Finance Expert: Liverpool in line for financial windfall after latest Anfield gig announcement
Liverpool will receive a windfall when Billy Joel performs at Anfield but it is likely to be smaller than when Taylor Swift appeared, according to football finance expert Dan Plumley.
The Reds have confirmed that the American musician will be performing in concert next summer for one night only on Saturday, 21 June – a year after pop superstar Swift appeared for three nights on Merseyside.
While the Piano Man will likely bring a big crowd to Anfield, Plumley believes the Reds will have accepted a one-off hosting payment but doesn’t think Arne Slot’s side will benefit financially from the ticket revenue or any merchandise sales.
“It’s a tricky one to judge financially,” Plumley exclusively told Liverpool News.
“We never tend to see the full figures and what tends to happen is Liverpool will charge a fee for hosting events at Anfield.
“But all the kind of ticket revenue and things like that will go to wherever it goes from the artist’s point of view.
“There will be a kind of event hosting fee and we’ve not seen the glandular detail of that so it is difficult to tell what they could earn.”
How much did Liverpool earn from Taylor Swift’s Anfield concerts?
“We do know that clubs are trying to target it as an additional revenue stream for sure.” Plumley added. “Using your stadium for concerts is something that’s been done a lot over the years for a number of clubs.
“It fits with the narrative of generating a little bit of extra revenue where you can. In terms of comparisons with Taylor Swift, it depends on who you speak to and fans of certain bands or pop stars or otherwise.
“I would go as far as to say that the Taylor Swift concerts will have been a slightly higher fee than Billy Joel, I mean no kind of disrespect there and I don’t want to upset anybody.
“It will have been done on a fixed fee basis for hosting and that will have been the revenue generation aspect for Liverpool in that situation.”
With profit and sustainability regulations now a major issue across the Premier League, Liverpool and their rivals will be looking for any way of boosting their income to avoid potential fines or point deductions.
Hopefully, Joel’s concerts will do a little bit more to boost the Reds’ financial position and ensure they have money to spend in the transfer window.
In other Liverpool news, the international media have been left blown away by what a Liverpool gem did for his country.
For more Liverpool news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.