George Strait Bests Luke Bryan For Touring in 2014
Remember when members of Luke Bryan’s camp started crying when George Strait won the Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year in 2014? They said it was just a parting gift at the farewell of his career, and that he wasn’t an “Entertainer.” But once again we get validation that George Strait’s Entertainer win at both the CMA’s in 2013, and the ACM’s in 2014, were well deserved.
Ticket broker StubHub has released their numbers for the top-selling music tickets in 2014, and coming in at #2 is “The King” George Strait, edging out Luke Bryan at #3—the current mainstream country cash cow. Even more validating is that Strait’s final concert at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX was not only the biggest live music event in all of 2014, it actually beat the #2 and #3 biggest events—concerts by Luke Bryan and Justin Timberlake—combined. Strait’s final concert shattered attendance records for an indoor event with 104,793 attendees, roughly 5,000 over the stadium’s listed capacity of 100,000, and breaking the previous record for an indoor concert of 87,500 held by a Rolling Stones show at the Superdome in New Orleans in 1981.
British boy band One Direction came in with the #1 spot for 2014 touring by StubHub’s tabulations.
Of course these numbers were bolstered for Strait because it was during his farewell tour, but it still speaks to the continued buying power of classic country fans. It also speaks to how big country music is becoming in the concert realm that the #2 and #3 spots would be filled by country performers.
“I don’t think we realize how huge country music is,” StubHub’s Glen Lehrman told AdWeek. “Traditionally, we think of pop music as the one that is going to drive the most interest in ticket sales your Beyonce, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga.”
Overall touring revenues in 2014 were relatively stagnant according to StubHub, but big tours planned or continuing into next year, including Garth Brooks’ comeback tour could mean an uptick in 2015, and country music once again taking some of the top spots.
Truth No. 2
December 31, 2014 @ 11:17 am
So there is justice in this world!
Acca Dacca
December 31, 2014 @ 12:19 pm
Let the bitching from Luke Bryan’s fanbase begin. It’s too bad that he keeps getting ousted by someone who “isn’t an entertainer.” I can only imagine what that makes Luke Bryan.
Dukes
December 31, 2014 @ 12:20 pm
Only time I ever saw Luke Bryan in concert was StageCoach 2007 … when his star was just beginning to burn. Best of the day? Him doing “Good Directions”, the hit he wrote for Billy Currington. I was a Luke Bryan fan back then.
Then, he became whatever the hell he is now.
Good on you, King George. Walk away on a win.
Acca Dacca
December 31, 2014 @ 12:26 pm
“Then, he became whatever the hell he is now.”
Oh, Lord, this just made my day 🙂
sonas
January 1, 2015 @ 11:40 am
Mine too. Been listening to a lot of George Strait lately. Totally loving him.
the pistolero
December 31, 2014 @ 1:14 pm
Those figures might have been inflated because George was retiring, but even so he’s never had a problem filling arenas and stadiums when I’ve seen him. Granted, it was mostly in Texas, with a few dates in Arkansas and Louisiana, but here’s the thing: a few of those dates weren’t quite local for me. All but one involved at least a 70-mile drive, and a couple of times I drove all the way to Little Rock from Southeast Texas, which translates to about 420 miles one-way. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would have made such a drive.
What I’m getting at is this: I don’t think Strait’s popularity, at least, isn’t a regional thing.
the pistolero
December 31, 2014 @ 1:14 pm
Should say, I don’t think it IS a regional thing.
Nick Brown
December 31, 2014 @ 2:42 pm
It wasn’t that long ago Luke Bryan did an interview with a CBC reporter (in Canada) and the CBC and reporter referred to Bryan an the”Reigning King Of Country”.
As you can tell they didn’t spend much time on research before the interview. What an insult to the genre.
Daw Johnson
January 2, 2015 @ 7:41 am
Love or hate that comment or Luke Bryan, but it’s not inaccurate.
He’s the last country artist in a really long time to sell over 500K copies of an album in the first week. His sixth single surged into the country radio top ten more rapidly than first singles from virtually every other country superstar. He’s the CMA Entertainer of the Year. And his tour is pretty dominant (Billboard says it was the highest-grossing country tour this year, StubHub says second best ticket seller).
There is no bigger commercial force in country music.
Nick Brown
January 2, 2015 @ 10:04 am
“not inaccurate”
Are you serious, really?
Look, going by all your posts defending Luke Brian, Bryan or Bryant. It doesn’t matter what his name is!!! That you clearly would sniff his shorts (or panties) if given the chance, hey good for you.
I’ll give him credit he is big, at the moment that is. The music industry is majorly overstocked with artists who were “The Next Big Thing”, only to have the “Next Big Thing” come along and then they are all forgotten and the only place you find them is on a VH1 Where are they now special.
I’ll give you an example, Billy Ray Cyrus, Mr Achy Breaky Heart himself, remember how BIG he was, Billy was everywhere, he was on country programing and non country programing, hell he was even on Entertainment Tonight, he was successful for awhile after that song and fast forward twenty years and what is Billy Ray’s legacy, a one hit wonder with a famous daughter that has no talent either.
History will not recognize those who were a flash in the pan, Luke B has not proven anything yet, he has not and does not deserve to be placed in the same category or even compared to George Strait, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Conway Twitty or George Jones. Quite honestly, Luke B really should be put in the category with the likes of One Direction, The Moffats, Back Street Boys or what ever horrible music teenage girls listen two.
JacobB
January 1, 2015 @ 6:24 pm
Let’s see how Luke does in 20 years. I bet he won’t do as well as George. 🙂
Brian
January 1, 2015 @ 10:17 pm
I like George Strait and I like Luke Bryan. I don’t care who sells more concert tickets.
It’s like people are looking for validity when non is needed. George has had a long career and over that time has built a huge fan base.
Luke has had a shorter career and has built a huge fan bases.
I think it is great both of them are doing what they love and making money doing it.
Dukes
January 1, 2015 @ 11:39 pm
Yes and No … the big win here is that the fans of classic/traditional country music are still turning out and BUYING. The trends in radio all cater to the younger buyer (re: horseshit pop country music) because there is a popular idea that older buyers don’t buy at the same rates. They don’t spend the money, so it’s not worth the trouble to market to them.
However, with Strait besting the poster boy of “young country”, it shows that there SHOULD still be a pursuit of these dollars. This, plus ICON’s victories over Bobby Bones show that the older listener is still very much a part of the game, and gives me hope that the pendulum may swing back in the other direction, at least a bit.
Daw Johnson
January 2, 2015 @ 7:47 am
Have people really alleged that “older” skewing country acts don’t do well in concert?
Because that’s not really true in pop/rock – I seem to recall shows by acts like U2, Bon Jovi, Madonna, etc almost always grossing major dollars – certainly more than younger-skewing acts that command more radio attention.
Sure, you’ll have the juggernaut acts like One Direction and Taylor Swift, but your run-of-the-mill radio stars don’t make the impact that the legends do.
(Also – it’s not entirely true that Strait outdrew Bryan anyway, as Billboard reports that Luke Bryan’s tour grossed more – he was #14 overall while Strait was #16)
Tom
January 2, 2015 @ 8:25 am
“(Also ”“ it”™s not entirely true that Strait outdrew Bryan anyway, as Billboard reports that Luke Bryan”™s tour grossed more ”“ he was #14 overall while Strait was #16)”
Actually, it is entirely true.
It’s important to note the difference between draw and gross. Draw is the number of tickets sold, gross is the amount of revenue collected from ticket sales.
StubHub’s list is ranked by draw, Billboard’s list is ranked by gross.
So while Bryan out-grossed Strait, Strait did in fact out-draw Bryan.
It’s also important to note the difference between “out-grossed”, which Bryan did to Strait, and “grossed out”, which Bryan did to many fans of real country music.
Daw Johnson
January 2, 2015 @ 8:37 am
I’m not seeing any full report on 2014 attendance, but to clarify – StubHub’s rankings are also based on gross.
“StubHub has revealed a list of the 10 artists in 2014 whose names generated the most revenue for the secondary ticketing site and its users”
Daw Johnson
January 2, 2015 @ 8:42 am
And even if Strait did indeed draw more attendees over the course of the year (contingent on a lot of factors), I don’t know that we should rule out the importance of revenue – given, you know, that these exist to make money. The reality is that Bryan and Strait are both forces in the live event world.