Why old artists still hang around (and earn big)?

Recently I found this article showing top 25 earners of live concerts from 1990-2014. Old cracks dominate the list. All of them had their first album in the 1970s or 1980s (we didn't count Paul McCartney's Beatles years) except Coldplay (whose first album was in 2000). It implies that they continued to be actively touring for 30, 40 years.

One might guess that they earned most of it during the 1990s. Wrong. Even if we limit the observation to the 2000-2010 decade only, the list did not change much. It means the late comers like Beyonce, or Taylor Swift might earn big for a given year, and probably for years to come. But the old cracks are just not ready to retire.

On the other hand, the list missed the likes of Michael Jackson, whose last tour was in 1997 before he wrangled with law suits and health problems. Had the lists started five years earlier, he should have been there. Similarly, Guns N' Roses had long been absent due to break up and shake up. They did play under new line-ups during the 2000s, which were not enough to make them entering the list. But last year, their reunion made them second top earner behind Beyonce.

Some detailed observation on the list provide interesting variations. The top two, The Stones are U2, are quite alike; they played almost similar number of concerts, with almost similar audience and revenue per show. Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen, like Elton John, played in more but smaller concerts in terms of audience.

Only two artists - both are ladies - earned more than $100 per concert (sorry Roger Waters, you're just 3 cents short). Madonna, who performed less but earned more per concert. Celine Dion, who was the opposite, played in three times more concerts as Madonna, but the average audience was only a fifth.

Top 25 artists who earned the most from live shows, 1990-2014

No.	Artist	Gross revenue	Attendance	No. shows	Average revenue	Average attendance
1	The Rolling Stones	$1,565,792,382	19,677,569	538	$79.57	36,575.4
2	U2	$1,514,979,793	20,536,168	526	$73.77	39,042.1
3	Bruce Springsteen	$1,196,116,507	15,010,773	727	$79.68	20,647.6
4	Madonna	$1,140,230,941	9,694,079	382	$117.62	25,377.2
5	Bon Jovi	$1,030,082,884	12,333,668	578	$83.52	21,338.5
6	Elton John	$786,791,043	12,164,513	956	$64.68	12,724.4
7	Dave Matthews Band	$776,969,736	17,823,077	992	$43.59	17,966.8
8	Celine Dion	$737,573,927	6,546,109	1,143	$112.67	5,727.1
9	Kenny Chesney	$752,706,599	12,681,629	755	$59.35	16,796.9
10	The Eagles	$702,110,908	7,720,760	484	$90.94	15,952.0
11	The Police/Sting	$556,114,962	7,257,611	605	$76.63	11,996.1
12	Roger Waters	$547,305,412	5,474,759	316	$99.97	17,325.2
13	Paul McCartney	$505,534,809	5,248,175	220	$96.33	23,855.3
14	Billy Joel	$499,978,726	10,408,169	577	$48.04	18,038.4
15	Rod Stewart	$497,033,399	7,885,676	714	$63.03	11,044.4
16	Neil Diamond	$465,448,371	8,870,666	643	$52.47	13,795.7
17	Metallica	$432,816,245	8,388,374	468	$51.60	17,923.9
18	Aerosmith	$417,573,638	8,405,069	582	$49.68	14,441.7
19	George Strait	$405,034,063	9,736,580	584	$41.60	16,672.2
20	Jimmy Buffett	$402,756,057	9,746,471	539	$41.32	18,082.5
21	Coldplay	$378,359,252	5,394,616	315	$70.14	17,125.8
22	Toby Keith	$361,256,245	8,608,696	711	$41.96	12,107.9
23	Cher	$351,625,611	4,531,739	548	$77.59	8,269.6
24	Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks	$349,906,931	4,906,995	483	$71.31	10,159.4
25	AC/DC	$337,879,092	5,387,353	316	$62.72	17,048.6

So why do those old artists still actively touring? Hard to single out one reason. But given the big money involved in the live music industry, who could refuse a piece of the cake? Even just to make a one-time bang like Led Zeppelin, or a last goodbye like Motley Crue.

For some, like U2 or The Boss, they are still in the job market, producing new records. So perhaps for them, 2010s is just the new 1980s.

Other motives are hard to quantify, like connecting to fans, nostalgia, or else. But for The Stones, the youngest of them, Ronnie Wood is 70, the reason for hanging around should be a simple one: because they can.