Singers: Show me the money

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Jan 13, 2000 Source: Los Angeles Times Submitted By: NoMoon1412@aol.com Monday, January 10, 2000 By ROBERT HILBURN Special from the Los Angeles Times Now that critics have saluted such artists as Beck, Moby, and Fiona Apple for providing last year's best albums, it's the accountants' turn to tell us who delivered the most profitable albums -- and tours. Their findings suggest that the secret to being hot in pop music for most of the year was either to be over 50 or to appeal to 14-year-olds. The acts that generated the most money on the concert trail were the Rolling Stones (whose oldest member, Charlie Watts, is 58) and Bruce Springsteen (who turned 50 last fall); the biggest album sellers were teen faves the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. In the end, the youngsters won, and they dominate Calendar's third annual Ultimate Top 10 -- a ranking of which pop stars caused fans to spend the most money on concert tickets and albums in the United States (with album income based on an estimated average retail price of $13). Other acts with large teen followings on the list are Ricky Martin, 'N Sync, and Limp Bizkit -- though the appeal of Martin and Bizkit extended far beyond 14-year-olds. Country music also contributed two artists to the list, Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks, and Santana and Cher represented the 50-something crowd. Because neither the Rolling Stones nor Springsteen released new studio collections this year, they didn't generate enough album sales to make the Top 10. Last year's winner, Garth Brooks, also failed to make the list. The 1999 Ultimate Top 10 1. The Backstreet Boys. After finishing fifth last year, the teen heartthrobs vaulted into first place thanks to strong showings in both concert and album areas. Not only was their "Millennium" album the year's biggest seller (9.3 million units), but their earlier album, "Backstreet Boys," also sold another 2.2 million. On the concert trail, the Boys chalked up $37.1 million in 56 dates. Total estimated album and concert grosses: $187 million. 2. Shania Twain. Here's another returnee to the list. Twain, who finished fourth last year, moved up thanks to balanced showings on the road and in record stores. She grossed $40.8 million in 62 concerts, while her "Come on Over" album was the nation's fourth-biggest seller, with an estimated 5.5 million copies. Her older album, "The Woman in Me," also contributed nearly 500,000 in additional sales. $119 million. 3. Britney Spears. This teen phenom registered only $6.2 million in live shows, according to Pollstar, the concert industry trade publication, but her "... Baby One More Time" album sold 8.2 million copies, trailing only the Backstreet Boys in 1999. No other album last year topped the 6 million mark. $113 million. 4. Ricky Martin. After his dazzling performance on the Grammys last year, there seemed to be no stopping Martin, a marginal talent but a winning performer. His "Ricky Martin" finished third among album sellers, with 5.9 million copies, and he would have surely been higher than No. 16 on Pollstar's concert list if he had done more than 27 shows. In those dates, he grossed almost $23 million. $99 million. 5. 'N Sync. If you count tickets sold rather than dollars grossed, here's your winner. The young hotshots sold nearly 2 million tickets, well ahead of runner-up the Dave Matthews Band, which sold 1.4 million. The reason 'N Sync's gross was only $51 million is that their average ticket price was $28, compared with, say, $109 for the Rolling Stones and $48 for the Matthews Band. The group's album, "'N Sync," sold about 3.2 million copies. $93 million. 6. Limp Bizkit. This is the sole hard-core rock entry on the list, a sign of contemporary rock's low profile on the concert scene in recent years. Bizkit generated most of its money on the album front. Excluding income from the multi-act "Family Values" tour, Bizkit grossed $6.5 million in 37 dates. Its latest album, "Significant Other," sold almost 4.8 million copies to finish fifth on the SoundScan list. An earlier album sold another 1.3 million copies. $85 million. 7. Dave Matthews Band. Here's a pop-rock act that doesn't fall into either the teen or the over-50 camp. But Matthews grossed $48.5 million in 62 concert dates. Three albums sold a total of 2.6 million copies. $82 million. 8. The Dixie Chicks. The colorful country trio didn't show up on Pollstar's concert list, so all its sales are tied to its two albums. Together, "Fly" and "Wide Open Spaces" sold almost 6 million copies this year. $77 million. 9. Santana. What a year for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame veteran Carlos Santana. His group's album, "Supernatural," sold 4.5 million, while a pair of tours (one co-headlining with Mana) grossed $16.3 million in 64 shows. $75 million. 10. Cher. Her success this year is enough to make a believer out of you -- well, almost. Cher's "Believe" album sold 2.7 million copies and the tour generated $37.7 million in tickets. $73 million. All these figures contributed to strong showings in both the concert and album fields. Album sales rose 5.5 percent over last year, while concert grosses are up more than 15 percent, according to separate reports from SoundScan, the company that monitors U.S. record sales, and Pollstar. In the concert field, the reason for the record gross was easy: higher ticket prices. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnansaz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: johnansaz http://t-links.org/EZjAi12N real sex dating near you! 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