Tool are Basically Getting Paid $1 Million Per Live Show
Eleven years with no new album? No problem!
Tool’s lengthy hiatus from releasing music doesn’t seem to have had an impact on their live drawing power one bit; if anything, it’s helped. The latest Boxscore report detailing live show grosses has been released, and amongst the highlights are two mammoth Tool dates from their current tour, both of which were sellouts that cleared $1 million in ticket sales:
Artist: Tool & Once & Future Band
Venue: St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
Date: Jun. 09th, 2017
Gross Sales: $1,242,673
Attendance/Capacity: 14,697 / 14,697
Ticket Prices: $92.50, $72.50
Artist: Tool & Once & Future Band
Venue: Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena
Date: Jun. 08th, 2017
Gross Sales: $1,107,685
Attendance/Capacity: 13,047 / 13,047
Ticket Prices: $95, $75
On one hand, Tool obviously don’t take home all of that money. The promoter, their manager and booking agent all take their cut (so already we’re down to roughly 50% of the gross), the band needs to pay their crew (which is likely quite large due to the band’s massive stage production), pay for transportation and hotels for everyone, pay the opening band, etc. etc. — there are a ton of expenses. But the show grosses also don’t include merch sales. Those $40 t-shirts add up FAST, son.
Either way: Tool are getting hella paid. They’re one of the biggest bands in metal, no question, and perhaps in any genre. There’s a reason why they’re in no hurry to release new music and why they don’t play more than a handful of live shows every year: they don’t have to! A few shows here and there pay the bills (and then some), and the sparsity and mystique of it all only seems to help them become even more popular. It’s pretty fucking awesome.
Their current live shows are absolutely bananas, by the way; Axl and I had a blast screaming our lungs out while watching them headline the Governor’s Ball here in NYC earlier this month. If you have the chance to see them live, GO. Every single time. Here’s some footage compiled from various fans’ cell phones:
[via The PRP]
