Philly.com Taylor Swift can’t do everything: Concert tours seek younger concertgoers
Howard Gensler, Daily News Tattle Columnist
Posted: Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 3:01 AM
EVERY ONCE in a while we have an argument in the Tattle offices about the music business.
Do the more senior acts take in more money because 1) They have the largest, most diverse fan base? or 2) Baby boomers are the only group willing to spend big money for concert tickets? or 3) Younger music fans would rather listen to Spotify?
We don’t have one good answer (it’s probably a combination of things), but the latest list of Pollstar’s Top 20 Global Concert Tours again shows it’s a goodie to be an oldie.
At No. 1, we have the Rolling Stones (average ticket price $174.50), who took in an average per-city gross of close to $8 million. The Rolling Stones are celebrating their 53rd year as a band.
At No. 2 is U2 ($111.53), bringing in more than $6 million. Next year, they’ll celebrate their 40th year.
No. 5, the present lineup of Fleetwood Mac, who recorded their self-titled album 40 years ago. The current configuration of Rush, at No. 12, is a year older.
No. 8 Bette Midler turns 70 in December. No. 10 Neil Diamond turns 75 in January. Waltz king Andre Rieu (No. 13) is 65.
In the next younger tier, the New Kids on the Block, No. 20, were first popular 30 years ago. British trio Take That (No. 4, they’re still big overseas) has now been around for a quarter-century. The Dave Matthews Band (No. 15) celebrates its silver anniversary next year. No. 6 Kenny Chesney has been around over two decades, starting the same year (1993) as the Backstreet Boys, No. 16. Stick No. 17 Maroon 5 with that group also. This month, Shania Twain, No. 7, will turn 50 (how is that possible?). Even the Mexican rock band Maná, No. 11, has been together almost three decades.
Remove Herbert Gronemeyer, a nearly 60-year-old German singer popular mostly overseas, from the list and you’re left with only four acts: 25-year-old Taylor Swift at No. 3, 39-year-old Luke Bryan at No. 9, 24-year-old Ed Sheeran at No. 18 and 34-year-old Latin star Romeo Santos at No. 19.
Sheesh. People complain newspaper readers are getting old.
