While this sort of stuff is usually kept behind closed doors in accounting books, Billboard Magazine recently published "boxscore reports" showing just how much musicians make per show. Interestingly enough, a lot of metal and hard rock bandsare on the list as well, giving us a peak at how much money bands at different levels can make per show…
Keep in mind these are gross profits, meaning this is before the venue takes a cut, promoters take a cut, manangers take a cut, production costs etc. This is just the total amount of money generated from ticket sales.
Not shockingly, the highest grossers are the Rob Zombie/Korn tour. Here's a sampling of their gross revenue:
Artists: Rob Zombie, Korn & Scar The Martyr
Venue: Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tenn.
Date: Nov. 24, 2013
Gross Sales: $276,942
Attendance/Capacity: 5,839 / 5,839
Ticket Prices: $49.50, $39.15
A quarter-million dollars of gross revenue in one shot is nothing to scoff at. Meanwhile, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament and Huntress did pretty well for themselves as well. Here are two sample shows from them, one in Oakland and one in Pittsburg:
Artists: Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament & Huntress
Venue: Fox Theater Oakland, Calif.
Date: Nov. 9, 2013
Gross Sales: $98,465
Attendance/Capacity: 2,800 / 2,800
Ticket Prices: $40, $35Artists: Lamb Of God, Killswitch Engage, Testament & Huntress
Venue: Stage AE Pittsburgh, Pa.
Date: Nov. 25, 2013
Gross Sales: $73,735
Attendance/Capacity: 2,279 / 2,300
Ticket Prices: $35, $32
Here are different types of music, all under the umbrella of metal and hard rock and all generating equal amounts of revenue:
Artists: Bullet For My Valentine, Black Veil Brides, Stars in Stereo, etc.
Venue: Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, Manitoba
Date: Oct. 7, 2013
Gross Sales: $47,786
Attendance/Capacity: 1,255 / 1,566
Ticket Prices: $38.36, $36.42Artists: Clutch
Venue: Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, Ohio
Date: Nov. 22, 2013
Gross Sales: $43,109
Attendance/Capacity: 1,691 / 2,200
Ticket Prices: $28, $25Artists: Megadeth, Fear Factory & Nonpoint
Venue: Orpheum Theatre Madison, Wis.
Date: Nov. 24, 2013
Gross Sales: $40,230
Attendance/Capacity: 1,098 / 2,000
Ticket Prices: $45, $35Artists: Kreator & Overkill
Venue: National Grove of Anaheim Anaheim, Calif.
Date: Nov. 15, 2013
Gross Sales: $39,393
Attendance/Capacity: 1,324 / 1,700
Ticket Prices: $85, $27.50
Here's how some smaller capacity shows do in a live setting:
Artists: Gwar, Whitechapel, Iron Reagan & Band Of Orcs
Venue: MacEwan Conference and Event Centre Calgary, Alberta
Date: Oct. 8, 2013
Gross Sales: $23,313
Attendance/Capacity: 704 / 1,000
Ticket Prices: $37.34, $32
Artists: August Burns Red, Blessthefall, Defeater & Beartooth
Venue: Regency Center Grand Ballroom San Francisco, Calif.
Date: Nov. 16, 2013
Gross Sales: $19,653
Attendance/Capacity: 834 / 1,424
Ticket Prices: $25, $23Artists: The Devil Wears Prada, The Ghost Inside, Volumes & Texas In July
Venue: Regency Center Grand Ballroom San Francisco, Calif.
Date: Nov. 21, 2013
Gross Sales: $13,324
Attendance/Capacity: 695 / 1,424
Ticket Prices: $23, $20Artists: Between The Buried And Me, The Faceless, The Contortionist & The Safety Fire
Venue: Starlite Room Edmonton, Alberta
Date: Oct. 8, 2013
Gross Sales: $11,303
Attendance/Capacity: 460 / 500
Ticket Prices: $29.09, $24.24Artists: Every Time I Die, letlive. & Code Orange Kids
Venue: Basement Columbus, Ohio
Date: Nov. 22, 2013
Gross Sales: $4,650
Attendance/Capacity: 310 / 310
Ticket Prices: $15Artists: High On Fire & Kvelertak
Venue: A and R Music Bar Columbus, Ohio
Date: Nov. 20, 2013
Gross Sales: $3,315
Attendance/Capacity: 221 / 400
Ticket Prices: $15
Obviously, this doesn't take into account merch sales, but it's interesting to see the variety of revenue intake from different sized bands. For example, Every Time I Die and Between The Buried and Me are roughly the same size, but due to difference in ticket pricing, one show generates far more revenue than the other.
This was an interesting peak behind the curtain. What's your take on these numbers?
[via ThePRP]
