Report: The average age of top touring acts is 47.6

The dominance of tours by Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Post Malone and Shawn Mendes has suggested that younger acts have taken over the Top Tours lists.

US-based global music trade publication Pollstar put it to the test by looking into the ages of the acts on the Top Tours charts over the last decade.

Average ages of the top touring artists 2009-2018:

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2018 50

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2017 49

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2016 50

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2015 49

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2014 46

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2013 46

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2012 48

Worldwide Top 100 Tours 2011 46

Worldwide Top 50 Tours 2010 46

Worldwide Top 50 Tours 2009 46

(Figures rounded to the nearest whole number)

The result is the figures have risen in the last four years. The average age of the top touring acts in the past decade was 47.6.

It makes sense that fans of classic rock acts are more likely to afford tickets.

The interesting issue, Pollstar muses is what happens when older acts start to retire, led by Elton John and Paul Simon.

It also notes that four of the top five acts from the 2018 chart were younger than 40.

Pollstar concludes, “Plenty of young artists have made their way onto the charts recently, some seeing their popularity explode to such an extent that they are able to ‘skip steps’ and vault into rooms well above what anyone their age would previously consider.”