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When Prince tours, he's king

December 14, 2004 PRINCE1214

He still reigns, and she's still a material girl.

Twenty years after landing their biggest hits, Prince had the highest attendance and Madonna earned the biggest gross of 2004 concert tours, according to Billboard magazine.

Nearly 1.5 million people saw the Minneapolis legend on his "Musicology" tour, which began in April and included three sold-out Xcel Energy Center shows June 16-18. He was followed by country singers Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith, whose tours drew 1.1 million and 930,000, respectively.

In dollar terms, Prince lost to Madonna. Her "Re-Invention" tour, which did not come to the Twin Cities, made $125 million compared to Prince's $90.5 million. Celine Dion came in third with her Las Vegas concerts, which earned $77 million.

Prince "deserves all the props in 2004," said Billboard senior writer Ray Waddell, who oversaw the year-end Billboard Boxscore chart. "Word of mouth spread like wildfire on his tour simply off the quality of the shows. But he never gouged his fans with high ticket prices."

Chris Riemenschneider

You go, Prince. Too bad Prince didn't beat Madonna as far ticket revenue goes, but that still is great news.

one of the MPLS radio statins were talking about this today!

I think that attendance should count over top gross. What I fear is that Prince is going to go back into another period of masked isolation. When I say that I mean that yes, he's not gone away at all, cuz we're always actively involved with it, but he's not always in the limelight this extrememly either. He says that he wants to play all non-hits live from now on and I support him in that but if he's going to make it effective he needs to get back into the swing of things and not take as big a break as he did, he needs to strike while the irons hot. Maybe another Grammy performance, MtV appearances, even a new disc, etc., if he wants to promote the Prince of the 21st century for the masses. I fear he's just going to have this spurt and then 'disappear' again in the eyes of the public. But it's no question, the public wants their Prince!!! So keep on keeping on, P-man, we know you've never gone away, but it's time to rule this joint and take your rightful crown.

I can't help but wonder, though, if P didn't end up grossing more "personally" than Madonna did. I'm sure Madonna's label took a nice portion of her ticket sales and I would also bet that she has a larger entourage which equals more money spent.

I guess it really doesn't matter in the end. The Purple One hit the road in '04 and we all had the opportunity to see him do his thang. It doesn't get any better than that!

Word of mouth spread like wildfire on his tour simply off the quality of the shows. But he never gouged his fans with high ticket prices"

This says it all.

As it should be. Glad to hear P's still reigning on top...

Perhaps Roadhouse Garden in '05???

N2Spontaneity said:

don't hold yer breath.

Geronimo1985 said:

I agree with this. In addition, more hits are needed to replace the ones that he won't be playing. Although we here will attend anyways, the average fan probably won't without replacement hits. Regrettably, radio and the charts mean something here. That's why it is time for another single from Musicology. Several songs from the album have hit potential.

psychodelicide said:

She didn't really beat him that much. $125 does sound better than 90.5, but he still wasn't that far behind her? I'm not a Madonna fan, I would have to be to pay $300. I don't think so.

P definitely made more money than Madonna. Don’t forget the ass kicking aftershows. If I can remember correctly, there was quite a few, plus Madonna’s overhead dipped into that per ticket sale.

way to go Prince, You darn right he's King!

it don't matter what madonna did in my eyes. she's a great per4er i'm sure but really P did us all good without tearin up the ticket prices. i freaked when he came to cinci. and he's still the best per4er ever. co-sign to the fact that he should play more of his hits if he want a bigger audience at concerts, but i respect his badness when it comes to the other non mainstream stuff cuz some of that stuff is really hott! still, he's still the man up on top! i wishin for another grammy per4mance even if it probly won't happen. u go P!

and he didn t even come to Montreal. He would have beaten Madonna !

No matter the spiritual journey, it's still all about the material things with this girl, and I guess it'll always be. Madonna is cool, but Prince still holds the key to the throne. And as for MJ, we'll see what he comes up with when he's out of court in about five years.

Despite the venom that has been spewed by Madonna fans in the past, Prince is by far the greatest artist of our generation. There is something to be said for not selling $300.00 tickets. You know he could. He could play less shows and make more money. I enjoy Madonna's music(most of the time), but as a real music fan, do you want to see someone lip-sync through songs she supposedly co-wrote or see someone sing with fire,conviction, and soul, with material that they wrote,produced, and performed? Madonna can sell a Billion dollars worth of tickets, but it's never going to change the fact that she is selling a product, and Prince is doing something real, that has integrity.

jazzmaster said:

I imagine Warner Brothers took most of it since she owes them $100 million.

PurpleRein said:

It Does absolutely say it all...that is why he has a devoted and true fan base...

jstarr2000 said:

Prince has that certain something that others just can't touch...whateva U want to call "it" Prince has it

So Madonna made $120million.

Who do you think actually made the most money for themselves? Prince doesn't have as many overheads, management and promotion teams. I think it is pretty even if you take that into account. Who knows!

jstarr2000 said:

1) there's something to be said about being able to sell tickets for $300.

2) she does co-write them, and i don't recall any lip-synching at all during this tour. or the last one, in fact.

but good for Prince congrats to him

This means PRINCE worked MORE & HARDER 4 what HE made. His tix were very reasonable & we got MORE than what we paid 4 bcuz he really "worked it". Long hrs....back 2 back shows....and lastly, jams in special bars. Dont 4get the PP 3 nite affair in June, in Minne, which was "out of this world". NO ONE puts on a show ANYWHERE like THE PRINCE. U know it chookalana....U live in Minne. Miss ya PRINCE. Lets groove!

jazzmaster said:

True,Madonna's tour definitely cost more money to put on.But let's not kid ourselves,she still made a ton of money.All but one show sold out completely,and there was also the $10 million she received from CBS,plus merchanandise sales.So it all evens out.


To me,the bigger story is that two of the biggest artists of the 80s---Madonna and Prince---just completed the two most successful tours of the year.Their tours made more money than the newer acts,and that's a good thing.The younger performers could learn a thing or two from P and Maddy.

Agreed... The 80's are back!

Madonna is cool, but she certainly isn't the genius that P is. Dollar signs don't necessarily spell success, you know. Let's just be happy that the year turned out the way it did and hope for something even close to it in 2005.

I'm a big Madonna fan also...
I grew up loving her music and videos...and whenever she wasn't releasing music, Prince of course was always there...with something new...so I went back and fourth in b/t albums...

So I've gone through the Madonna phase and Prince phase as a kid, now I'm 26 and still love them as much, I am definitely on Prince's side more so these days with the artistic ability to create some kick ass grooves and deliver us a hell of a performance.

Madonna is more relaxed these days, she's less daring and interesting in her sit down interviews.

I prefer PRINCE.
Now don't get me wrong, I love a Madonna FREE STYLE on the dance floor, because in the recent tour, she kicked ass with creative stage props, and spectacle.
Her performance in "Nobody Knows Me" was awesome and definitely the madonna I grew up on!


As for PRINCE I witnessed his show (5) times this year and each time it was amazing!
He is great!!! all around and I look forward to new prince album anyday than maddy!

Thou I can't wait until she drops something new so I can get over this electronic bullshyt!

Give me more ballads like "Live to tell and This used to be my playground", Plus dance hits like "Vogue, Express yourself & Get into the groove"...I want the Madonna of POP BACK!!!

where is she?

Prince is a true artist. He can three shows in one day and not really get tired and not worry about the pay. Musicians want to play. Madonna is an entertainer, not a musician.

Prince is a true artist. He can do three shows in one day and not really get tired and not worry about the pay. Musicians want to play. Madonna is an entertainer, not a musician.

chookalana said:

And that is why he is tops in my book! The best concert of the year with an awesome give away (Musicology) and one of the best prices. I paid $75 for a "premium" seat, I think you could buy seats for $49.