Strong box office for Aussie tours by Elton John, U2 & Shawn Mendes

Concert ticket prices might be rising across the board, but Australia remains a hot market for international artists, according to figures from trade publications Pollstar and Billboard.

Elton John’s three month Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which runs through Australia and New Zealand until early March, took off at the starting gate.

The first eleven shows between November 30 and December 23 grossed almost A$30 million ($29.48 million or US$20.2 million).

Promoted through Chugg Entertainment, the first weeks played to 143,839 fans.

The two Perth shows at HBF Stadium were attended by 44,079 and grossed A$8.7 million (US$5.9 million).

The two at Adelaide Botanic Park had an attendance of 32, 523 and generated $5.28 million (US$3.6 million)

The four-date Rod Laver Arena Melbourne run was to 51,556 and a boxscore of $11.6 million (US$7.9 million).

The two dates at Brisbane Entertainment Centre came to $4.35 million (US$2.97 million) and 21, 425 fans.

Two at the ICC Theatre in Sydney shifted 16,337 tickets and totalled $4 million (US$2.75 million).

The first of the winery shows, at Mt Duneed Estate in Geelong, Victoria – between the Adelaide and Melbourne shows – were not tabled.

There are 25 more shows, including a short run in New Zealand, and which winds up on March at 7 Bankwest Stadium in Sydney.

The next round of Australian shows to be reported in the trades will be from January 8, when the piano man and his crack band returned from their seasonal break to hit the stage at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena.

Elton’s impressive figures follow U2’s triumphant return to Australia and New Zealand with the eight-date The Joshua Tree Tour through Live Nation.

The ANZ outing generated A$51 million (US$35.7 million), or roughly $6.7 million (US$4.63 million) a show.

Figures have also been released for Shawn Mendes’ nine and a half month world tour.

It wrapped up on December 21 and with a gross of US96.7 million (A$141.8 million) and with ticket sales of 1.3 million – well beyond expectations, and a huge jump from his 2017 run, in terms of gross (up 176%) and ticket sales (up 103%).

The nine ANZ arena run through Frontier Touring, between October 23 and November 9., made over $1.46 million (US$1 million)m at each of the local shows.

Australians don’t seem to be price-conscious when it comes to concert tickets, and obviously when it comes to superstar acts.

According to Live Performance Australia’s 2018 Ticket Attendance And Revenue Report, published late last year, ticket prices are steadily on the rise.

Average ticket price increased by 9.3% year on year in 2018, from $90.59 in 2017 to $99.03 in 2018,” which is the highest recorded average ticket price” according to the association.

Over a ten year period of rising, the average ticket price was up by 29.2%, from $76.60 in 2008.