Billy Joel: The 25 million dollar man
Imagine working 15 nights and taking home $25 million.
That's been musician Billy Joel's work schedule and pay so far in 2019 -- not bad for the recently turned 70-year-old singer/songwriter.
Joel shot to no. 1 this week on the Pollstar LIVE75 chart, which tracks and ranks ticket sales and revenue statistics for active touring musicians.
The iconic singer’s shows in New York’s Madison Square Garden and Boston’s Fenway Park drew more than 24,500 fans each performance, selling out the historic venues every night – a feat only matched by pop star Shawn Mendes, the Jonas Brothers’ reunion tour, and Hootie and the Blowfish’s trip through the UK.
The Zac Brown Band sits in a distant second place numerically, pulling in 20,418 nightly fans on The Owl Tour, supporting their new album of the same name.
Joel’s ticket revenues dwarf the rest of the list as well. The Bronx native averaged more than $3.35 million in ticket revenue per show. The Jonas Brothers are the only other act in the LIVE75 top 10 to pass the $2 million-per-show mark, with fellow veteran Elton John pulling $1.97 million each night on his farewell tour.
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Since the beginning of 2019, the piano man's year-to-date box office results at Madison Square Garden for a nine-show gross totals $22.6 million from 167,156 tickets.
Joel will add to his numbers when he visits Arlington, Texas on Oct. 12, followed by three more shows at Madison Square Garden before the end of the year. Joel is scheduled for an appearance in Charlotte next April, but beyond that, the touring career of the nation's third-highest-selling solo artist is uncertain.
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