Pollstar

Pollstar began in 1981 in Fresno, California, when Gary Bongiovanni and Gary Smith set up a mini-computer in a shared office with a pathologist to track concert box office data. What started as a weekly magazine quickly became the essential trade publication for the live music industry. Promoters, agents, managers, and venue operators came to rely on Pollstar's detailed reports of artist grosses, ticket sales, and touring trends. In July 2017, Oak View Group, the venue consultancy and development firm founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, acquired the publication. The acquisition brought Pollstar into a larger ecosystem focused on live event strategy and venue operations.

The brand's core offering includes a paid subscription service, PollstarPro.com, which provides deep data analytics for industry professionals, alongside a consumer-facing site, Pollstar.com, and a weekly print magazine. In January 2025, Pollstar underwent a major rebranding: it shifted to a monthly print schedule, launched a new weekly digital edition, redesigned its website, and integrated AI for predictive analytics. The VenuesNow publication was merged into Pollstar at that time. The company also hosts an annual awards ceremony and conference that recognizes top-grossing tours, festivals, and industry professionals, drawing major figures from across the live music ecosystem.

Pollstar's revenue is estimated between $25 million and $50 million, with a workforce of 51 to 200 employees. Its headquarters are at 1100 Glendon Ave, Los Angeles, California. The brand has expanded globally through partnerships, such as the February 2026 launch of the Live Summit Middle East with the International Live Music Conference. Despite the decline of print, Pollstar remains the primary data source for the concert industry, often called the Bible of live entertainment. [edit]