The Wall Street Journal ran a piece ‘Music Superstars Are the New One Percenters‘. A small number of artists have taken the lion’s share of the market which would include touring and music sales. For instance, just three artists including Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé collectively generated $1 billion in concert-ticket revenue in 2018. Beyoncé and Jay-Z charged $117 a ticket while Taylor Swift approximately charged $119, and Ed Sheeran a little lower at $89. That’s the top of the industry of course, not the bottom. We don’t need to look at the bottom, but if you really want to know, the lesser known acts were grossing $2,500 in 2017 from concert tickets.

Music superstars have always been the one percenters. The music business is a winner-takes-all market with those at the top get a disproportionate share of the market. It’s because the superstars drive the value what is produced. Consumers are willing to pay more for Ed Sheeran than a relatively unknown artist. The superstars also have a great deal power at the negotiation table. They are making more money today because of endorsement income which has become a significant revenue source. These superstars are dominant in the entertainment economy and are occupying even more space on playlists and radio charts leaving less for developing artists.

Taylor Swift returns with a new playful pop song ME! that features Panic’s Brendon Urie. The new single marks her first release on Republic (UMG). It should come to no surprise that she teamed up with Brendon considering he has a chart topping smash with ‘High Hopes’. Not that Taylor needs Brendon, but two big names coming together nearly guarantees strong airplay and placement.

Columbia Records struck gold with Lil Nas X ‘Old Town Road’ has topped Spotify’s daily U.S. Streaming Songs chart. As we mentioned earlier, it will be the memorable marketing campaign of the year.

In streaming news, Spotify hit 100 million paid subscribers. It was only a month ago that Apple said it overtook Spotify in paid subscribers but Spotify has turned the tables and is now claiming it has twice the number of subscribers as Apple. The streaming wars continue….

The biggest shocker this week is the cancellation of Woodstock 50. There is too much behind-the-scenes drama to draw any speculation.

Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, BTS – a South Korean boy band, Khalid, and Ariana Grande made the ‘Time’ ‘Most Influential’ List.

Celine Dion said about Lady Gaga: “She’s definitely one of the most inventive artists we’ve ever seen. Her artistic expression has no rules, no boundaries. When she first came on the scene with her outrageous style, she didn’t care what the critics said. She marched to the beat of her own drum, knowing that her message of individuality was a way to express her inner strength.”

Shawn Mendes on Swift: “Taylor makes anyone older feel young again and anyone young feel they can do anything. It’s so rare and so special. If there is one thing I want to achieve in my career and life, it’s that.”

Halsey on BTS: “Surely it takes remarkable talent, charm, kindness, altruism and dedication. But you’d still be missing a key component: a devoted community to uplift your efforts, soften your stumbles and shoot light from their eyes into the sky in your name every single night. By these parameters, BTS has reached the top.”

Katy Perry managed to the grab the first spot on the annual list of the highest-paid women in music. She made $83 million for the year topping Taylor Swift ($80 million), Beyoncé ($60 million) and Pink ($52 million).

Despite releasing an album that fell below expectations, Katy’s tour earned $1 million a night and American Idol gave her a $20 million paycheck which helped her secure the #1 spot.

Here is the complete list:

Katy Perry ($83 million), Taylor Swift ($80 million), Beyoncé ($60 million), Pink ($52 million), Lady Gaga ($50 million), Jennifer Lopez ($47 million), Rihanna ($37.5 million), Helene Fischer ($32 million), Celine Dion ($31 million), Britney Spears ($30 million)

(credit: Instagram screenshot)

Taylor Swift’s music label Big Machine is predicting the latest album ‘Reputation’ will move close to 2 million units first week. This is more than her previous releases. In fact, this is historic.

A Target spokesman notes, “Reputation is our biggest entertainment pre-sale of all time, across movies, music and books” and additionally stated that overall Target expects the album to be the biggest release of the season.

Although data analysts claim the 2 million first week album sales is an overreach, Big Machine is claiming the number is real close.