next generation.”