Source: Yahoo.com

By DAVID BAUDER Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - `N Sync and the Backstreet Boys draw the screaming fans these days, but the venerable Rolling Stones know how to watch their wallets.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and their wealthy band mates were the biggest money-earners on the concert circuit in 1999, a record-setting year for the industry.

Although musical acts took in a record $1.5 billion in ticket revenue this year, that was more due to rapidly-escalating ticket prices rather than a strong demand to see concerts, said the industry trade magazine Pollstar.

The Rolling Stones were the best example. Thirteen different acts actually sold more tickets this year, but the Stones made the most money because they charged an average of $109.62 per ticket, Pollstar said.

The average ticket price for one of the top 50 tours this year was $43.63, a staggering 30 percent increase over the $33.59 average a year earlier, Pollstar said. And that doesn't include service charges routinely levied by ticketing agencies.

The $1.5 billion earned this year beats a record set in 1994. Still, the top 50 acts sold only 26.3 million tickets this year, lower than any other year this decade except for 1993, Pollstar said.

The teen pop band 'N Sync - third on the list of money-earners - sold nearly 1.8 million concert tickets, easily the most in 1999. `N Sync's average ticket price was a relative bargain at $28.62.

Teen phenoms such as the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and Britney Spears that are dominating the record charts are proving strong at the box office, too. Traditionally, though, these acts don't develop long-term careers, said Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni.

``These kids who are buying 'N Sync tickets this year may not be buying 'N Sync tickets a few years from now,'' Bongiovanni said. ``But hopefully, they'll be buying tickets to something.''

Just like in the record business, too many concert promoters are thinking about short-term profits instead of developing acts that will last, Bongiovanni said.

Similarly, promoters are likely to ignore the warning signals sent by the box-office failure of many high-priced New Year's Eve concerts, he said.

Pollstar's top 10 money-earners included two country tours, Shania Twain and George Strait's festival, which included Tim McGraw and the Dixie Chicks. The list also included Cher, selling tickets again thanks to her comeback hit, ``Believe.''