According to a new report, Ed Sheeran will soon join the Billionaires club.
Over the next two years, the 28-year-old English pop star reportedly remains on track to become a billionaire.
That is, according to the latest back-of-the-envelope conjecture in the British press. Though with enough financially-astute planning, this could become a reality.
This year, his current tour will net Sheeran over £100 million ($126.8 million). So far, the pop singer has already earned £493 million ($625 million) from his Divide tour, which started in March and will wrap up this August. Industry observers estimate the tour will surpass U2’s 2009-2011 record-breaking £579.35 million ($734.4 million) tour income.
This means the English pop singer will likely have the highest-grossing tour in live concert industry history.
Of course, a billionaire net worth requires a healthy revenue flow. But it also requires savvy investing and wealth preservation, always a question mark.
Perhaps the possibility is too tantalizing not to consider. Speaking about Sheeran, who started his career sharing his music on pirated networks, Mark Borkowski, a self-described “music industry expert” (but in actuality, a UK PR rep), told the Daily Star, a daily British tabloid,
“The man who was busking on the streets is now a man who is going to be a billionaire. Above all, this shows just how potent live music is nowadays.”
Much to the chagrin of top music executives, the English pop star explained two years ago he owes his success to file sharing.
“It was file sharing. I know that’s a bad thing to say, because I’m part of a music industry that doesn’t like illegal file sharing.”
Stating the live concert industry continues to be a money-maker for artists across the globe, Borkowski added,
“It’s the one that generates the money. The music business has moved on with labels having to be more savvy, and Ed clearly has a team that knows what it’s doing.”
Stating his humility and ‘raw talent’ have pushed the singer to fame, Marcel Knobil, another self-described “public relations guru,” said,
“Ed is an extremely talented individual who demonstrates it isn’t always about the packaging, but about the perfect product.”
Artists like Sheeran, added Knobil, are also what music fans now prefer listening to,
“People such as him, Adele, and Sam Smith give less credence to glamour, and just display raw talent.”
Pollstar, a live concert industry publication, estimates Sheeran earns £3.15 million ($4 million) from each performance. He’ll wrap up his Divide World Tour in Ipswich, his home town, on August 26th.
Also crediting his success to perseverance, Sheeran himself explained,
“Persistence gets you wherever you want to go. My dad always said, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ It was never, ‘It either works or it doesn’t’, you don’t stop until it works, basically.”
Featured image by Markus Hillgärtner (CC by 3.0).
So far, the pop singer has already earned £493 million ($625 million) from his Divide tour, which started in March and will wrap up this August. Who comes up with these numbers? Did they already take out the manager’s percentage? Or the agent’s percentage? And how about the costs for the crew and the hotels they stay in? And how about their salaries? Do they have access to these numbers? And don’t forget hotels and meals for everybody! Maybe they could print out the summary of costs for the whole tour and show how Mr. Sheeran clears $625 million, LOL