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How much the pro's didn't make on tour last year.
By Cyrus Rhodes - 12/21/2009 - 01:21 PM EST
If you expect to make a lot of money off your own concert tour, you're likely to be extremely disappointed. By the time the venue's concert promoters, ticket vendors, road crew, support staff, various equipment rentals take their cuts, coupled with transportation costs living expenses, food are covered, there may not be as much for the band as you'd expect. Oh and don’t forget the taxman on the money you do manage to tale home after you split it 4 ways between all the bandmembers. Also consider sliding CD sales as the world shifts to digital music, and rising gas process. Limited profitability is nothing new for touring bands these days days. Sorry to burst your bubble but it’s a stark reality. Gerald Casale, a founding member of Devo, recalls that band members only earned about $12,000 each from the new wave group's Freedom of Choice tour, which grossed $2 million during the group's heyday, and the take would have been even less if T-shirts hadn't sold well.
Take another mega 4 piece band – recently released their long anticipated CD in early 2006 followed up by playing around 250 shows over the following 2 years. They toured Australia, Europe, Japan, and the US. The band had made just over 25 Million when all was said and done. Time to go buy a yacht right? Guess again. After they had paid off all the venues, concert promoters, ticket vendors equipment rentals, full road crew with technical support, coupled with transportation costs, living expenses, food, each member received about 5.1 Million. Pay the IRS twice for 2006 and 2007 earnings so takes the number down again to little over 2 Million for each band member. It might seem like a big payday, but if you consider the scope of the effort – clearly it was a disappointment.
Just to keep your motivation up, here's the top 25 grossing tours of 2008. Be use to count how many acts below have been around for 20+ years.
Bon Jovi $210,650,974
Bruce Springsteen $204,513,630
Madonna $185,696,018
The Police $149,623,800
Celine Dion $91,006,221
Kenny Chesney $86,306,618
Neil Diamond $81,206,383
Spice Girls $70,123,272
Eagles $56,625,336
Rascal Flatts $55,863,364
Van Halen $49,017,853
Trans-Siberian Orchestra $47,382,901
Michael Buble $46,333,163
Hanna Montana/Miley Cyrus $45,376,189
Billy Joel $41,133,051
Jonas Brothers $40,080,352
Dave Matthews Band $39,583,329
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers $39,138,280
Leonard Cohen $36,346,67
Journey $35,695,481
Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige $34,547,053
Take That $32,451,800
Toby Keith $31,699,677
American Idols Live $29,906,507
Elton John $29,432,421
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