List of highest-grossing concert tours

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The Eras Tour by Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing concert tour of all time and the first to yield over $1 billion in revenue

The following is a list of concert tours that have generated the most gross income, largely from ticket sales. The rankings are based largely on reports by trade publications Billboard and Pollstar. Billboard, which launched the boxscore ranking in 1975 through its spin-off magazine Amusement Business, has featured the ranking in its own magazine since the issue date of October 3, 1981.[1] Pollstar began reporting box office data on November 29, 1981,[2] but it has relatively little data about tours before 2000.[3]

Michael Jackson's Bad tour and Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, which both ran from 1987 to 1989, were the first tours to have reportedly surpassed $100 million in revenue. As record sales collapsed in the early 21st century, musicians began relying on live music shows for their income, causing the touring industry to skyrocket.[4] In 2023, Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour became the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue.[A] The tour reportedly grossed $1.039 billion from 60 shows in one calendar year, surpassing Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road which earned $939.1 million from 330 shows from 2018 to 2023.

While the touring industry is largely dominated by bands and male soloists of rock music,[7] some of the highest-grossing tours have featured pop stars such as Swift, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Pink, and Madonna, as well as country singer Garth Brooks.

The Rolling Stones set the all-time tour-revenue record three times (1990, 1995, and 2006); their Voodoo Lounge Tour held the record for 11 years (1995–2006), longer than any other record-holder. They are the only act to have the highest-grossing tour of the decade twice, in the 1990s and the 2000s. U2 has mounted the highest-grossing tour of the year at least eight times, more than any other act.

Highest-grossing tours[edit]

Key
Indicates ongoing tour
* Indicates tour dates are split between two different calendar decades
Top 20 highest-grossing tours of all time
Rank Peak Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollars)
Artist Tour title Year(s) Shows Average
gross
Ref.
1 1 $1,039,263,762 $1,039,263,762 Taylor Swift The Eras Tour 2023–2024 60 $17,321,063 [A]
2 1 $939,100,000 $939,100,000 Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road 2018–2023 330 $2,845,758 [8]
3 3 $810,966,041 $810,966,041 Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour 2022–2024 132 $6,143,682 [9]
4 1 $776,200,000 $925,014,604 Ed Sheeran ÷ Tour 2017–2019 255 $3,043,922 [10]
5 1 $736,421,586 $997,437,284 U2 U2 360° Tour 2009–2011 110 $6,694,742 [11]
6 4 $617,325,000 $617,325,000 Harry Styles Love On Tour 2021–2023 169 $3,652,811 [12]
7 3 $584,200,000 $696,203,983 Guns N' Roses Not in This Lifetime... Tour 2016–2019 158 $3,697,468 [13]
8 7 $579,879,268 $579,879,268 Beyoncé Renaissance World Tour 2023 56 $10,353,571 [14]
9 1 $558,255,524 $820,315,772 The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour 2005–2007 144 $3,876,774 [15]
10 5 $546,500,000 $614,485,325 The Rolling Stones No Filter Tour 2017–2021 58 $9,422,414 [16]
11 11 $556,400,000 $556,400,000 Ed Sheeran +–=÷× Tour 2022–2024 94 $5,919,149 [17]
12 3 $523,033,675 $650,135,260 Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Tour 2016–2017 114 $4,588,015 [18]
13 3 $459,000,000 $600,372,000 Roger Waters The Wall Live 2010–2013 219 $2,094,401 [19]
14 3 $441,900,000 $617,432,687 AC/DC Black Ice World Tour 2008–2010 165 $2,678,182 [20]
15 8 $430,000,000 $512,440,453 Metallica WorldWired Tour 2016–2019 143 $3,006,993 [21]
16 2 $411,000,000 $583,700,326 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008–2009 85 $4,835,294 [3]
17 10 $397,300,000 $473,471,144 Pink Beautiful Trauma World Tour 2018–2019 156 $2,546,795 [22]
18 12 $390,778,581 $485,741,065 U2 The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 & 2019 2017, 2019 66 $5,920,888 [23]
19 1 $389,000,000 $587,930,670 U2 Vertigo Tour 2005–2006 131 $2,969,466 [24]
20 20 $379,496,085 $379,496,085 Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band 2023 Tour 2023–2024 66 $5,749,941 [5]

Timeline of the highest-grossing tour[edit]

Timeline of the highest-grossing tour record
Established Artist Tour title Record-setting gross Ref.
1984 The Jacksons Victory Tour $75,000,000 [25]
1985 Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band Born in the U.S.A. Tour $90,000,000 [26]
1989 Michael Jackson Bad $125,000,000 [27]
Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour $135,000,000 [28]
1990 The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour $175,000,000 [29]
1994 Pink Floyd The Division Bell Tour $250,000,000 [30]
1995 The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Tour $320,000,000 [31]
2006 U2 Vertigo Tour $333,000,000 [32]
The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour $437,000,000 [33]
2007 $558,255,524 [15]
2011 U2 U2 360° Tour $736,421,586 [11]
2019 Ed Sheeran ÷ Tour $776,200,000 [10]
2023 Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road $939,100,000 [8]
Taylor Swift The Eras Tour $1,039,263,762 [A]

Highest-grossing tours by decade[edit]

1980s[edit]

Top 10 highest-grossing tours of the 1980s
Rank Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollar)
Artist Tour title Year(s) Shows Average
gross
Ref.
1 $135,000,000 $331,828,188 Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour 1987–1989 197 $685,279 [28]
2 $125,000,000 $307,248,322 Michael Jackson Bad 1987–1989 123 $1,016,260 [27]
3 $98,000,000 $240,882,685 The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour 1989 * 60 $1,633,333 [34]
4 $90,000,000 $254,962,871 Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band Born in the U.S.A. Tour 1984–1985 156 $576,923 [26]
5 $86,000,000 $230,643,234 David Bowie Glass Spider Tour 1987 86 $1,000,000 [35]
6 $75,000,000 $219,955,157 The Jacksons Victory Tour 1984 55 $1,363,636 [25]
7 $60,000,000 $160,913,884 Genesis Invisible Touch Tour 1986–1987 111 $540,541 [36]
8 $60,000,000 $154,575,127 Tina Turner Break Every Rule World Tour 1987–1988 220 $272,727 [37]
9 $56,000,000 $150,186,292 U2 The Joshua Tree Tour 1987 109 $513,761 [38]
10 $50,000,000 $167,569,546 The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones American Tour 1981 1981 50 $1,000,000 [39]

1990s[edit]

Top 10 highest-grossing tours of the 1990s
Rank Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollar)
Artist Tour title Year(s) Shows Average
gross
Ref.
1 $320,000,000 $639,860,231 The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Tour 1994–1995 129 $2,480,620 [31]
2 $274,000,000 $512,197,632 The Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997–1998 108 $2,537,037 [40]
3 $250,000,000 $513,920,072 Pink Floyd The Division Bell Tour 1994 120 $2,083,333 [30]
4 $173,610,864 $325,844,705 U2 PopMart Tour 1997–1998 93 $1,866,783 [41]
5 $165,000,000 $313,171,642 Michael Jackson HIStory World Tour 1996–1997 83 $1,987,952 [42]
6 $152,900,000 $297,040,611 Eagles Hell Freezes Over Tour 1994–1996 122 $1,274,107 [B]
7 $151,000,000 $318,487,906 U2 Zoo TV Tour 1992–1993 157 $961,783 [45]
8 $133,000,000 $243,257,691 Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love World Tour 1998–1999 97 $1,371,134 [46]
9 $130,000,000 $246,741,294 Tina Turner Wildest Dreams Tour 1996–1997 255 $509,804 [47]
10 $105,000,000 $196,280,114 Garth Brooks The Garth Brooks World Tour 1996–1998 220 $477,273 [48]

2000s[edit]

Top 10 highest-grossing tours of the 2000s
Rank Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollar)
Artist Tour title Year(s) Shows Average
gross
Ref.
1 $558,255,524 $820,315,772 The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour 2005–2007 144 $3,876,774 [15]
2 $411,000,000 $583,700,326 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008–2009 85 $4,835,294 [3]
3 $389,000,000 $587,930,670 U2 Vertigo Tour 2005–2006 131 $2,969,466 [24]
4 $358,825,665 $507,791,003 The Police The Police Reunion Tour 2007–2008 146 $2,457,710 [49]
5 $311,637,730 $442,586,483 U2 U2 360° Tour 2009 * 44 $7,082,676 [C]
6 $311,000,000 $515,107,815 The Rolling Stones Licks Tour 2002–2003 117 $2,658,120 [40]
7 $279,200,000 $394,814,332 Celine Dion Taking Chances World Tour 2008–2009 129 $2,164,341 [D]
8 $264,100,000 $375,073,616 AC/DC Black Ice World Tour 2008–2009 * 127 $2,079,528 [E]
9 $250,000,000 $390,015,335 Cher Living Proof: The Farewell Tour 2002–2005 325 $769,231 [F]
10 $235,000,000 $332,559,505 Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band Magic Tour 2007–2008 104 $2,259,615 [58]

2010s[edit]

Top 10 highest-grossing tours of the 2010s
Rank Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollar)
Artist Tour title Year(s) Shows Average
gross
Ref.
1 $776,200,000 $925,014,604 Ed Sheeran ÷ Tour 2017–2019 255 $3,043,922 [10]
2 $584,200,000 $696,203,983 Guns N' Roses Not in This Lifetime... Tour 2016–2019 158 $3,697,468 [13]
3 $523,033,675 $650,135,260 Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Tour 2016–2017 114 $4,588,015 [18]
4 $459,000,000 $600,372,000 Roger Waters The Wall 2010–2013 219 $2,094,401 [19]
5 $424,783,856 $575,343,341 U2 U2 360° Tour 2010–2011 * 66 $6,436,119 [C]
6 $430,000,000 $512,440,453 Metallica WorldWired Tour 2016–2019 143 $3,006,993 [21]
7 $415,600,000 $495,279,656 The Rolling Stones No Filter Tour 2017–2019 * 44 $9,445,455 [59]
8 $397,300,000 $473,471,144 Pink Beautiful Trauma World Tour 2018–2019 156 $2,546,795 [22]
9 $390,778,581 $485,741,065 U2 The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 & 2019 2017, 2019 66 $5,920,888 [23]
10 $367,700,000 $446,151,763 Bruno Mars 24K Magic World Tour 2017–2018 196 $1,876,020 [G]

2020s[edit]

Top 10 highest-grossing tours of the 2020s (as of April 2024)
Rank Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollar)
Artist Tour title Year(s) Shows Average
gross
Ref.
1 $1,039,263,762 $1,039,263,762 Taylor Swift The Eras Tour 2023-2024 60 $17,321,063 [A]
2 $810,966,041 $810,966,041 Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour 2022–2024 132 $6,143,682 [9]
3 $617,325,000 $617,325,000 Harry Styles Love On Tour 2021–2023 169 $3,652,663 [12]
4 $579,800,000 $579,800,000 Beyoncé Renaissance World Tour 2023 56 $10,353,571 [62]
5 $556,400,000 $556,400,000 Ed Sheeran +–=÷× Tour 2022–2024 94 $5,919,149 [17]
6 $471,400,000 $471,400,000 Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road 2020–2022 * 136 $3,466,176 [H]
7 $379,496,085 $379,496,085 Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band 2023 Tour 2023 66 $5,749,941 [5]
8 $350,985,529 $350,985,529 The Weeknd After Hours til Dawn Tour 2022–2023 61 $5,753,861 [66]
9 $314,100,000 $327,029,748 Bad Bunny World's Hottest Tour 2022 43 $7,304,651 [67]
10 $257,600,000 $257,600,000 Pink Summer Carnival 2023 41 $6,282,927 [68]

Highest-grossing tours by year[edit]

This list represents the top-grossing tour of each year according to either Pollstar or Billboard Boxscore (formerly Amusement Business). The two publications may differ on their annual figures due to different total of dates reported or different year-end tracking period. For example, Pollstar listed Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour as the top tour of 2008 with $281.6 million, but Billboard ranked it third on their year-end chart whose tracking period ended on November 11, 2008, thus excluding 20 shows by Madonna.[69][70] In 2019, Billboard listed Ed Sheeran's ÷ Tour as the top tour of the year ($223.7 million), instead of Pink's Beautiful Trauma World Tour ($215.2 million) as reported by Pollstar. However, the Billboard's figure included Sheeran's gross from November 2018 shows, therefore the Pollstar's figure is closer to accurate for the 2019 calendar year.[71][72]

Annual highest-grossing tours
Year Actual gross Adjusted gross
(in 2023 dollar)
Artist Tour title Shows Ref.
1987 $35,000,000 $93,866,432 U2 The Joshua Tree Tour 79 [73]
1989 $98,000,000 $240,882,685 The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour 60 [34]
1990 $74,100,000 $172,811,921 New Kids on the Block The Magic Summer Tour 152 [74]
1991 $34,700,000 $77,623,552 Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Summer Tour 76 [75]
1992 $67,000,000 $145,471,188 U2 Zoo TV Tour 73 [76]
1993 $45,600,000 $96,179,129 Grateful Dead Grateful Dead Tour 1993 81 [77]
1994 $121,200,000 $249,148,451 The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Tour 60 [78]
1995 $63,300,000 $126,572,352 Eagles Hell Freezes Over Tour 58 [43]
1996 $43,600,000 $84,702,228 Kiss Alive/Worldwide Tour 92 [79]
1997 $138,500,000 $262,874,378 U2 PopMart Tour 78 [80]
1998 $193,350,000 $361,435,811 The Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon Tour 82 [81]
1999 $89,200,000 $163,147,263 No Security Tour 45 [82]
2000 $122,500,000 $216,736,232 Tina Turner Twenty Four Seven Tour 108 [83]
2001 $143,000,000 $246,064,274 U2 Elevation Tour 113 [84]
2002 $126,100,000 $213,611,767 Paul McCartney Driving World Tour 58 [85]
2003 $299,520,230 $496,093,927 The Rolling Stones Licks Tour 115 [86]
2004 $125,000,000 $201,638,478 Madonna Re-Invention World Tour 56 [87]
2005 $260,000,000 $405,615,948 U2 Vertigo Tour 90 [88]
2006 $425,100,000 $642,491,845 The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour 110 [89]
2007 $212,227,302 $311,852,540 The Police The Police Reunion Tour 66 [90]
2008 $281,600,000 $398,505,348 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 58 [53]
2009 $311,637,730 $442,586,483 U2 U2 360° Tour 44 [50]
2010 $201,100,000 $280,981,474 Bon Jovi The Circle Tour 80 [91]
2011 $293,281,487 $397,231,553 U2 U2 360° Tour 44 [52]
2012 $305,158,363 $404,990,574 Madonna The MDNA Tour 88 [40]
2013 $259,500,000 $339,426,000 Bon Jovi Because We Can 102 [92]
2014 $290,000,000 $373,241,496 One Direction Where We Are Tour 69 [93]
2015 $250,733,097 $322,295,695 Taylor Swift The 1989 World Tour 85 [94]
2016 $268,300,000 $340,620,466 Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band The River Tour 76 [95]
2017 $316,990,940 $394,022,407 U2 The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 50 [96]
2018 $432,400,000 $524,656,030 Ed Sheeran ÷ Tour 94 [61]
2019 $215,200,000 $256,458,571 Pink Beautiful Trauma World Tour 68 [72]
2020 $87,100,000 $87,100,000 Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road 38 [63]
2021 $115,500,000 $129,868,353 The Rolling Stones No Filter Tour 12 [97]
2022 $342,192,313 $356,278,465 Coldplay Music of the Spheres World Tour 64 [98]
2023 $1,039,263,762 $1,039,263,762 Taylor Swift The Eras Tour 60 [A]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e The figure, calculated after 60 shows, is an estimation "based on Pollstar box office reports combined with extensive research including ticket prices in each market, record capacities at each venue and comparable tour data". Swift has yet to report her numbers formally.[5][6]
  2. ^ Eagles' Hell Freezes Over Tour grossed $79.4 million in 1994, $63.3 million in 1995, and $10.2 million in 1996.[43][44]
  3. ^ a b U2's 360° Tour grossed $311,637,730 in the 2000s decade (2009)[50] and $424,783,856 in the 2010s (2010 and 2011).[51][52]
  4. ^ Celine Dion's Taking Chances World Tour grossed $236.6 million in 2008 and $42.6 million in 2009.[53][54]
  5. ^ Within the 2000s decade, AC/DC's Black Ice World Tour grossed $37.5 million in 2008 and $226.6 million in 2009.[55][54]
  6. ^ Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour grossed $194,683,927 from 280 reported shows according to Billboard, bringing an average gross of $695,000 per show.[56] Total gross for the tour's 325 dates is estimated between $200 million and $250 million.[57]
  7. ^ Bruno Mars' 24K Magic World Tour grossed $200.1 million in 2017 and 167.6 million in 2018.[60][61]
  8. ^ Within the 2020s decade, Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road grossed $87.1 million in 2020,[63] $274 million in 2022,[64] and $110.3 million in 2023.[65]

References[edit]

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