Beyoncé smashes Madonna box office record
Beyoncé has overtaken Madonna to achieve the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in Billboard Boxscore history, according to new figures.
Billboard reports that the 42-year-old’s Live Nation-promoted Renaissance World Tour has now generated $461.3 million (€435m), surpassing the $408m grossed by Madonna’s 2008/09 Sticky & Sweet Tour (although Madonna still comes out on top once the takings are adjusted for inflation).
In addition, Beyoncé has smashed her own record for the highest-grossing month of any touring artist since Boxscore records began in 1985.
Renaissance‘s North American tour leg netted $179.3m (€169m) from 697,000 ticket sales across 14 concerts in August. The haul bettered the previous best of $127.6m in July for 11 shows – set by Beyoncé just one month earlier – by more than 40%.
The Texan has now scored the highest-grossing tour in three months of 2023
Highlights included her three-night stand at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium from 11-12 & 14 August, which sold 156,000 tickets for a total gross of $39.8m.
The Texan has now scored the highest-grossing tour in three months of 2023 – May, July and August – and sits alongside Bad Bunny and Harry Styles as the only acts whose tours have achieved $100m+ months this year.
Beyoncé sold more than one million tickets for the tour’s opening European leg, which ran from May to June, grossing $154.4 million (€141.6m) from 1.05m ticket sales over 21 dates.
Billboard forecasts the CAA-booked world tour to have passed the $500m mark at the box office by the time it wraps up in Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on 1 October.
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Social media driving live’s growth, says top US analyst
Social media will play an increasingly significant role in a booming live event economy in the US, according to an analyst at one of the Big Four banking institutions in the country.
The role of social in fan growth globally was highlighted in a note sent to clients last week by Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich, who commented: “The live entertainment industry has been one of the most robust growth engines of the music industry over the past 20+ years.”
According to a recent estimate from Morgan Stanley, summer concerts by artists including Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, as well as blockbuster films such as Barbie and Oppenheimer, are expected to add a combined $8.5 billion to US growth in the current quarter.
Ehrlich laid out five catalysts that will lead to sustained long-term growth in the industry: continued spending shifts towards services and experiences; healthy pricing power amid increased demand; positive supply and demand trends as social media apps like TikTok boost global awareness and fan growth; the relatively “disruption-proof” nature of live events as virtual methods remain incomparable; and the advent of experiential marketing.
“The live entertainment industry has been one of the most robust growth engines of the music industry over the past 20+ years”
“Not surprisingly, we believe talent, especially artists that command huge fan bases, will be able to increasingly extract incremental value out of the ecosystem (largely driven by increasing supply and ticket pricing), while venues, which have several independent revenue streams, accrue the most value,” Ehrlich said.
The comments echo Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino who spoke at Bank of America’s Media, Communications, and Entertainment Conference last Wednesday (13 September).
“It’s that important badge in [a fan’s] life to make sure that they can tell people they were at the Beyoncé show,” he explained. “Artists and what they’re able to drive with that relationship, with that fan, [through live] is just a bond that we’ve never seen before — especially with social media.”
Noting the hit the industry took from Covid-19, Ehrlich assured clients that “consumer demand for live entertainment has come roaring back”. “This backdrop has supported supply and demand tailwinds which all appear to be sustainable over the next several years.”
“Live entertainment is currently the brightest star in the broader media and entertainment universe,” she said.
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Beyoncé tops box office for highest-grossing month
Beyoncé has posted the highest-grossing month of any touring artist since the Billboard Boxscore launched in the mid-1980s.
The star grossed $127.6 million in July for 11 shows on the North American leg of her Renaissance World Tour, with more than half a million tickets sold.
With the new Boxscore figures, Beyoncé knocks Bad Bunny and his 123.6m gross in September 2022 off the top spot.
Highlights from the past month on the Renaissance World Tour include two nights at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium ($33.1m), a night at Chicago’s Soldier Field ($30.1m) and two shows at Toronto’s Roger’s Centre ($18.3m).
Up until 1 August, The Renaissance World Tour has grossed $295.8m and has been crowned as the singer’s highest-grossing tour to date long before its conclusion.
This isn’t the first time Beyoncé has set a Boxscore record with the Renaissance World Tour; her five-show run at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium grossed $42.2m was the highest-grossing engagement ever by a woman, a Black artist, or any American artist.
With two months of shows yet to be reported, Billboard expects the total to soar past the half-billion mark
With two months of Renaissance World Tour shows yet to be reported, Billboard expects the total to soar past the half-billion mark.
The 41-year-old conquered Europe with a $150-million run but has made almost as much ($141.4 million) in North America with far fewer shows.
Her 12 North American dates have averaged $11.8 million, which is more than double the business that Beyoncé was doing in the territory on 2016’s The Formation World Tour and 2018’s On the Run II Tour with Jay-Z.
The CAA-booked tour is due to wrap up in Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on 1 October.
Fans of the singer were recently given the chance to buy “listening only” tickets for select US tour dates. The US$157 passes offered admission for seats behind the stage, with no view of the show.
The “limited view” tickets – which are usually sold to visually impaired people at a reduced price – were first made available for the 41-year-old’s 29-30 July concerts at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
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Renaissance becomes highest-grossing Beyoncé tour
Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour has officially been crowned as the singer’s highest-grossing tour to date after generating US$295.8 million (€268.9m) at the box office.
The haul, reported by Billboard Boxscore, surpasses the $256.1m grossed by 2016’s Formation run, and could yet go on to generate over $500m, with more than 20 tour dates still to go.
While the 56-date Renaissance (1.6 million) currently trails the 49-date Formation in terms of ticket sales (2.2m) it is projected to move another one million tickets to settle on around 2.6m by the tour’s end. Her 2018’s On the Run II Tour alongside Jay-Z brought in $253.5m from ticket sales of 2.17m.
Beyoncé sold more than one million tickets for Renaissance’s recent European leg, which became the 41-year-old’s biggest non-US tour leg. The Live Nation-promoted 21-date run finished at Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy Stadium in Poland at the end of June, having grossed $154.4m from 1.05m ticket sales.
The tour is due to wrap up in Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on 1 Octobe
The CAA-booked tour is due to wrap up in Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on 1 October.
Fans of the singer were recently given the chance to buy “listening only” tickets for select US tour dates. The US$157 passes offered admission for seats behind the stage, with no view of the show.
The “limited view” tickets – which are usually sold to visually impaired people at a reduced price – were first made available for the 41-year-old’s 29-30 July concerts at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
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‘Listening only’ tickets sold for Beyoncé tour
Beyoncé fans have reportedly been given the chance to buy “listening only” tickets for the star’s Renaissance US tour.
The US$157 (€144) passes offer admission for seats behind the stage, with no view of the singer.
According to Yahoo! Finance via Fortune, the “limited view” tickets – which are usually sold to visually impaired people at a reduced price – were first made available for the 41-year-old’s 29-30 July concerts at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
General tickets for Beyoncé’s next tour stop – a 5 August date at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, are currently on sale from $221. The singer was due to perform tonight at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium, only for the show to be cancelled last month as a result of “production, logistics and scheduling issues”.
Beyoncé sold more than one million tickets for the tour’s recent European leg
The North American leg of the Renaissance World Tour launched in Canada at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on 8 July and is due to conclude in Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on 1 October.
Beyoncé sold more than one million tickets for the tour’s recent European leg. The Live Nation-promoted 21-date run, which finished at Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy Stadium in Poland at the end of June, grossed $154.4 million (€141.6m) from 1.05m ticket sales, according to Billboard Boxscore.
The haul marks the first time the singer has generated a seven-figure total from a single tour leg. She also set 12 local records in the 14 markets she visited in Europe.
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Ticket sales top 1 million for Beyoncé’s Euro run
Beyoncé sold more than one million tickets for the recent European leg of her Renaissance World Tour.
The Live Nation-promoted 21-date run, which concluded last week at Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy Stadium in Poland, grossed $154.4 million (€141.6m) from 1.05m ticket sales, according to Billboard Boxscore.
The haul marks the first time the singer has generated a seven-figure total from a single tour leg. She also set 12 local records in the 14 markets she visited in Europe.
The Renaissance World Tour resumes in North America this weekend
The 41-year-old attracted 238,000 fans to her five sold-out nights at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium from 29 May to 4 June, which earned $42.2m in a record-breaking residency for a US artist.
Revenue also exceeded $10 million for two nights at each of the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden; Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and in Warsaw. She also achieved the feat in just one date at the Stade de France in Paris. Her previous world tour, 2016’s Formation, sold 300,000 tickets in the UK alone.
The Renaissance World Tour resumes in North America this weekend with the first of two concerts at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada on 8 July.
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Beyoncé blamed for inflation rise in Sweden
Beyoncé has been blamed for Sweden’s inflation rise after the start of her Renaissance tour in the country last month.
The 41-date world tour – her first in seven years – kicked off on 10 May at Stockholm’s Friends Arena, reportedly prompting a surge in restaurant and hotel pricing in the area as tens of thousands of fans arrived in the city.
Michael Grahn, the chief economist at Danske Bank, the biggest bank in neighbouring Denmark, told CNN the extra demand from Beyoncé’s fans was behind two-thirds of the price rises seen in the hospitality sector in May. As a result, Sweden reported higher-than-expected inflation of 9.7% during the month.
“Stars come here all the time, [but] we seldom see effects like this”
“[That’s] definitely not normal,” Grahn told CNN. “Stars come here all the time, [but] we seldom see effects like this.”
Grahn said many fans had travelled to Sweden for the two sold-out concerts in the country as tickets were relatively cheaper than elsewhere and a “very weak” Swedish currency boosted their spending power.
He noted that “there are a limited number of hotels and accommodation in the Stockholm area,” adding that hotels as far away as 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the capital put up their prices as a result.
He expects the “Beyoncé effect” to be short-lived, with hotel prices dropping over the next month.
Last month, Forbes reported that the pop icon’s ongoing Renaissance tour, promoted by Live Nation, could gross nearly $2.1billion (£1.7billion).
The superstar will work her way through stadiums in Europe and the UK over the course of this spring and summer.
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Female superstars lead 2023’s blockbuster tours
Female artists are leading the way on 2023’s touring circuit, with American superstars Beyoncé, Madonna, Pink and Lizzo joining Taylor Swift in scoring huge sales for blockbuster tours.
A raft of additional US stadium shows were confirmed for Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour – the singer’s first solo tour in seven years – after demand exceeded the number of originally available tickets by more than 800%. The run kicks off in Europe at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on 10 May, switching to to North America in July.
“Even with these added dates, it is still expected that the majority of interested fans will not be able to get tickets because demand drastically exceeds supply,” reads a Live Nation statement.
Following the Eras tour fallout, which prompted last month’s US Senate antitrust hearing, Ticketmaster tweaked the presale for the Renaissance tour in the US, dividing the Verified Fan registration period into three groups based on city.
More than three million people attempted to buy tickets for Beyoncé’s European dates, with her original two-night stand in London expanding to five at the 60,000-cap Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Extra nights were also added in cities such as Amsterdam, Stockholm and Warsaw.
“We experienced and successfully handled an extraordinary level of demand and traffic for Beyoncé”
While the BBC reported complaints of long queues and technical issues during the UK onsale, Ticketmaster declared the process a success.
“We experienced and successfully handled an extraordinary level of demand and traffic for Beyoncé,” says a Ticketmaster spokesperson. “While there were never going to be enough tickets to meet demand, thousands of happy fans secured their tickets.”
Live Nation France boss Angelo Gopee tells Le Parisien “the demand has been huge” for the star’s two French shows at the 60,000-cap Stade de France in Paris and 55,000-cap Orange Velodrome, Marseille. Tickets started at €85.
“Do not believe that because 270,000 people are [in the queue], we can sell 270,000 tickets and fill four stadiums,” says Gopee. Many come to see the prices, the location of the seats and leave. For Madonna, we had 120,000 fans waiting and we sold 60,000 tickets.”
“We had never experienced such demand since 2014,” adds Velodrome stadium director Martin d’Argenlieu.
Taylor Swift’s 52-date The Eras US tour remains the standard-bearer in terms of demand
Madonna’s 2023/24 The Celebration Tour – which marks the 40th anniversary of her breakout single Holiday – has been another smash hit, selling more than 600,000 tickets.
Produced by Live Nation, the global greatest hits tour will kick off in North America on 15 July at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. Madonna’s 2008-2009 Sticky and Sweet Tour is currently the highest-grossing tour by a female artist ever, raking in $411 million (£335m).
In addition, Pink’s first tour in four years, The Pink Summer Carnival, commences on 7 June with the first of two concerts at the University of Bolton Stadium and takes in stadiums and festivals around Europe, including two dates at the 65,000-cap BST Hyde Park in London. Making its way to North America in July, the run is due to conclude at Chase Field, Phoenix on 9 October.
And Lizzo’s The Special Tour got underway in the US last Autumn and arrived at European arenas in February, with a second North American leg slated from April to June.
Nevertheless, Taylor Swift’s 52-date The Eras US tour remains the standard-bearer in terms of demand, selling a record 2.4 million tickets in a single day.
“Despite all the challenges and the breakdowns, we did sell over two million tickets that day, we could have filled 900 stadiums.” said Live Nation chair Greg Maffei following the controversial presale last November.
Other acts playing stadium tours this year include Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Harry Styles, The Weeknd, Elton John, Coldplay, Rammstein, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Def Leppard + Motley Crue.
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Grammys features raft of blockbuster performances
Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Lizzo, Kim Petras and Sam Smith were among a raft of artists that performed at the annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last night (5 February).
The 65th edition took place at the Crypto.com Arena in LA, with additional performances from Brandi Carlile, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Chris Stapleton, Steve Lacy, DJ Khaled and Luke Combs.
Topping Billboard’s rankings of Grammy performances was a tribute to 50 years of hip-hop, curated by Questlove and featuring an all-star cast.
Missy Elliott, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Lil Wayne, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Run-D.M.C. and Salt-N-Pepa were among 29 iconic artists that performed during the tribute to the genre.
Beyoncé has now won 32 Grammys, securing her place as the most-awarded artist in the history of the ceremony
Elsewhere, the in-memoriam segment of the ceremony saw Kacey Musgraves, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, and Migos’ Quavo perform songs popularised by Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, and Takeoff.
The top four awards of the 65th ceremony went to Harry Styles (Album of The Year for Harry’s House), Lizzo (Record of The Year for About Damn Time), Bonnie Rait (Song of The Year for Just Like That) and Beyoncé (Best Dance/Electronic Album for Renaissance).
Beyoncé also won best R&B song, best dance/electronic recording and best traditional R&B performance at last night’s ceremony. She has now won 32 Grammys and is the most-awarded artist in the history of the ceremony.
In doing so, she overtook Hungarian-British conductor George Solti, whose record of 31 Grammys had stood for more than 20 years.
See a complete list of winners and nominees for the 2023 Grammys here.
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Beyoncé announces 2023 Renaissance world tour
Beyoncé has announced her first tour in seven years: the Renaissance World Tour 2023.
The hugely anticipated outing will kick off on 10 May at Stockholm’s Friends Arena before working its way through stadiums in Europe and the UK over the course of this spring and summer.
The tour’s North American leg starts on 7 July in Toronto and continues through to the autumn before concluding on 27 September at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome.
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The 41-date tour also includes an extensive run of UK dates, including London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29 and 30 May and Cardiff, Edinburgh and Sunderland set for 17 May, 20 May and 23 May respectively.
The new outing, in support of Beyoncé’s latest album ‘Rennaisance’, is produced by her management, production, entertainment company and record label, Parkwood Entertainment, and promoted by Live Nation.
The 41-year-old’s last tour was 2016’s Formation world tour. That show, in support of her sixth album ‘Lemonade’, saw her perform in Sunderland, Cardiff, London, Manchester and Glasgow, totalling over 300,000 tickets in the UK alone.
Renaissance World Tour dates:
EUROPE
May 10, 2023 – Stockholm, SE – Friends Arena
May 14, 2023 – Brussels, BE – King Baudouin Stadium
May 17, 2023 – Cardiff, UK – Cardiff Principality Stadium
May 20, 2023 – Edinburgh, UK – BT Murrayfield Stadium
May 23, 2023 – Sunderland, UK – Stadium of Light
May 26, 2023 – Paris, FR – Stade de France
May 29, 2023 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
May 30, 2023 – London, UK – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
June 08, 2023 – Barcelona, ES – Olympic Stadium
June 11, 2023 – Marseille, FR – Orange Velodrome
June 15, 2023 – Cologne, DE – Rhein Energie Stadion
June 17, 2023 – Amsterdam, NL – Johan Cruijff Arena
June 21, 2023 – Hamburg, DE – Volksparkstadion
June 24, 2023 – Frankfurt, DE – Deutsche Bank Park
June 27, 2023 – Warsaw, PL – PGE Narodowy
NORTH AMERICA
July 8, 2023 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
July 12, 2023 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
July 15, 2023 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
July 17, 2023 – Louisville, KY – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium
July 20, 2023 – Minneapolis, MN – Huntington Bank Stadium
July 22, 2023 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field Stadium
July 26, 2023 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field
July 29, 2023 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
Aug. 01, 2023 – Boston, MA – Gillette Stadium
Aug. 03, 2023 – Pittsburgh, PA – Acrisure Stadium
Aug. 05, 2023 – Washington, DC – FedEx Field
Aug. 09, 2023 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium
Aug. 11, 2023 – Atlanta, GA – Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Aug. 16, 2023 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium
Aug. 18, 2023 – Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium
Aug. 21, 2023 – St. Louis, MO – Dome at America’s Center
Aug. 24, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ – State Farm Stadium
Aug. 26, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium
Aug. 30, 2023 – San Francisco, CA – Levi’s Stadium
Sept. 02, 2023 – Inglewood, CA – SoFi Stadium
Sept. 11, 2023 – Vancouver, BC – BC Place
Sept. 13, 2023 – Seattle, WA – Lumen Field
Sept. 18, 2023 – Kansas City, MO – GEHA Field At Arrowhead Stadium
Sept. 21, 2023 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Stadium
Sept. 23, 2023 – Houston, TX – NRG Stadium
Sept. 27, 2023 – New Orleans, LA – Caesars Superdome
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