Despite mid-year fears of an overall decline in ticket sales, end of year figures for the US live music industry show a rise in ticket sales for the fourth consecutive year. Much of the growth was down to the success of major tours for veteran acts like Cher, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Billy Joel. According to US trade title Pollstar sales across the US and Canada were up about 20% on 2001 figures. However the figures, which represent revenues, not numbers of tickets sold, may be due to hike in ticket prices, with promoters cashing in on the fact gig-goers seem to be willing to pay large sums of money to see the likes of McCartney who haven’t toured for years.
With this in mind Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni remains pessimistic about the future of live music in the US, claiming greedy rock stars are crippling the industry by demanding hefty guarantees from promoters, resulting in high ticket prices and empty seats. "It would be difficult to find an industry insider who could pronounce overall business healthy," he told the BBC.