By Steve Jones, USA TODAY

www.toast-jam.com

The touring business weathered a bad economy for the second straight summer, as concert grosses held steady and attendance rose slightly.

Concerts grossed $1 billion from May 1 to Sept. 1, roughly equal to the same period in 2008. Attendance rose for the season’s 4,200-plus live music shows to 19.2 million, up 3% from 18.7 million a year ago. The data are from Boxscore reports published by Billboard and analyzed by USA TODAY.

The industry showed consistent strength across genres with perennial stalwarts such as Kenny Chesney, the Dave Matthews Band, Beyoncé, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay putting up big numbers, while Lil’ Wayne, Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, The Killers and Kings of Leon showed increasing popularity.

“It was pretty much on par with last year, which is remarkable considering that this was probably the most challenging environment the business has ever faced,” says Billboard touring editor Ray Waddell.

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Tags: 2009, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Concert Tours, Dave Matthews Band, Economy, Jonas Brothers, Justin Moss, Kenny Chesney, Kings of Leon, Lil' Wayne, Steve Jones, Taylor Swift, The Killers, Toast & Jam, U2, USA Today

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