TicketNetwork Blog

Although there were some other stories, April belonged to Sir Paul McCartney. The ever popular British rocker released a a stream of North American tour dates throughout the month that helped propel him to the top. Although McCartney was in the Top 10 last September, he also had fewer tour dates scheduled at the time (five versus twenty-one). As has always been the case in this list, volume equals success. More tour dates helped generate more sales this time around.

Despite having plenty of two-night stops — Orlando, FL; Brooklyn, NY; Austin, TX; and Tulsa, OK — the best-performing cities were ones where only one show is scheduled. Indeed, you have to get past Washington, DC; Seattle, WA; and Milwaukee, WI; before you can get to the best-performing two-night city, Brooklyn. The three single-concert cities made up 42% of all McCartney ticket sales on TicketNetwork.com for April.

With Bruno Mars now claiming the second spot and Monster Jam (just barely) at the very bottom, the two-month dominance of the monster truck show is over. Although the events are still doing quite well — enough to earn it a place in March's Top 10 — it lost its lofty position thanks in part to the passing of a popular event in Dallas, TX, at the end of February.

In its place is the other family-friendly and affordable show, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Mars, meanwhile, is in the Top for the first time since we started the series last year.

Rounding out the first five is P!nk, who returns after briefly being there last October, and Taylor Swift, who returns to the first five after falling to the second half in February. And, currently in the second half we see Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z's tour, which enters the list for the first time, while George Strait is back after a month off, and the Dave Matthews Band returns for the first time since last June.

* Rankings are as of 4/3/2013 4:00 p.m. EDT. Top 10 list is ranked based by the number of tickets sold on TicketNetwork.com.

Every year, one of the most popular events on TicketNetwork.com has been the family-friendly, high-octane, car-crushing Monster Jam Truck series, which hits countless stadiums and arenas across the U.S. annually. This year is no exception.

So far in 2013, Monster Jam has accounted for an incredible 33% of all tickets sold for sports events through TicketNetwork.com. That's more than NBA tickets sold, more than NHL tickets sold, more than MLB tickets sold. It's more than any other sport genre by a landslide. Which raises the question, what makes Monster Jam such a popular pick among our customers? Well, there are a few good reasons actually.

First, the are lots (LOTS) of Monster Jam shows scheduled. Events hosted in 79 different venues have sold through our marketplace, all of varying sizes. Two of the largest venues that will host events this year are Reliant Stadium and Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Those two stadiums, which are normally home to NFL football games, account for 20% of all the Monster Jam tickets sold on TicketNetwork.com in 2013. Many of the venues, both big and small, will be hosting multiple events, with more to be announced.

Second, Monster Jam tickets are selling for a much more affordable price than most other events. The average price per ticket sold through TicketNetwork.com is $44, exactly half of the $88 average price of all other sports event tickets. Plus, tickets for many of the Monster Jam shows, on average, cost far lower than $44, like those available for the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC, where tickets averaged just $17. The highest average? MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, home of the New York Giants and Jets, which will host Monster Jam on June 15. So far that show has had an average ticket price of $89.

Another reason why Monster Jam sells so much? Monster Jam is great family event that most people will be entertained by. I mean, who wouldn't like to watch huge monster trucks flying through the air, crushing other cars in its way?

All ticket data is from 2 p.m. on 3/5/2013. Ticket prices are subject to change.

Although there is a lot of shifting after the top two positions, the top two spots in February pretty much stayed the same as January. Tickets for Monster Jam Trucks and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus continued to sell at a very quick pace all throughout the month. As with last month, both shows, and Monster Jam in particular, far outstripped any other event.

Meanwhile, as was highly expected, Beyoncé announced a tour and almost immediately placed on the top-seller list. Also, Luke Bryan continued his ascent. Finally, Jason Aldean appeared back on the list for the first time since September (incidentally, while touring with Luke Bryan), Kenny Chesney and Fleetwood Mac are back after dropping off for a month, and Taylor Swift and Wicked are hanging in there.

* Rankings are as of 3/4/2013 11:00 a.m. EST. Top 10 list is ranked based by the number of tickets sold on TicketNetwork.com.

This month, the Top 10 story is a little different. Thanks to a high demand, affordable prices, and plenty of events to choose from, Monster Jam Trucks was able to lead by a very large amount over any other type of event for which we sell tickets at TicketNetwork.com. It has absolutely been dominating in ticket sales, far outstripping any other event, including the venerable Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. However, Monster Jam isn't the only event that we don't usually see in the Top 10 that's doing well. The Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus is back after last appearing in the first spot of the Top 10 in August, when the Top 10 was first expanded to include all events.

As for the other events, Bieber and Swift's appearances here are no surprise. Neither is Lady Gaga's; she started up with new tour dates on the fifth, so increased sales again are expected. The freshman in the group is Luke Bryan, who's been gaining quite a bit of demand over the last couple months. The full Top 10 is below.