LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a dismal year for the touring industry, with ticket prices soaring and seats going unsold, music fans in North America partied like it was 1989 as Prince and Madonna topped the concert box office.
According to freshly tabulated estimates provided by concert trade publication Pollstar, Prince sold $87.4 million in tickets in 2004, while Madonna earned $79.5 million. Prince also worked a bit harder for his payday, playing 96 shows, compared with 39 for Madonna.
Canadian pop singer Celine Dion actually topped Madonna by about $900,000, but her haul came exclusively from 154 dates performed at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas as part of a four-year engagement at the casino.
Next on Pollstar's list were hard rock warriors Metallica ($60.5 million), singer-comedienne Bette Midler ($59.4 million), reunited rock band Van Halen ($54.3 million) and country singer Kenny Chesney ($50.8 million).
Among all-time tours, Prince's "Musicology" road show ranks eighth. The Rolling Stones, expected to return to the road in the summer, top the list with sales of $121.2 million from their 1994 tour.
It was a good year for Prince, 46, whose idiosyncratic ways had taken him out of the mainstream for a decade. In February, he performed at the Grammys; in March, he stole the show at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and hit the road to play sold-out arenas.
But most musicians found the going tough. "With few exceptions, every act had some places where they didn't do well," Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni told Reuters.
Higher ticket prices did not help. Pollstar calculated that average prices rose 3.5 percent to $52.06 in 2004. By contrast, core consumer prices rose 2.2 percent in the year to November, according to the U.S. Labor Dept.
ELTON'S $158 TICKET
Average prices were actually higher at mid-year -- $58.71 -- before rampant discounting by promoters faced with poorly attended venues during the key summer touring season.
Honors for the highest average price went to Elton John (No. 10, $43.3 million), who charged $158.22 for the average ticket, followed by Madonna at $143.59 a pop. An average Prince ticket cost just $61.04. Continued ...
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
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