How much money does a band make on the road? Billboard hopes to answer that question, somewhat, by providing gross sale reports in their weekly Boxscore report. We like to check in every once in a while to see how metal bands are doing. Keep in mind, these are gross sales, meaning this is before the venue, promoter, etc. get the cut. This doesn't mean the band gets the entire piece of the pie and their profits vary based on the deals they make. Check out our previous Earnings & Attendance Reports.
Let's get to it!
Artist: Black Label Society, Down, Devil You Know and Butcher Babies
Venue: Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
Date: May 15th, 2014
Gross Sales: $40,708
Attendance/Capacity: 1,365 / 2,300
Ticket Prices: $32, $29.50Artist: Mastodon, Gojira and Kvelertak
Venue: Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
Date: May 09th, 2014
Gross Sales: $29,853
Attendance/Capacity: 1,176 / 1,250
Ticket Prices: $28, $25
Notice both Zakk and Mastodon played the same venue, although probably different rooms. While they drew practically the same amount of people, Zakk's longevity allowed him to mark up the tickets a bit and leave with a bigger piece of the pie.
Artist: Cannibal Corpse
Venue: Birmingham, AL – Iron City
Date: June 28th, 2014
Gross Sales: $5,162
Attendance/Capacity: 343 / 500
Ticket Prices: $18, $14
Cannibal Corpse are arguably the biggest death metal band around, and the most they can make in a small market will be $5,000. Not too shabby.
Artist: DevilDriver, Whitechapel, Carnifex, Rivers Of Nihil and Fit For An Autopsy
Venue: Boise, ID – Knitting Factory
Date: May 25th, 2014
Gross Sales: $7,152
Attendance/Capacity: 330 / 999
Ticket Prices: $38, $20
The Boise Knitting Factory has traditionally been a hard sell, but you'll notice that Cannibal Corpse draws the same amount of people as Devildriver & Whitechapel combined in small markets. However, due to the larger amount of bands, the ticket prices for this show had to be higher, leaving the tour with a higher gross, but once everything is split, I'm sure Cannibal still ends up on top.
Artist: Deafheaven, Pallbearer and Wreck & Reference
Venue: Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
Date: Jun. 22nd, 2014
Gross Sales: $4,920
Attendance/Capacity: 328 / 400
Ticket Prices: $15
It's crazy to think this tour draws as much as Cannibal Corpse but kids today love the stonery black metal.
Artist: Kiss, Def Leppard and Kobra And The Lotus
Venue: Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Date: Jul. 16th, 2014
Gross Sales: $1,074,570
Attendance/Capacity: 11,772 / 12,601
Ticket Prices: $157, $47
KISS is a machine that will never cease printing money.
Artist: Soundgarden
Venue: Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Date: Jul. 13th, 2014
Gross Sales: $150,260
Attendance/Capacity: 2,223 / 2,223
Ticket Prices: $74.51
Soundgarden make a very respectable living, I'm sure more than Cornell would be able to make on his own.
Artist: Black Sabbath & Soundgarden
Venue: Zurich, SWI – Hallenstadion
Date: Jun. 20th, 2014
Gross Sales: $1,473,990
Attendance/Capacity: 12,746 / 13,000
Ticket Prices: $116.26, $105.08
I'm sure it's even more respectable when opening for Black Sabbath.
Artist: Nine Inch Nails & Cold Cave
Venue: Antwerp, BEL – Lotto Arena
Date: May 28th, 2014
Gross Sales: $281,579
Attendance/Capacity: 5,445 / 7,573
Ticket Prices: $54.57
Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails are still banking it.
Artist: Nine Inch Nails & Soundgarden
Venue: Las Vegas, NV – The Axis At Planet Hollywood
Date: Jul. 19th, 2014
Gross Sales: $517,688
Attendance/Capacity: 6,289 / 6,289
Ticket Prices: $125, $99.50, $79.50, $59.50
And when their forces combine, they double their earnings (and ticket prices).
Artist: Volbeat, Trivium & Digital Summer
Venue: Huntington, NY – The Paramount
Date: May 08th, 2014
Gross Sales: $64,666
Attendance/Capacity: 1,555 / 1,555
Ticket Prices: $42
Volbeat are a serious draw. This Huntington venue is basically a secondary market and they sold it out and left like bandits.
Artist: Killswitch Engage, Into Another, Battlecross & My Ticket Home
Venue: Huntington, NY – The Paramount
Date: May 01st, 2014
Gross Sales: $39,458
Attendance/Capacity: 1,411 / 1,555
Ticket Prices: $28
Killswitch Engage are making it work on the road.
Artist: Babymetal
Venue: Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theater
Date: Jul. 27th, 2014
Gross Sales: $33,000
Attendance/Capacity: 1,200 / 1,200
Ticket Prices: $27.50
Wow, that's a pretty impressive number for an act that nobody heard of a year ago. They are drawing at the same level as Killswitch Engage and the Summer Slaughter tour below…
Artist: ‘Summer Slaughter Tour‘: Dying Fetus, The Faceless, Thy Art Is Murder, etc.
Venue: San Francisco, CA – Regency Center Grand Ballroom
Date: Jul. 17th, 2014
Gross Sales: $31,140
Attendance/Capacity: 1,049 / 1,424
Ticket Prices: $32, $29.50
Yes, that's a great drawing number, but if you think about the fact that 10 bands are playing this tour, it becomes a bit grim to think of how much that opening act gets.
Artist: Cynic, Lesser Key & We Are The City
Venue: Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
Date: Jul. 12th, 2014
Gross Sales: $8,712
Attendance/Capacity: 396 / 771
Ticket Prices: $22
Cynic with a respectable hometown draw.
