Pollstar holds an annual award ceremony to honor artists and professionals in the concert industry.[3][4][5]
History and profile
Founded in 1981 in
Fresno, California, Pollstar is a trade publication that covers the concert industry in the United States and internationally.[6] They supply information to professional concert promoters, booking agents, artist managers, facility executives and other entities involved in the live entertainment business. Pollstar produces a weekly print magazine for industry professionals and publishes on their website.
Pollstar previously operated a separate website for professionals,[7] but later announced it would merge the site with Pollstar.com.[8]
Today, Pollstar has an office in London and correspondents in six countries. The magazine is a member of the
Associated Press (AP). Its subscribers receive the weekly magazine and access to its online databases.[1]
In May 2018, Pollstar announced it was moving its headquarters from Fresno to Los Angeles.[9] The following month, co-founder and editor-in-chief Gary Bongiovani retired from the publication.[9]
Since 1990, the publication has given annual Pollstar Awards to companies, venues, artists, tours, and executives in the live entertainment business. The first awards show was hosted by
Penn Jillette at
Radio City Music Hall in
New York City.[15]
Initially, winners were chosen by industry voters and, to a lesser extent, by the magazine's subscribers.[6][16] Since 2019, Pollstar has used
box office performance to choose the winners.[6]
Categories
The 2023 Pollstar Awards honored recipients in these categories:
Major Tour of the Year
Rock Tour of the Year
Hip-Hop Tour of the Year
R&B Tour of the Year
Pop Tour of the Year
Country Tour of the Year
Latin Tour of the Year
Comedy Tour of the Year
Support/Special Guest of the Year
Residency of the Year
Family, Event or Non-music Tour of the Year
New Headliner of the Year
Music Festival of the Year (Global; over 30k attendance)
Music Festival of the Year (Global; under 30k attendance)
International Music Festival of the Year
Nightclub of the Year
Theatre of the Year
Arena of the Year
Outdoor Concert Venue of the Year
Stadium of the Year
Casino/Resort Venue of the Year
New Concert Venue of the Year (over 5,000 capacity)
New Concert Venue of the Year (under 5,000 capacity)
International Venue of the Year
Venue Executive of the Year
Talent Buyer of the Year
Small Venue Talent Buyer of the Year (under 10,000 capacity)