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The Dave Matthews Band performs at a sold-out show in Massachusetts.
Credit: AP Photo/Robert E. Klein
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Dave Matthews Band had the highest-grossing tours of the 00s and U2 had the top tour of 2009, says Pollstar, which covers the concert industry.
DMB, featured on Planet Green in 2009 for giving away free mp3s for cans and pledges, took in nearly $530 million from 2000 to 2009, Pollstar says in a decade-end look at the world's most-popular tours.
Is it too cliche to say DMB shows were green in more ways than one? In 2009, for instance, the "So Much To Save" tour encouraged fans to recycle and volunteer, diverting more than 42,000 pounds of waste from landfills.
Dave's tour also was managed by MusicMatters and the band's Bama Green Project, a partnership between groups including Reverb, also featured on this site in 2009 for its efforts to help artists green their tours.
U2, the top-grossing act of 2009, sold T-shirts on its tour made from old soda bottles by Playback, a New York company.
Bono and the boys were criticized in 2009 for the out-of-this-world carbon footprint of their 360° Tour, allegedly equivalent to a trip to Mars. The band responded by launching a web site to let fans offset emissions.
U2 also came in at No. 6 on the top tours of the decade, at $391 million, behind DMB and The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springstreen, Kenny Chesney and Celine Dion.
What will be the legacy of the 10s? More artists taking steps to encourage concert-goers to help the environment? Does an artist or band's green credentials factor in to whether you buy their CD or see their show? Or is it just about the music?
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