Take a quick look at the top earning worldwide concert tours and you might be surprised to discover that half of the top ten acts are over 50-years-old. Heck, the number one tour of the year thus far is Elton John and he’s over 70. In fact, thanks to acts like Fleetwood Mac and Bob Seger, the average age of the top ten global touring acts has surpassed 50 for the first time anyone can remember.
Inversely, the age of the top ten recording artists of the year is getting younger, dropping below 30-years-old. This is due in large part to artists such as Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Travis Scott and Khalid who are all under 30 and in the case of Billie Eilish, under 20. We try to understand the age disparity between today’s biggest recording artists and those making their money on the road.
Meanwhile, in China, the burgeoning movie business has fallen on hard times. This is especially true in the cinema industry, where theater owners are contending with a drop in audiences flocking to the glut of new multiplexes that have opened in recent years. At the same time rents for theater locations have skyrocketed and the government imposed quota of foreign releases means many exhibitors are running out of content to show.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the latest on the dispute between the Writers Guild and talent agencies, the Toronto and Venice Film Festivals announce their lineups and how Metallica got caught scalping their own concert tickets.

Box Office: ‘Lion King’ Reigns Overseas With $142 Million, Nears $1 Billion Globally
https://variety.com/2019/film/box-office/the-lion-king-international-box-office-nears-billion-dollars-globally-1203282437/
‘Lion King’ Repeats at #1 While Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time…’ Rings Up $40M Debut
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4532&p=.htm
Disney Is Breaking Records With the Best Box Office Year in History
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/29/20734621/disney-record-breaking-2019-box-office-avengers-endgame-lion-king-aladdin-avatar
Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ is Sony’s Big Summer Gamble. Will It Pay Off?
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2019-07-23/quentin-tarantinos-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-is-sonys-big-summer-gamble-will-it-pay-off
In Depth: China’s Cinema Business Faces a Bad Scene
http://chinafilminsider.com/in-depth-chinas-cinema-business-faces-a-bad-scene/
Kaplan Stahler Breaks Ranks To Become First Mid-Sized ATA Member Agency To Sign WGA’s Modified Code Of Conduct
https://deadline.com/2019/07/kaplan-stahler-breaks-ranks-signs-wga-code-of-conduct-first-mid-sized-agency-to-sign-1202650703/
Buchwald Becomes Second ATA Literary Agency to Sign Writers Guild Agreement
https://...