What's Loot Got to Do With It?

Watch this week to see if Tina Turner's farewell concert tour will be simply the best of 2000. As the year draws to a close, the music industry is turning its eye to the bottom-line winners and losers, and one of the key yardsticks is the annual Pollstar magazine ranking of top-grossing concert tours. Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert industry trade magazine, says that the final numbers are still being tallied, but early indications are that Turner has the best shot at topping the 2000 list with grosses in the area of $80 million. "If she really is retiring from touring then she would be going out on top," Bongiovanni says, referring to Turner's July announcement that, at age 61, she would limit her future stage work to charity events and special appearances. "For the tour to do this well is really impressive because she didn't have a huge record in the marketplace or anything," Bongiovanni says. "I guess the public thinks that this is really a farewell tour." If Bongiovanni sounds skeptical it's because he's seen plenty of acts, such as the Who and Elton John, make a tradition out of final bows. But Turner's publicist, Bernard Doherty, said in June that "she wants to go out on top, while she is at her best. She doesn't want to become a faded caricature of herself." If Turner doesn't take the title for 2000, look for 'N Sync or the Dave Matthews Band to contend. The two groups may have little in common musically, but both are noted for epic tour schedules and crowd-pleasing performances--not to mention far cheaper seats than Turner, who had $98 top seats for sale at her Southern California shows earlier this month. That's more than double the best seat at a typical Matthews Band show and $30 above 'N Sync.

Soderbergh Could Go the Coppola Route