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American billionaire Jay-Z grossed $42.3 million from three concerts at New York's Yankee Stadium in July, the biggest box office total recorded for a rapper's concert engagement, according to the industry tracker Touring Data.
The shows, held July 10 to July 12 and billed as "JAŸ-Z30," sold 136,934 tickets, an average of about 45,600 a night, Touring Data said in figures posted on Oct. 10. The run grossed $42,290,766, or about $14.1 million a night, at an average ticket price of $308.84.
The figure is gross ticket revenue. It does not reflect what Jay-Z took home after the costs of staging the concerts and the shares paid to promoters and the venue.
Breaking stadium records
The second night set the record for the most tickets ever sold for a concert at Yankee Stadium, with 45,832, according to Roc Nation, the entertainment company Jay-Z founded. That beat the 44,916 tickets sold the night before, a figure promoter Live Nation gave NBC's "Today" show.
The concerts celebrated two milestones in his career. On July 10 he performed his 1996 debut album, "Reasonable Doubt," in full to mark its 30th anniversary, with appearances from his wife, Beyoncé, as well as Nas and Alicia Keys. Their daughter Blue Ivy played piano. The second night marked 25 years of "The Blueprint" and featured Eminem, Slick Rick and Pharrell Williams.
The final night drew Rihanna, Beyoncé, Usher and Clipse among a long list of guests, but was disrupted when hundreds of people without tickets forced their way through several entrances, according to the Yankees, Roc Nation and Live Nation. The show began after midnight. "There's 10,000 people outside," Jay-Z told the crowd.
The London and Paris dates of the anniversary run are not included in the total. More shows are planned in Los Angeles, producer Young Guru told the website AllHipHop.
A billionaire rapper
Jay-Z, 56, whose real name is Shawn Carter, became hip-hop's first billionaire in 2019, according to Forbes, which has since valued his fortune at about $2.5 billion. Most of his wealth comes from outside music, including Roc Nation, his former champagne and cognac brands, an art collection and investments in companies such as Uber.
The Yankee Stadium run was his first major headline stand in years. His last full tour, a joint stadium tour with Beyoncé, ended in 2018.
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