Best Artists to See Live [INFOGRAPHIC]
Contents:
Ever wondered which artists are the best live performers?
Here at SeatGeek we looked at overall popularity versus ticket revenue for a few well-known artists, who are currently on tour, to determine the best live artists. Popularity was measured by looking at the number of weeks the artist has made it onto the Hot 100 chart in the past 4 years, as well as their online fan base on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm. Ticket revenue was calculated by looking at the average amount of tickets sold per day on the secondary ticket market, in addition to their average ticket price during the past year. By doing this, we were able see if their popularity and concert sales lined up. This comparison revealed the best live artists on tour today.
[See also: 30 Under 30: Top-Selling Gen Y Artists]
Best Live Artists
Of course there will always – and should always – be debate about the best artist to see live today. But fortunately for us here at SeatGeek, we have a vast collection of data to help us provide a mathematical answer to this question. We know the answer can’t simply be derived from ticket demand figures, but we wanted to share them anyways and encourage debate in the comments below or with us on Twitter or Facebook.
The 50 Best Live Artists 2012
ArtistPopularity Score2012 Rank
U2 | 1022807 | 1 |
Bruce Springsteen | 433548 | 2 |
Coldplay | 366200 | 3 |
LA Rising | 365473 | 4 |
Eminem | 359425 | 5 |
One Direction | 351060 | 6 |
Paul McCartney | 348243 | 7 |
Taylor Swift | 340003 | 8 |
Jay-Z | 338343 | 9 |
Lady Gaga | 305888 | 10 |
Red Hot Chili Peppers | 255209 | 11 |
Kenny Chesney | 226233 | 12 |
Katy Perry | 173840 | 13 |
Beyonce | 164980 | 14 |
Brother Sun | 147478 | 15 |
Radiohead | 146487 | 16 |
Jimmy Buffett | 142774 | 17 |
Roger Waters | 138824 | 18 |
Van Halen | 129233 | 19 |
Bon Jovi | 119422 | 20 |
Justin Bieber | 114154 | 21 |
Metallica | 113724 | 22 |
Dave Matthews Band | 113014 | 23 |
Adele | 110250 | 24 |
Allman Brothers | 109014 | 25 |
George Strait | 107250 | 26 |
Phish | 105285 | 27 |
The Eagles | 97725 | 28 |
Foo Fighters | 95239 | 29 |
Marina and The Diamonds | 94147 | 30 |
Aerosmith | 92220 | 31 |
Powerhouse | 91812 | 32 |
Other Lives | 91244 | 33 |
Tool | 88901 | 34 |
Swedish House Mafia | 88307 | 35 |
Neil Diamond | 88117 | 36 |
Muse | 87378 | 37 |
The Cure | 85587 | 38 |
New Kids on the Block | 84540 | 39 |
Rush | 83620 | 40 |
Lauren Alaina | 82797 | 41 |
Eric Clapton | 82693 | 42 |
The Throne | 82135 | 43 |
The Strokes | 82037 | 44 |
Nashville Rising | 78956 | 45 |
Usher | 77364 | 46 |
Drake | 77243 | 47 |
Kanye West | 76919 | 48 |
Alex Sensation | 75188 | 49 |
Bob Seger | 74452 | 50 |
You’ll see that, even though we featured Lana Del Rey as a 2012 artist to watch, she did not make the list because she is still not a tour headliner, but rather opening for Justin Bieber who came in at 21st on the list.
Best Live Artists 2011 [INFOGRAPHIC]
View more top live artists of 2011 >
The data showed that Dave Matthews Band was easily the most popular live concert this past year, relative to their popularity off the stage, suggesting that DMB is the best live artist to go see. Despite having zero hit singles make the Hot 100 in the past four years, more Dave Matthews Band tickets are sold each day than tickets to see Justin Bieber, who has occupied the charts for 157 weeks. Smilarly, the average price for DMB tickets is higher than both Taylor Swift tickets and Katy Perry tickets.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Rihanna. Having occupied the billboard for 159 weeks in the past 4 years, as well as having one of the largest online followings of all artists, we found Rihanna’s concert sales to be shockingly low in comparison. Given her growing popularity, her low ticket sales suggest that she is not as impressive on the stage as she is in the recording studio.
Take a look at the graph to see how well your favorite artists do on tour, relative to their popularity. Once you’ve decided which bands and artists give the best live performances, head to SeatGeek to find the best deals on concert tickets!
Update:
Check out Rihanna’s 2013 Talk This Talk Tour Dates