Concertgoers Finding Relief

The Rolling Stones and other A-list acts still command top ticket prices for their live performances, often $100 or more a seat.

But music fans can get some satisfaction from knowing that for the first time in at least a decade, average concert ticket prices dropped from the previous year.

According to the trade magazine Pollstar, the average ticket price for the top 100 North American concert tours over the last six months fell by 6%, to $50.27.

That cut into total concert ticket revenue, which fell 17% to $731 million. Ticket sales dropped by more than 15% in the last six months, Pollstar said, and the average concert’s take fell 19.4%.

But concert promoters say they aren’t hurting. The softening climate has forced artists to lower their payment demands, easing the financial pressures on promoters.

“What’s really happened is that things have scaled back to reality,” said Gary Bongiovanni, Pollstar’s editor in chief.

Last year, the concert industry set a gross revenue record, fueled primarily by spiraling ticket prices being purchased by a dwindling number of concertgoers.

But concert promoters’ profits suffered because they were engaged in bidding wars to book top acts.

“Last year, promoters were giving artists anything they wanted and losing money,” Bongiovanni said.

The biggest concert so far this year is U2’s tour, which has earned $48.4 million at an average ticket price of $96.94. Other big concert tours include country singer Kenny Chesney, Elton John, the Eagles and Motley Crue.

Promoters expect sales to pick up later this year with concerts by such top stars as Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and additional performances from U2’s tour.

“These first six months have been kind of slim in terms of artists,” said Randy Phillips, chief executive of concert promoter AEG Live. “But we’ll see a bounce back in the second half of the year when McCartney and Bon Jovi start touring.”