E! Online - David Jenison

In a classic case of role reversal, it was the Police who topped this year’s most-wanted list.

The trio’s reunion tour, which kicked off May 28 in Vancouver, finished 2007 as North America’s number one top grossing tour, per year-end figures released Friday by the concert trade Pollstar. Sting & Co.’s 41-city, 54-show outing grossed $132 million in ticket sales, nearly double the amount of country star Kenny Chesney, who finished second with $71 million.

The Police had the highest average per-concert take, with $3.2 million per gig. The reunited rockers also sold the most tickets, just over 1.15 million, followed closely by Chesney’s 1.14 million. But the Police only had the fifth highest average ticket price ($114.32), behind Barry Manilow ($141.72), Celine Dion ($141.26), Genesis ($130.39) and Elton John ($126.76).

The Police were also the top ticket seller internationally, bringing in a grand total of $212 million worldwide. The trio, who finished the tour’s Latin American leg earlier this month, restarts the tour Jan. 17 in New Zealand.

The reunited Genesis proved it could still turn it on again. Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford kicked off their North American jaunt Sept. 7 in Toronto and finished the year as the eighth highest grossing tour at $47.6 million. Genesis cracked the top 10 with the fewest number of shows, 25, but the band’s high seat prices made up the difference. Genesis also scored the second highest grossing international tour, selling $129 million in tickets worldwide.

Showing that reunion tours were the rage this year, Van Halen finished in the fifth spot. On the heels of their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, the L.A. rockers launched their reunion tour last September, selling nearly $57 million in tickets to date.

The fourth highest grossing act wasn’t really a tour at all. Celine Dion did 113 performances of A New Day at Caesar’s Palace this year, with the Canadian chanteuse finishing her remarkable five-year run just last week. Her Las Vegas residency brought in $65.3 million in its final year.

Since opening her show in early 2003, Dion sold more than $400 million in tickets to nearly 3 million fans. The casinos 4,100-seat Colosseum, built specifically for her performances, limited her tickets-per-show average, but she led the pack in total number of shows.

While many singers would take a break after such a grueling schedule, Dion appears anxious to get on the road. Her yearlong Taking Chances tour kicks off Valentine’s Day in South Africa.
Chesney’s second-place finish kept Justin Timberlake at third, with about $500,000 separating them. The country star also exacted some revenge by topping Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s Soul2Soul 2007 tour, which finished sixth with $52.3 million. Last year, the Soul2Soul tour grossed $88.6 million, topping Chesney’s 2005 Somewhere in the Sun as the highest grossing country tour of all time.

Among the other top-10 finishers, Rod Stewart and current Christmas king Josh Groban finished at seventh ($49 million) and ninth ($43 million), respectively. With $41.5 million in sales, Rascal Flatts finished 10th, giving country music three of the year’s top-10 tours.

Just outside the top 10 were a clutch of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, with Billy Joel finishing 12th ($39.1 million), Roger Waters 13th ($38.3 million) and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band coming in 14th ($38.2 million). Elton John finished at 16th with $35.7 million, thanks to his Red Piano show, which he performed in the Colosseum during Celine Dion’s breaks.

Tween concertgoers were represented by Miley Cyrus. The Disney Channel star’s Best of Both Worlds Tour, one of the year’s hardest tickets to come by, finished 15th, with $36 million in gross ticket sales.

Finally, Mexican rockers Maná had the top Spanish-language tour, and the 20th highest grossing overall, moving nearly $34 million in tickets over 46 shows.

Per Pollstar, the top 20 tours grossed $996 million, down nearly 16 percent from 2006. Total North American ticket sales hit $2.6 billion for the year, according to Billboard. That’s a drop of 10 percent from last year’s record-setting mark, while the actual number of concertgoers—51 million—was also down 19 percent.

Here’s a recap of 2007’s top 10 highest grossing North American tours, per Pollstar:
1. The Police ($131.9 millon)

2. Kenny Chesney ($71.1 million)

3. Justin Timberlake ($70.6 million)

4. Celine Dion ($65.3 million)

5. Van Halen ($56.7 million)

6. Tim McGraw/Faith Hill ($52.3 million)

7. Rod Stewart ($49 million)

8. Genesis ($47.6 million)

9. Josh Groban ($43 million)

10. Rascal Flatts ($41.5 million)

(PRWeb) April 7, 2007 — Demand for concert tickets is escalating as some of the world’s biggest acts are announcing tours and as the summer festival season fast approaches. Recently, tickets for tours by The Rolling Stones, The Police and Take That, as well as festivals Hyde Park Calling, Reading Festival, and V Festival, have sold out in record breaking time.

As a result, music fans are continuing to turn to the resale market to get their tickets. This means fans are facing a larger risk than ever before of being ripped off or defrauded by unscrupulous touts. Many will be left out of pocket without their tickets or with counterfeits.

This is a huge current consumer issue. Ticket industry expert Eric Baker, CEO of viagogo.com, Europe’s leading online ticket exchange, advises consumers what to watch out for and what to avoid when looking for those must-have tickets. To avoid getting ripped off, Eric says:

"Above all, only use a secure exchange which guarantees that if you’re a buyer you get your tickets and if you’re a seller you get paid. Additionally, here are five top tips:

1. Don’t agree to meet strangers to hand over money for tickets. They could take your money and run. Besides, it could be dangerous to meet someone you don’t know.
2. Don’t accept the promise of "guarantees" without doing your homework. Many websites say 100% guaranteed, but the guarantee is only as good as the guarantor.
3. Make sure that any online exchange you use is reputable. Anyone can build a website or buy links on Google. Ask if they are in business with any major organisations or teams. Search to see if they’ve been written about by major publications.
4. Never buy from a source that doesn’t give clear instructions, terms and conditions. Good resellers are happy to explain what your rights are and what their responsibilities are.
5. Don’t buy tickets outside the arena. This is where a great deal of fraud occurs. The "Picassos" of fraudulent tickets are now able to create forgeries that look as good as the originals, by the time you get to the door and are denied entry the street seller will be long gone."

Eric Baker founded viagogo, Europe’s leading secure ticket exchange, which launched in August 2006. Previously, he founded the leading US ticket exchange StubHub, which was acquired by eBay for $307m in January.

Eric brings a proven ticket exchange service to Europe for the first time, offering Europeans the same benefits that he delivered in the United States. viagogo.com has already established itself as the best online destination for people to exchange tickets for all kinds of live events, from sports and West End shows to European tours of the world’s biggest rock and pop acts. viagogo’s partners include Chelsea FC, Manchester United FC, FC Bayern Munich as well as a range of other sports, entertainment and charity organisations.