NJ sons Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are bigger than you think

New Jersey is well aware of the large impact that its artists and performers have not only throughout this country but throughout the world. That impact is bigger than you think.

According to Pollstar, which is a music industry company that monitors concert activity, ticket sales, providing touring information along with a list of artists and management contacts, Bruce and Bon Jovi are very successful at touring and ticket sales. The numbers are pretty astounding.

Pollstar is celebrating its 40th anniversary listing the most successful bands based on ticket sales and reported concert revenue. The lists show that over the last 40 years, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band have sold 20.8 million tickets for a whopping $1.53 billion in reported income.

Take into account that Bruce had a major gap of not touring in the '90s and hasn’t been on tour in the last five years, Bruce and the band still ranked 4th on both the list of total ticket sales and reported gross income.

The Rolling Stones are number 1 with the highest reported income at $2.17 billion and 3rd for total ticket sales at $22.1 million. U2 and Elton John are also on the top 3 of both of those lists.

Bon Jovi is no slouch either, selling 17.7 million tickets, which ranks 7th on the list with a reported income of $1.33 billion also ranked 7th.

It is impressive that two Jersey guys with combined ticket sales of close to 40 million tickets and a collected income at close to $3 billion are still heading out and performing to sold-out audiences throughout the world.

In the need for full transparency, there is much pushback from fans and concertgoers regarding the price of tickets for Bruce’s 2023 announced tour. Ticketmaster has a “dynamic pricing” system that may fluctuate the price of the ticket based on demand.

This dynamic pricing recently put a floor seat price at Bruce’s show at $4,000. Yes, I said $4,000. Bruce is working with Ticketmaster so that the average prices for tickets for his shows range from $60 to $400 per show.

Most fans aren’t happy and just don’t have the cash to catch their favorite artist.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host Big Joe Henry. Any opinions expressed are Big Joe’s own.