Bumper year for live promoters.

Leonard Cohen, Westlife, Neil Diamond and Kylie help rake in profits

By Gordon Masson

Music's A-list acts enjoyed a lucrative start to 2008 with veteran and established acts - from Leonard Cohen to Westlife - proving themselves as the biggest earners on the live circuit.

The promoters who report their box office grosses to Music Week shared more than #168m by the end of August, meaning the true size of the UK live music industry is many times larger, as scores of smaller promoters and dozens of festivals do not disclose their ticket sales information.

In terms of pulling power, an obvious highlight was Celine Dion, whose one-off show at Croke Park in Dublin grossed more than #4.5m in May when more than 61,000 fans turned up at the MCD-promoted concert.

Indeed, MCD has had a stellar year to date, with Croke Park providing it with some of its biggest shows. Neil Diamond's appearance there in June grossed more than #3.8m, while local heroes Westlife rang up more than #3.6m in receipts for their June 1 show. But that was nothing compared to the #12.8m that MCD's Oxegen Festival at Punchestown Racecourse took in July.

Those remarkable numbers, plus the stake that MCD has in festivals such as T in the Park, Reading and Leeds, as well as owner Denis Desmond's joint venture with Live Nation, make Desmond one of the most powerful individuals in the UK live music industry.