END OF AN ERAS: Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” once again broke the $1 billion mark for a single year of touring, with Pollstar estimating more than $2.2 billion grossed and 10 million tickets sold for the full tour, which began in March 2023 and totaled 149 shows. (Chandan Khanna, AFP via Getty Images)

In the final quarterly analysis of 2024, the state of live entertainment appears strong in many areas as reflected in worldwide box-office activity, especially in reported grosses and the prices of concert tickets. Both metrics have shown continuing growth as they have every year since the return of live activity after the pandemic.

Ticket sales, though, reflect more of a leveling-off period or even slight decline in contrast to the previous year, although still much stronger than the first two years following the COVID-19 shutdown. Indeed, 2024 saw both rises and falls, yet there are no catastrophic drops or dramatic leaps as seen in some of last year’s figures.

Among the top 100 tours of 2024, the worldwide gross is one of the metrics climbing higher this year, at $9.5 billion.
That reflects a 3.62% increase over the previous year’s overall gross.

However, the average gross per show dropped to $2.32 million, for a percentage decrease of 2%, compared with a year ago. Then, the average ticket price jumps 3.91% this year to $135.92, topping 2023’s average price of $130.81 as well as 2022’s $106.07 average.

On the other hand, ticket sales for the top 100 tours are down from 2024. However, the drop is less than a percentage point, 0.27% to be exact, with 69.9 million tickets sold compared with 70.1 million last year. Also, the sold-ticket average per show also drops this year to 17,075. That is 5.7% less than the ticket average of 18,103 in 2023.

 

HEADLINER SEASON: New venues made an impact on the Year End charts, such as Intuit Dome in Inglewood, which hosted Tate McRae as part of the star-studded iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in December. (Getty Images)

BIG LEAGUE NUMBERS
Year-to-year comparisons between venues in each of the six size categories also portray a similar story with both rises and falls in percentage differences. Yet, three of the categories had increases in both gross and ticket sales, based on box-office results at the 20 top-ranked venues as well as the top 50.

The largest increases are seen in the 15,001-30,000-capacity category, consisting primarily of larger arenas and amphitheaters. At the top 20 venues, 22.9 million tickets were sold, 18.7% more than ticket sales logged in 2023. The $2.4 billion gross, however, represents an even larger jump of 32.7%. That is the highest percentage difference in either gross or ticket sales in this year-end recap. Then among the top 50 in the same group, the sold ticket total of 40.8 million represents 16.8% growth, while the $4.4 billion gross is 29.8% more than last year’s total.

The 10,001-15,000 group, generally mid-sized arenas and sheds, also sees increases in both gross and ticket sales, but by less margins than the larger group. In the top 20 venues, ticket sales rose 8.7% and grosses were up 12.2%. The percentages drop a bit in the top 50, though, with a ticket increase of 4.8% and 5.8% in gross.

The same is true in the 5,001-10,000 category where there are also only increases. Among the top 20 buildings, 8.4% more tickets were sold, and grosses rose 13.3%, while the top 50 venues saw an increase of 7.2% in tickets and 13% in gross.

Then, there are two categories that saw only decreases in both gross and tickets. Ticket sales in the 2,001-5,000-capacity group dropped by 4.1% and grosses by 14.5% among the top 20 venues. And, in the top 50, 5.7% fewer tickets were sold, while grosses fell 9.8%.

The largest venue size category, with capacities topping 30,000, also saw drops across the board with 6.7% fewer tickets sold and a 1.9% lower gross among the top 20 facilities. And the top 50 venues in that group saw 5.7% decreases in both tickets sold and revenue.

Finally, the smallest category of venues, with 2,000 seats or less, split the difference. Increases of 0.4% in tickets and 8.6% in gross were seen in the top 20, while the top 50 saw decreases of 0.8% in tickets and 3.5% in gross.