highest grossing tours of 2015

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ is 2015’s highest grossing concert tour by far

Taylor Swift, showing performing Aug. 22, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, tops Pollstar’s annual ranking of the highest-grossing concert tours worldwide. Her “1989” tour grossed slightly more than $250 million, $200 million of that just from her North American tour stops.

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In the concert business, 2015 was a banner year for 1989, as Taylor Swift and her blockbuster “1989” tour topped Pollstar’s annual ranking of the most popular concert attractions globally.

Swift’s tour, featuring a bevy of different guest stars in nearly every city she visited, grossed just over $250 million worldwide. Equally significant, almost $200 million of that came from North American dates, trampling the all-time North American record of $162 million posted by the Rolling Stones in 2005, according to the concert industry tracking magazine’s preliminary top 20 tour report.

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FOR THE RECORD

An earlier edition of this post stated that Garth Brooks sold nearly 5 million tickets in 2015, and the Rolling Stones had sold 7.8 million and U2 sold 6.9 million. Those numbers were dollar figures for those acts’ average gross revenue per show.

The 26-year-old pop star performed 83 shows in 53 cities and sold almost 2.3 million tickets during the year, Pollstar reported.

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AC/DC placed a distant second behind Swift, grossing $180 million from 54 shows in 50 cities, making it the veteran hard rock band’s most successful tour ever.

Rounding out Pollstar’s top five were One Direction, with a global gross of $158.8 million, U2 at $152.2 million, and the Foo Fighters, whose $127-million gross at the box office put the band in the year-end top 10 for the first time in its long career.

Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni noted that the top 20 grossing tours alone generated box office revenue of $2.2 billion on sales of more than 24 million tickets in 2015, an increase of $200 million and 4 million tickets over 2014.

Young British pop singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran also landed in the top 10 for the first time, at No. 7, his $117.3-million gross putting him right behind Fleetwood Mac’s $125.1 million on the tour for which the long-running band was joined by Christine McVie for the first time in more than 15 years.

At No. 8, country singer Kenny Chesney logged $116.4 million over the course of 57 dates, and in the first full year of his return to the concert stage, Garth Brooks landed at No. 9, with a gross of $114.9 million.

Brooks, however, grossed an average of just under $5 million per city, placing him third behind the Rolling Stones, whose shows averaged $7.8 million at just 14 stadium shows during the year, and U2, which averaged $6.9 million in the 22 stops on the group’s Innocence + Experience tour.

Not surprisingly, the Stones also posted the highest average ticket price in Pollstar’s figures of $174.50, and finished at No. 10 in total box office revenue, grossing $109.7 million.

Another touring veteran from the British Invasion with a strong base among more affluent baby boomer music fans, Paul McCartney posted the second-highest average ticket price of $155.76, and placed No. 13 on the box-office revenue ranking with $77.7 million.

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The rest of Pollstar’s top 20 grossing tours were Madonna (No. 11, $88.4 million), comedian Kevin Hart (No. 12, $82.2 million), McCartney, Elton John (No. 14, $77.6 million), Disney Latin America telenova and pop star Violetta (No. 15, $76.8 million), Maroon 5 (No. 16, $72 million), Luke Bryan (No. 17, $71.8 million), Billy Joel (No. 18, $69.9 million), Shania Twain (No. 19, $69 million) and Neil Diamond (No. 20, $68 million).

Pollstar’s full report on the year’s top-grossing tours will be published in the magazine’s Jan. 8 edition.

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Randy Lewis covered pop music for the Los Angeles Times from 1981 to 2020, working in that time as a reporter, music critic and editor for the Calendar section. He has interviewed most of the members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’s also written first-person accounts of performing the music of Shostakovich and Prokofiev on clarinet and singing Mozart’s Requiem with world-class professionals. In addition, he enjoys belting out “Wooly Bully” in dive bars with his band, the Rounders.

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Highest-grossing Concert Tours of All Time

Who has hauled the highest-grossing tour total of all time? From Elton John to Harry Styles, find out who made the top 10 of all time.

These days, scoring a ticket to see your favorite music artist has proven to be a Herculean task. With bots replacing scalpers, superfans are struggling more than ever to get a ticket to the show. However, someway, somehow, people are showing up in record numbers.

Looking back on the top 10 highest-grossing tours, the list may surprise you. Harry Styles ‘ most recent marathon Love on Tour propelled him to become the first of his contemporaries to crack the list. However, these numbers are all under fire as Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are expected to shatter tour totals and breaking the billion mark.

As T Swift takes over for Elton John, The Rolling Stones logged the largest sum per show. The British sensations took in an average of $9.4 million per show with 58 performances between 2017 and 2019.

Let’s dive in with the top 10 highest-grossing tours of all time.

Get on our list for weekly sports business, industry trends, interviews, and more.

Highest-grossing Tours of All Time: The Top 10

1. taylor swift — eras tour (2023-2024).

• Total Gross: $1.04 billion (via Pollstar )
• Tickets Sold: 4.35 million
• Average Gross per Show: $1.67 million

2. Elton John — Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour (2018-2023)

• Total Gross: $939.1 million
• Tickets Sold: 6 million
• Average Gross per Show: $2.84 million

3. Ed Sheeran — The ÷ (Divide) Tour (2017-2019)

• Total Gross: $776 million
• Tickets Sold: 8.9 million
• Average Gross per Show: $3 million

4. U2 — U2 360° Tour (2009-2011)

• Total Gross: $736 million
• Tickets Sold: 7.3 million
• Average Gross per Show: $6.69 million

5. Coldplay — Music of the Spheres World Tour ( 2022-2023 )

• Total Gross: $617.8 million
• Tickets Sold: 6.3 million
• Average Gross per Show: $5.77 million

6. Harry Styles — Love on Tour (2021-2023)

• Total Gross: $617.3 million
• Tickets Sold: 5 million
• Average Gross per Show: $3.65 million

7. Guns N’ Roses — Not in This Lifetime… Tour (2016-2019)

• Total Gross: $584 million
• Tickets Sold: 5.4 million
• Average Gross per Show: $3.69 million

8. Beyoncé — Renaissance Tour (2023)

• Total Gross: $579 million (via Forbes )
• Tickets Sold: TBD
• Average Gross per Show: $10.34 million

9. The Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang Tour (2005-2007)

• Total Gross: $558 million
• Tickets Sold: 3.5 million
• Average Gross per Show: $5.02 million

10. The Rolling Stones — No Filter Tour (2017-2019)

• Total Gross: $547 million
• Tickets Sold: 2.9 million
• Average Gross per Show: $9.4 million

10. Coldplay — A Head Full of Dreams Tour (2015-2017)

• Total Gross: $524 million
• Average Gross per Show: $4.56 million

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THEPRP News

The foo fighters & rush among the highest grossing tours of 2015.

If you’ve been following Theprp.com for awhile, you’ll likely be familiar with Billboard ‘s Boxscore —a weekly rundown of various gross earnings & attendance data from various tours. Billboard.com have combed through this year’s worth of data to assemble a list of the highest grossing tours, artists, shows, promoters, festivals and more from the data they published over 2015.

It’s a fascinating look into the behind the scenes numbers of the concert industry. The highest grossing event they have posted was The Grateful Dead ‘s July 03rd-05th 50th anniversary show at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. 210,283 people attended that event, with it grossing $30,683,274.

When it came to the top 25 tours, metal didn’t exactly crack the list. Taylor Swift instead took home top honors with $217,437,974 grossed from 71 shows. The Foo Fighters appeared at #12 with $55,064,241 grossed from 27 shows.  Rush meanwhile grossed $34,959,163 over the course of 32 shows. You can take in the whole list over at Billboard.com .

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Highest-Grossing Concert Tours of All Time

Old hippies love to brag about the time they paid a mere $6.50 to see Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden in 1973. How times have changed. Today, when your favorite marquee act comes to town, you'll plunk down the equivalent of a new car payment (plus those fun processing fees) for a pair of seats you hope are in the same zip code as the concert stage.   

Now more than ever, major concert tours translate to megabucks for superstar artists who otherwise earn only fractions of a cent per digital song download or stream. To help ensure arena and stadium sellouts, today's stage sets and audio-visual razzle-dazzle must go bigger than ever, which means obscenely high production costs that are passed on to ticket buyers.     

The result is box-office numbers that routinely reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars. To give you an idea of how much scratch there is to be made from playing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" for the thousandth time, we've rounded up the highest-grossing concert tours ever.

47. Depeche Mode 'Global Spirit Tour'

Years: 2017-18

Number of shows: 130

Gross: $202 million

Note: The numbers are from Pollstar and Billboard . Each gross amount is in the original U.S. dollars and hasn't been adjusted for inflation.

Bottom Line: Depeche Mode 'Global Spirit Tour'

Fans just couldn't get enough of this Depeche Mode tour that spanned the globe and mined their back catalog for '80s New Wave gems like "Black Celebration" and "Everything Counts."

The Mode made a mint and in 2020 were welcomed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

46. Bon Jovi 'Lost Highway Tour'

Years: 2007-08

Number of shows: 99

Gross: $210.7 million

Bottom Line: Bon Jovi 'Lost Highway Tour'

The final full Bon Jovi tour to feature lead guitarist Richie Sambora was originally intended as a greatest hits outing. But the surprise success of the band's "Lost Highway" LP turned it into an album-support affair.

Among the band's faithful, it's remembered as the tour when an over-excited female fan jumped Jon Bon Jovi onstage at a concert in Ireland, smothered him with hugs and kisses, and had to be dragged off stage by security.   

45. Metallica 'World Magnetic Tour'

Years: 2008-10

Number of shows: 187

Gross: $217.2 million

Bottom Line: Metallica 'World Magnetic Tour'

Headbangers celebrated the 2008 release of Metallica's "Death Magnetic."

After years of subpar albums and radio-friendly hits like "Enter Sandman," the LP signaled a return to the band's bone-crunching, thrash-tastic roots.

On the record's supporting tour, arenas packed with longhairs wearing faded "Kill 'Em All" T-shirts helped make this the 12th highest-grossing endeavor of the 2000s.

44. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'The Rising Tour'

Years: 2002-03

Number of shows: 120

Gross: $221 million

Bottom Line: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'The Rising Tour'

In the aftermath of 9/11 and hot off the first new album recorded with the E Street Band since "Born in the U.S.A.," Bruce and company hit the road for a cathartic world tour that had fans in Boss-induced bliss.

Notable gigs included the first concerts held at Boston's Fenway Park since 1973, plus a 10-night stand at New Jersey's Giants Stadium that grossed $38.8 million alone.

43. Justin Timberlake 'The Man of the Woods'

Years: 2018-19

Number of shows: 115

Gross: $226.3 million

Bottom Line: Justin Timberlake 'The Man of the Woods'

The pop superstar's tunes aren't everyone's cup of tea, but like his hero Michael Jackson (Justin Timberlake has called him "untouchable"), there's no question the man puts on one of helluva an entertaining show.

This tour for the 2018 album "Man of the Woods" played to more than 1.75 million fans and won raves from even the snobbiest of music critics.

42. Lady Gaga 'The Monster Ball Tour'

Years: 2009-11

Number of shows: 203

Gross: $227.4 million

Bottom Line: Lady Gaga 'The Monster Ball Tour'

Lady Gaga's "Little Monsters" (as her fans are known) came out of the woodwork for this extensive worldwide arena tour the diva described as "the first-ever pop electro opera."

The high-concept show, with its over-the-top costumes and stage sets, sold so many tickets it set a record for the highest-grossing ever by an artist making their tour-headlining debut. 

41. Justin Timberlake 'The 20/20 Experience World Tour'

Years: 2013-15

Number of shows: 134 

Gross: $231.6 million

Bottom Line: Justin Timberlake 'The 20/20 Experience World Tour'

Bottom line: Smooth as silk, Justin Timberlake knocked 'em dead on this tour that's his biggest moneymaker to date.

If you missed it in person, the final show in Las Vegas was captured by director Jonathan Demme for the highly entertaining concert film "Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids" — available for streaming on Netflix.

40. Bon Jovi 'This House Is Not for Sale Tour'

Years: 2017-19

Number of shows: 95

Gross: $232.1 million

Bottom Line: Bon Jovi 'This House Is Not for Sale Tour'

No Bon Jovi devotee will ever rank the band's 14th studio album "This House Is Not for Sale" up there with the likes of "Slippery When Wet."

Yet that didn't stop the '80s hair-metal stalwarts from selling some 2.26 million tickets on this trek that traveled the globe from Las Vegas to Lima, Peru.

39. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'Magic Tour'

Number of shows: 100

Gross: $235 million

Bottom Line: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'Magic Tour'

The Boss blew away audiences in North America and Europe on this outing that would sadly be the last for founding E Street Band member and organist Danny Federici, who passed away in spring 2008.

Though the shows clocked in at just over two hours (shorter than usual for Springsteen), the band brought it with a mix of greatest hits, tunes from the underappreciated "Magic" album, and covers of rock 'n' roll oldies like "Gloria" and "Wooly Bully."

38. The Eagles 'An Evening With The Eagles'

Number of shows: 87

Gross: $248.6 million

Bottom Line: The Eagles 'An Evening With The Eagles'

Following the 2016 passing of founding band member Glenn Frey, the Eagles' touring juggernaut seemed done for.

"I did say that I thought that was the end of the band," Don Henley told the Los Angeles Times in 2017, "But I reserve the right to change my mind."

Don never met a dollar he didn't covet, and later that year, the group hit the road with a revamped lineup, including Frey's son Deacon and country star Vince Gill.

36. Pink Floyd 'The Division Bell Tour' (Tie)

Number of shows: 110

Gross: $250 million

Bottom Line: Pink Floyd 'The Division Bell Tour'

The last-ever tour under the Pink Floyd banner saw sold-out stadium crowds spacing out to early psychedelic jams like "Astronomy Domine" and, on occasion, "The Dark Side of the Moon" album played in its entirety.

Though chief songwriter and bassist Roger Waters had quit the band nearly a decade earlier, that didn't deter some 6 million fans from turning up to hear guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour play "Comfortably Numb" through a 232,000-watt quadraphonic sound system, blowing their minds — and eardrums.

36. Cher 'Living Proof: The Farewell Tour' (Tie)

Years: 2002-05

Number of shows: 326

Bottom Line: Cher 'Living Proof: The Farewell Tour'

For this marathon retirement tour, the self-dubbed "Cher-est show on earth," the diva pulled out all the stops.

She made a flamboyant, grand entrance atop a giant crystal chandelier; rode a paper-mâché pachyderm on stage; and in her late 50s, wore her infamous fishnet/thong outfit for " If I Could Turn Back Time ."

In 2008, those who believed they'd already seen "Believe" performed for the last time were ecstatic when Cher re-emerged to launch a lengthy Las Vegas residency and, in 2014, embark on yet another farewell tour.

35. Taylor Swift 'The 1989 World Tour'

Number of shows: 85

Gross: $250.7 million

Bottom Line: Taylor Swift 'The 1989 World Tour'

You doubted Tay-Tay's drawing power? Shame! Form a heart with your hands and show love for the country-turned-pop superstar's mega-grossing tour in support of her mega-selling album "1989."

How could your average "Swiftie" afford an average $380-per-ticket price for the tour's North American legs? Only the Visa and Mastercard collections departments know for sure. But no doubt the selfies were worth it.  

34. Eagles 'Long Road Out of Eden Tour'

Years: 2008-11

Number of shows: 161

Gross: $251.1 million

Bottom Line: Eagles 'Long Road Out of Eden Tour'

Like your local classic rock radio station still getting mileage out of spinning "Life in the Fast Lane" for the millionth time, this aptly named Eagles tour had legs for four long years.

Just two years prior, the band had completed its third wildly successful reunion tour and certainly wasn't strapped for cash.

But if fans were willing to pony up for "Desperado" one ... more ... time, Don Henley and the gang were happy to oblige.  

33. The Eagles 'History of the Eagles — Live in Concert'

Number of shows: 147

Gross: $253 million

Bottom Line: The Eagles 'History of the Eagles — Live in Concert'

Bottom line: The last tour to feature guitarist/vocalist Glenn Frey before his death in 2016, this lucrative Eagles' flight was launched not to promote a new album, but rather a DVD documentary chronicling the band's history.

It paid off big-time with more than 2 million fans turning out to hear a nightly setlist of hits and early rarities like "Train Leaves Here This Morning."

32. Beyonce and Jay-Z (aka The Carters) 'On The Run II Tour'

Number of shows: 48

Gross: $253.6 million

Bottom Line: Beyonce and Jay-Z (aka The Carters) 'On The Run II Tour'

The hip-hop/pop power couple — known as The Carters when performing as a duo — played to packed stadiums on this European and North American trek, ringing up one of 2018's most lucrative tours.

Forbes estimates Bey and Jay have a combined worth of $1.255 billion. "My great-great-grandchildren already rich," Beyoncé sings on the track "Boss" from The Carters' latest album "Everything Is Love," adding, "That's a lot of brown children on your Forbes list."

31. Beyoncé 'The Formation World Tour'

Number of shows: 49

Gross: $256.1 million

Bottom Line: Beyoncé 'The Formation World Tour'

Only time will tell, but in the eyes of many Beyonce fans, known as "The Beyhive," this stadium-tour extravaganza to promote the acclaimed "Lemonade" album will go down as her most iconic and visually stunning.

Not only did Queen Bey serve up "Lemonade" songs and greatest hits with intensity, but she did so on a massive stage set featuring a revolving, 60-foot-high video-screen cube nicknamed the "Monolith."

Just as impressive was the conveyor-belt catwalk extending into the audience, where Bey and her dancers stomped and splashed in a pool of water for the encore numbers.  

30. Justin Bieber 'Purpose World Tour'

Years: 2016-17

Number of shows: 162

Gross: $256.5 million

Bottom Line: Justin Bieber 'Purpose World Tour'

Doing his part to crush the spirits of true musical artists everywhere, this two-year Bieb parade proves there's a boatload of bucks to be made from reportedly lip-synching at least half the setlist and pouting like a spoiled teen through every other dance routine.

"Beliebers" were prepared to shovel even more cash into the pop star's coffers, but he canceled the final 14 shows, citing physical and mental exhaustion.

29. Bon Jovi 'Because We Can'

Number of shows: 102

Gross: $259.5 million

Bottom Line: Bon Jovi 'Because We Can'

This list's only 1980s hair metal band, Bon Jovi raked it in on a busy 11-month tour that'd technically be the last for lead guitarist Richie Sambora, who called it quits after a single show — the tour opener in Washington, D.C.

Jon Bon Jovi and the band pressed on, playing "Livin' on a Prayer" to some 2.65 million ticket buyers and winding up with the No. 1 grossing tour of 2013.

Perhaps the tour should've been renamed "Because We Can ... Still Make a Fortune Sans Sambora"?

28. The Rolling Stones 'Bridges to Babylon Tour'

Years: 1997-98

Number of shows: 97

Gross: $274 million

Bottom Line: The Rolling Stones 'Bridges to Babylon Tour'

Fans forever remember this stadium tour for the surprise spectacle of the Stones sprinting over a 150-foot-long telescoping bridge that extended from the main stage to a smaller "B stage' where they'd rock a three-song set of rarities.

Mechanical catwalks are common now, but in the 1990s, it was a fairly new gimmick dreamt up by Mick Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts and the late great stage designer Mark Fisher , who spent his long career creating elaborate concert backdrops for everyone from Madonna to Metallica.    

27. Paul McCartney 'Out There! Tour'

Number of shows: 91

Gross: $275.7 million

Bottom line: In support of the album "New," Sir Paul traveled a long and winding tour road that featured his first-ever performances in Poland, Costa Rica and South Korea.

Another memorable first happened on stage in Goiânia, Brazil, where Macca was swarmed by grasshoppers , one of which he introduced to the audience as "Harold."

Bottom Line: Paul McCartney 'Out There! Tour'

In support of the album "New," Sir Paul traveled a long and winding tour road that featured his first-ever performances in Poland, Costa Rica and South Korea.

26. Celine Dion 'Taking Chances World Tour'

Years: 2008-09

Number of shows: 132

Gross: $279.2 million

Bottom Line: Celine Dion 'Taking Chances World Tour'

Celine Dion temporarily left the comfy confines of her Caesars Palace Las Vegas residency for this worldwide jaunt that hit the box-office jackpot.

Like her Sin City shows, the production razzle-dazzle and chest-thumping vocal thrills were off the charts.

And as sure as the Titanic sits at the bottom of the Atlantic, every performance climaxed with a soaring "My Heart Will Go On."  

25. One Direction 'Where We Are Tour'

Number of shows: 69

Gross: $290.1 million

Bottom Line: One Direction 'Where We Are Tour'

The English boy band made serious bank on this stadium tour that incredibly managed to fill massive venues like London's Wembley Stadium; Foxborough, Massachusetts's Gillette Stadium; and Pasadena's Rose Bowl for three nights each.

Take that, 'N Sync!

24. Madonna 'The MDNA Tour'

Number of shows: 88

Gross: $305.1 million

Bottom Line: Madonna 'The MDNA Tour'

When fans griped that ticket prices for this tour were too high, Madge famously told Newsweek, "So work all year, scrape the money together and come to my show. I'm worth it." Hmm. Has someone forgotten their starving-artist days, working at a New York City Dunkin' Donuts to pay the rent?

Those who saved their pennies saw the Material Girl stage a series of provocative, big-budget production numbers that were at turns violent, campy, political and, of course, sexual.

Fans and critics ate it up. Every date sold out. Madonna was in box-office ecstasy.  

23. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'The River Tour'

Number of shows: 89

Gross: $306 million

Bottom Line: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'The River Tour'

For most (if not all) of the tour's U.S. leg, after opening with an outtake from the "The River" LP, Bruce and cohorts played the much-loved 1980 double album in its entirety — fulfilling the wildest dreams of so-called "Bruce Tramps," as hardcore fans are known.

Along with rarely played gems "Stolen Car" and "Wreck on the Highway," the faithful also rocked out to old faves like "Hungry Heart" and "Out in the Street."

Many gigs ran more than 3-1/2 hours, offering lots of bang for your Bruce bucks.  

22. The Rolling Stones 'Licks Tour'

Gross: $311 million

Bottom Line: The Rolling Stones 'Licks Tour'

This hit parade in support of the Stones' 40th anniversary "Forty Licks" compilation album found "The World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band" rocking a mix of small theaters, indoor arenas and stadiums. Yet no matter the venue's size, then as now, Mick and the gang charged among the steepest ticket prices in the biz.

A treat for Stones freaks, the setlists occasionally featured deep cuts like "Loving Cup" and "Neighbours." And lucky fans at a handful of gigs saw AC/DC's Malcolm and Angus Young join the band for a cover of the blues classic " Rock Me Baby ."   

21. The Rolling Stones 'Voodoo Lounge Tour'

Years: 1994-95

Number of shows: 124

Gross: $320 million

Bottom Line: The Rolling Stones 'Voodoo Lounge Tour'

Following the release of "Voodoo Lounge" — the Stones' first album sans original bassist Bill Wyman — the band embarked on a global trek that would become the highest-grossing tour of the 1990s.

Replacement bassist Darryl Jones (still playing with the Stones to this day) joined drummer Charlie Watts in laying down the beat as Keith Richards riffed and Mick Jagger aerobicized across stages in 31 countries.

Also earning nice tour paychecks were the variety of opening acts (Blind Melon, Spin Doctors, Stone Temple Pilots), now buried in a mid-'90s time capsule.

20. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'Wrecking Ball World Tour'

Years: 2012-13

Number of shows: 133

Gross: $340.6 million

Bottom Line: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 'Wrecking Ball World Tour'

This was the first outing after the death of Bruce Springsteen's legendary saxophonist Clarence "The Big Man" Clemons, and the tour was a cathartic experience for the band and fans alike.

With Clemons' nephew Jake taking over sax duties, and backed by a larger-than-usual ensemble — including backup singers and a horn section — The Boss showcased several tracks from 2012's "Wrecking Ball" album, which featured some of his rawest songwriting in years.

During the encore, fans heard classics like " Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out ," performed as a tribute to the late Clemons.

19. Taylor Swift 'Reputation Stadium Tour'

Number of shows: 53

Gross: $345.7 million

Bottom Line: Taylor Swift 'Reputation Stadium Tour'

In the process of topping the take from her own 2015 tour (see this list's No. 35), Tay-Tay traveled to seven countries, averaged an eye-popping $6.5-million gross per show, and solidified her reputation as one of the most bankable acts in the biz.   

18. Elton John 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road'

Years: 2018-present (in progress, on hiatus)

Number of shows: 272 (scheduled)

Gross: $358.6 million (and counting)

Bottom Line: Elton John 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road'

After more than half a century on the road, in 2018 Sir Elton announced he'd be hanging it up, but not before a marathon retirement tour to let fans sing along to "Tiny Dancer" one last time.

Though John shelved his Donald Duck costume back in the '80s, the show is still packed with enough production bombast and greatest hits to ensure his yellow brick tour road is paved with box-office gold.   

17. The Police 'Reunion Tour'

Number of shows: 151

Gross: $362 million

Bottom Line: The Police 'Reunion Tour'

After enduring the band's 21-year hiatus, not to mention Sting's string of snoozer solo albums, Police devotees were ultimately rewarded with a reunion tour that revisited all the hits — from "Roxanne" to "Every Breath You Take."

Early in the tour, it seemed as if old rivals Sting and drummer Stewart Copeland might soon be back at each other's throats, but there's nothing like big box-office bucks to help smooth troubled waters.

16. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood 'World Tour'

Years: 2014-17

Number of shows: 390

Gross: $364.3 million

Bottom Line: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood 'World Tour'

After the country superstar's 13-year "retirement," fans again got the chance to hoist a $14 cup of Bud Light and sing along to " Friends in Low Places " on this extensive North American tour co-headlined by Brooks' wife, Trisha Yearwood.

If you're wondering why it took four years of gigs for this tour to gross what others earn in a year or two, it's largely due to Brooks' longstanding policy to charge the same price for every ticket in a given venue, regardless of seat location.

15. Bruno Mars '24K Magic World Tour'

Number of shows: 215

Gross: $367.7 million

Bottom Line: Bruno Mars '24K Magic World Tour'

Channeling the likes of Prince and James Brown, Mars' uber-slick stage show pumped a pretty penny into his treasure chest as it circled the planet, including a penultimate string of stadium concerts in his hometown of Honolulu, Hawaii.

14. U2 'Vertigo Tour'

Years: 2005-06

Number of shows: 131

Gross: $389 million

Bottom Line: U2 'Vertigo Tour'

Bono counting off " Uno, dos, tres, catorce! " kicks off this hugely successful tour's title song, "Vertigo." Want more numbers? The tour sold some 4.6-million tickets across five continents. During Vertigo's Latin American leg, more than 700 hours of footage were shot for the concert film "U2 3D."

Throughout the endeavor, the band played 60 different songs, including rare tracks from their 1980 debut album "Boy." And for concertgoers who arrived early, the tour featured 17 different opening acts, including The Killers, Kanye West and Arcade Fire, who at the time were arguably a hotter band than U2.   

13. U2 'The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019'

Year: 2017 and 2019

Number of shows: 66

Gross: $390.8 million

U2 'The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019'

In the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, U2 realized the themes of their signature 1987 album, "The Joshua Tree," were as relevant as ever. So the band embarked on a five-month string of stadium concerts that featured the platter played in its entirety, plus some of their early hits.

Snooty critics charged U2 had become a nostalgia act, but those who missed the album's original tour clearly weren't concerned — snapping up more than 2.7-million tickets for a joyous journey through the past.

In 2019, the tour was revived for 15 dates in Oceania and Asia.

12. Pink 'Beautiful Trauma World Tour'

Number of shows: 159

Gross: $397.3 million

Bottom Line: Pink 'Beautiful Trauma World Tour'

The pop diva took her powerhouse vocals and Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics to arenas for this wildly successful jaunt that did notably huge business Down Under — where Pink's rabid Aussie fan base cheered an impressive run of 27 shows.

11. Madonna 'Sticky and Sweet Tour'

Gross: $408 million

Bottom Line: Madonna 'Sticky and Sweet Tour'

While M maniacs generally agree nothing can ever touch the controversial, legendary heights of 1990's "Blond Ambition Tour," this worldwide jaunt in support of the underrated "Hard Candy" album was no slouch.  

Performing in front of more than 3.5 million fans in 32 countries, Madge underwent countless costume changes and worked a monster stage backed by dazzling video screens and a platoon of dancers.

A sweet treat for longtime fans, the stripped-down "Old School" segment of the show featured Miss Ciccone strapping on an electric guitar for a head-banging version of " Borderline ."   

10. Rolling Stones 'No Filter Tour'

Years: 2017-present (in progress, on hiatus)

Number of shows: 60 (scheduled)

Gross: $415.6 million (and counting)

Bottom line: The Stones keep rolling — rocking stadiums from Dublin to Detroit. In 2019, Mick Jagger underwent a heart-valve surgery that sidelined the tour for months.

But the band made good on the postponed dates, culminating in a Miami show where "Gimme Shelter" was played right on cue as rain began to pour with Hurricane Dorian knocking on Florida's door.

Bottom Line: Rolling Stones 'No Filter Tour'

The Stones keep rolling — rocking stadiums from Dublin to Detroit. In 2019, Mick Jagger underwent a heart-valve surgery that sidelined the tour for months.

9. Metallica 'WorldWired Tour'

Years: 2016-present (in progress, on hiatus)

Number of shows: 178 (scheduled)

Gross: $416.9 million (and counting)

Bottom Line: Metallica 'WorldWired Tour'

The thrash metal legends have come a long way since their live debut in 1982 at a small club in Anaheim, California. The cover charge was $15. Attendance numbered around 200 (mostly the band's friends). And the only Metallica originals played were "Hit The Lights" and "Jump in the Fire."

Flash forward to this monster tour in support of 2016's "Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct" album. The average ticket price is nearly $100, and you're more likely to be sitting in a football stadium's nosebleed seats than crackin' ribs in a mosh pit.

8. AC/DC 'Black Ice World Tour'

Number of shows: 168

Gross: $441.6 million

Bottom line: AC/DC may do dirty deeds done dirt cheap, but when it comes to concert tickets, you'll pay through the nose.

The Aussie rockers averaged a $2.6 million per-show gross on this tour, which would be the last for founding rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young (he passed in 2017) and longtime drummer Phil Rudd. It was also the last full tour for lead singer Brian Johnson, forced to quit the subsequent "Rock or Bust Tour" due to serious hearing damage.

The band's future is up in the air. So consider yourself lucky if you attended, no matter the cost, and played air guitar to "T.N.T." and "Hells Bells" for what may have been the last time.   

Bottom Line: AC/DC 'Black Ice World Tour'

AC/DC may do dirty deeds done dirt cheap, but when it comes to concert tickets, you'll pay through the nose.

7. Billy Joel 'Billy Joel in Concert'

Years: 2014-21 (in progress)

Number of shows: 182 (scheduled)

Gross: $448.2 million (and counting)

Bottom line: Joel hasn't released an album of new pop/rock material in more than 25 years, and hasn't needed to. Not when he continually packs arenas with boomers belting out "Piano Man" in karaoke mass.

This current tour, scheduled to wrap in 2021, birthed Joel's NYC Madison Square Garden residency, in which he plays his hometown venue at least once a month. Since his first MSG gig in 1978, he's headlined the arena more than 100 times. That's a lot of "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant."

Note: Joel's inclusion on this list is subject to debate. This tour is not in support of a specific album and has been extended every year in seeming perpetuity since it began. However Pollstar and Billboard consider it a single tour, hence its inclusion.

Bottom Line: Billy Joel 'Billy Joel in Concert'

Joel hasn't released an album of new pop/rock material in more than 25 years, and hasn't needed to. Not when he continually packs arenas with boomers belting out "Piano Man" in karaoke mass.

6. Roger Waters 'The Wall Live'

Years: 2010-13

Number of shows: 219

Gross: $458.6 million

Bottom Line: Roger Waters 'The Wall Live'

A politically charged concert spectacle showcasing Pink Floyd's landmark 1979 concept album "The Wall," the tour found the band's chief lyricist and bassist traveling to four continents and playing before some 4 million fans to the tune of nearly half a billion dollars in ticket sales.

While that's an unfathomable fortune to the layman, all in all, it's just another brick in Waters' behemoth financial wall.

5. Coldplay 'A Head Full of Dreams Tour'

Number of shows: 122

Gross: $523 million

Bottom Line: Coldplay 'A Head Full of Dreams Tour'

If you gambled this slot would belong to yet another Cher or KISS "retirement tour," you lose.

The winners are Chris Martin and company, who put on a massive laser/pyro extravaganza that sold over half a billion tickets worldwide, including four sellouts at London's 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium.

4. The Rolling Stones 'A Bigger Bang Tour

Years: 2005-07

Number of shows: 144

Gross: $558.3 million

Bottom Line: The Rolling Stones 'A Bigger Bang Tour

This Stones tour was so hot, even then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was scalping tickets — charging his political donors $100,000 to join "The Terminator" in his VIP box for the opening concert at Boston's Fenway Park.

Mick and Keith were not happy, but by journey's end, it was all smiles as a "Bigger Bang" busted all box-office records and became the top-grossing tour of all time. Until ...    

3. Guns N' Roses 'Not in This Lifetime ... Tour'

Years: 2016-19

Number of shows: 175

Gross: $584.2 million

Bottom Line: Guns N' Roses 'Not in This Lifetime ... Tour'

In the '80s, when up-and-coming GNR was hitchhiking home from their own gigs, they surely never imagined becoming the biggest metal band in the world, let alone splitting up and ultimately regrouping for one of rock history's most lucrative tours.

Sure, Axl Rose has a potbelly, but he's still got the pipes (sort of) to belt out " Welcome To The Jungle ," bringing more than 5 million fans to their sha-na-na-na-na-knees-knees!  

2. U2 '360° 'Tour'

Gross: $736.4 million

Bottom Line: U2 '360° 'Tour'

Behold " The Claw "! That's the nickname given to the gargantuan, 165-foot-high arachnid-like structure that towered over U2's stage on this monumentally successful tour.

Loaded with video screens and stacked with an ear-splitting sound system, The Claw cost an estimated $25 to $30 million, and was so massive it took 120 semi-trucks to move it between stadium concerts where seating was in the round — hence the tour's "360°" moniker.

Over three years, more than 7.2-million fans enjoyed a setlist spanning the band's formidable catalog, including Bono donning a laser-light suit for encore numbers like " Ultraviolet ." And if you're wondering whatever became of The Claw, in 2019 it was permanently installed at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, Utah .

1. Ed Sheeran '÷ Tour'

Number of shows: 255

Gross: $776.2 million

Bottom line: Step back, Bono. After touring six continents, 2019 saw Ed Sheeran leap over U2's "Claw" and land in the top-grossing slot.

"Sheerios" obsessed with the English singer-songwriter's syrupy-sweet ditties bought an estimated 8.9 million tickets, leading to his crowning as the all-time king of concert cash.

What, you thought number one would be another Rolling Stones tour? You're not alone.

Bottom Line: Ed Sheeran '÷ Tour'

Step back, Bono. After touring six continents, 2019 saw Ed Sheeran leap over U2's "Claw" and land in the top-grossing slot.

Related: Richest Singers l Richest Musicians

These Are the 15 Highest Grossing Tours Ever

For those familiar with the landscape of the music business , you are likely familiar with the notion that touring is the biggest money-maker for artists, especially those signed to major labels. Well, it's true. Today, we'll be covering the highest grossing tours in the history of music.

RELATED: The Best Concert Merch from Recent History

While this list is sure to change in the future, as of right now, these are currently the fifteen highest grossing tours ever. You might not guess who found their way to the number one spot.

15. Bruno Mars - 24K Magic World Tour

Tour Profit: $367.7M

Years Active: 2017 - 2018

Bruno Mars' 24K Magic World Tour had a very impressive run in the late 2010's. It boasted over three million attendees total, and averaged over $1.8M in gross revenue per show. Anderson .Paak opened for his future Silk Sonic partner on the European leg of this world tour.

14. U2 - Vertigo Tour

Tour Profit: $389M

Years Active: 2005 - 2006

U2's Vertigo Tour was built out to further push their album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb , and it succeeded, to say the least. The legendary Irish band averaged nearly three million dollars per show across 131 appearances.

13. U2 - The Joshua Tree Tours

Tour Profit: $390.7M

Years Active: 2017, 2019

Next up on our list is U2's The Joshua Tree Tours, which ran in 2017 and 2019, celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree . They averaged almost $6M in gross revenue per show across 66 shows, not to mention over three million total attendees.

12. Pink - Beautiful Trauma World Tour

Tour Profit: $397.3M

Years Active: 2018 - 2019

The Beautiful Trauma World Tour was Pink's seventh tour, which was in support of her seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma . Across 155 shows, Pink averaged $2.5M per show in front of three million total fans.

11. Madonna - Sticky & Sweet Tour

Tour Profit: $411M

Years Active: 2008 - 2009

In 2008 and 2009, Madonna toured the world with her Sticky & Sweet Tour. This was her 11th time leading a tour, which promoted her 8th studio album, Hard Candy . In 85 shows, Madonna averaged almost $5M per show in gross revenue and played in front of 3.5 million total fans.

10. Metallica - WorldWired Tour

Tour Profit: $416.9M

Years Active: 2016 - 2019

Metallica's WorldWired Tour ran for three years from 2016-2019, and put up some impressive numbers: 128 shows, over $3M per show on average, and over 4,000,000t total attendance.

9. AC/DC - Black Ice World Tour

Tour Profit: $441.1

Years Active: 2008 - 2010

AC/DC has made a huge impact on rock since their start in Australia, and their Black Ice Tour is nothing short of legendary: almost 5 million total attendees across 167 shows, averaging nearly $3M in gross revenue per event.

8. Roger Waters - The Wall Live

Tour Profit: $458.6M

Years Active: 2010 - 2013

Roger Waters and his The Wall Live tour had a great three-year run starting in 2010. $2M per show on average for 219 shows, with over 4 million total attendees. This one has gone down in the books for good reason.

7. Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams Tour

Tour Profit: $523M

Years Active: 2016 - 2017

In 2016, Coldplay kicked off their A Head Full of Dreams Tour, which would prove to be a massive success. Over 5 million fans showed up throughout the tour, scoring the band a gross revenue of roughly $4.5M per show across 114 different shows worldwide.

6. The Rolling Stones - No Filter Tour

Tour Profit: $546.5M

Years Active: 2017 - 2021

In 2017, The Rolling Stones kicked off their No Filter Tour: 58 shows across the globe in front of nearly 3 million fans total. This tour helped the legendary rockers score very big - roughly $10M per show big. That's the highest average gross revenue per show that you'll find on this list. It took a lot to get to this point.

5. The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang Tour

Tour Profit: $558.2M

Years Active: 2005 - 2007

Before the Stones could pull in the historic numbers we mentioned in the previous spot on our list. Over a decade prior, they kicked off their A Bigger Bang Tour, which thanks to their hard work across 147 shows, pulled in over $550 million in total gross revenue.

4. Guns N' Roses - Not In This Lifetime Tour

Tour Profit: $584.2M

In 2016, Guns N' Roses began what would become the fourth-highest grossing tour of all time. 158 shows in front of over five million people for a three-year span netted them over $580 million dollars - $3.7 million per show on average.

3. U2 - U2 360 Tour

Tour Profit: $736.4M

Years Active: 2009 - 2011

With this being their third appearance on our list today, it's truly unfathomable to think about just how much revenue U2 has brought in over the course of their iconic career. In 2009, they started what would be the third-highest grossing tour ever, U2 360. In 110 shows, they drew over 7 million fans to attend, who'd end up putting nearly $7 million in the band's pocket per show.

2. Elton John - Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour

Tour Profit: $750M

Years Active: 2018 - Present

Since 2018, Elton John has been touring the world on his appropriately named final tour, The Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. Though it's still ongoing, he's pulled in roughly $75o million in gross revenue so far in 278 shows around the world. 5 million fans per show helped score the legend almost $3 million per show.

1. Ed Sheeran - ÷ Tour

Tour Profit: $776.2M

Years Active: 2017 - 2019

At number one on our list is Ed Sheeran for his ÷ Tour. This set the record for the highest grossing tour ever, at almost $780 million in gross revenue. It brought in almost 9 million fans total, who helped Ed Sheeran bring in over $3 million per show across 255 events.

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© Getty Images

0 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $250 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $422 million

Year(s): 1994

1 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $274 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $491 million

Year(s): 1997-1998

2 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $279 million

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $382 million

Year(s): 2008-2009

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Actual tour gross: $305 million

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $389 million

Year(s): 2012

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Actual tour gross: $311 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $494 million

Year(s): 2002-2003

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Actual tour gross: $320 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $631 million

Shows : 134

Year(s): 1994-1995

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Actual tour gross: $340 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $446 million

Year(s): 2012-2013

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Actual tour gross: $345 million

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $402 million

Year(s): 2018

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Actual tour gross: $362 million

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $421 million

Year(s): 2007-2008

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Actual tour gross: $364 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $400 million

Year(s): 2014-2017

10 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $379 million 

Year(s): 2023-ongoing

11 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $389 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $564 million

Year(s): 2005-2006

12 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $390 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $466 million

Year(s): 2017-2019

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Actual tour gross: $397 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $454 million

Year(s): 2018-2019

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Actual tour gross: $411 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $560 million

15 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $493 million 

Year(s): 2022-ongoing

16 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $430 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $492 million

Year(s): 2016-2019

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Actual tour gross: $441 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $593 million

Year(s): 2008-2010

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Actual tour gross: $459 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $576 million

Year(s): 2010-2013

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Actual tour gross: $523 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $624 million

Year(s): 2016-2017

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Actual tour gross: $546 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $590 million

Year(s): 2017-2021

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Actual tour gross: $558 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $787 million

Year(s): 2005-2007

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Actual tour gross: $579 million

Year(s): 2023

23 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $584 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $668 million

24 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $617 million 

Year(s): 2021-2023

25 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $735 million

26 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $736 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $958 million

Year(s): 2009-2011

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Actual tour gross: $776 million 

Tour gross adjusted for inflation: $888 million

28 / 31 Fotos

Actual tour gross: $939 million

Year(s): 2018-2023

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Actual tour gross: $1.04 billion 

Year(s): 2023-ongoing 

Sources: (Billboard) (Stacker)

See also: Concerts that ended in tragedy

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Getty Images

The highest-grossing concert tours of all time

Did you go to any of these concerts.

28/03/24 | StarsInsider

D ue to streaming services and the preferences for singles, album sales are down overall. But one thing remains clear: fans are still willing to pay to see their favorite artists in person. Touring has also become even more important to musicians in the streaming era, as many musicians earn more from ticket sales than from record sales. On top of that, ticket prices have gone up, which means that many of the highest-grossing tours of all time have taken place in the past decade or two.

From Taylor Swift to the Rolling Stones and Beyoncé, click on for the highest-grossing music tours of all time.

All amounts in USD.

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28 of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time.

In the time of digital streaming services, live performances have become an increasingly lucrative space for musicians — especially as ticket prices continue to rise. But even before concert tickets went for hundreds of dollars a pop, some of the most popular groups and solo acts raked in multimillions with their world tours.

Find Out: The Richest Celebrity From Every State

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concert venues have largely been closed for more than a year. No doubt, fans will be more hyped than ever for the return of live music, when it’s finally safe to gather in crowds again.

Take a look at the bands that have had multiple high-grossing tours — and which solo singer was the highest grossing of them all .

Last updated: March 23, 2021

David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour: $86 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $198 million Although David Bowie’s Glass Spider Tour was poorly received at the time — it spanned from May to November in 1987 — it was one of the highest-grossing tours when adjusted to today’s dollars. The centerpiece of the tour set was a giant spider that required 43 trucks to transport it between stops, IQ reported. Learn More: Betty White, Cher and 48 More of the Richest Stars Over 70

Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow Tour: $126.8 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $160 million Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveShow Tour grossed $126.8 million and was attended by more than 1.6 million people worldwide, Billboard reported. The tour kicked off in January 2007 in San Diego and featured Pink — who had a high-grossing tour of her own — as a special guest. Check Out: 15 Highest-Grossing Actors of All Time

Genesis' Turn It on Again World Tour: $129 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $162.7 million Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford reunited in June 2007 to tour around the world as Genesis. The Turn It on Again Tour grossed in excess of $129 million over 46 performances, Ultimate Classic Rock reported. The group announced on March 4 that they would be reuniting again for a 2020 tour. Ouch: Critically Acclaimed Movies That Bombed at the Box Office

Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love Tour: $133 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $208.8 million Celine Dion’s Let’s Talk About Love Tour took the Canadian crooner to 11 different countries across 97 shows and grossed $133 million, according to CelineDionCharts.com. The tour kicked off in Boston in August 1998 to promote Dion’s album of the same name. The 1997 album featured the immensely popular hit single “My Heart Will Go On.” They Took Their Time: Samuel L. Jackson and 34 Other Celebrities Who Got Rich and Famous Later in Life

Bon Jovi's Lost Highway Tour: $210 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $255.1 million Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2008, Reuters reported. The world tour started in October 2007 with 10 sold-out shows in the band’s home state of New Jersey and continued into 2008 with stops in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Holland and Austria, according to an AEG Live press release.

The Eagles' Hell Freezes Over Tour: $253 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $434.3 million After performing together in 1980 in what they assumed would be their last show, The Eagles’ Don Henley said that the band would perform together again “when hell freezes over.” Fourteen years later, the band reunited and in a nod to Henley’s comment, recorded the live album “Hell Freezes Over” and embarked on a corresponding tour, originally planned as a six-week trek, Pollstar reported. The tour ended up lasting for two years — from July 2013 to 2015 — and grossed $253 million, with over 2 million tickets sold across 147 shows.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's On the Run II Tour: $253.5 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $264.1 million Hip-hop power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z kicked off their joint On the Run II Tour in June 2018 in Cardiff, Wales, and performed a total of 48 stadium dates; the tour ended in October 2018 in Seattle. By the end of the tour, it had grossed $253.5 million, Billboard reported.

One Direction's Where We Are Tour: $282.2 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $311.8 million One Direction’s Where We Are Tour became the first tour to break the $200 million ticket sales barrier in 2014, Billboard reported. It went on to be the highest-grossing tour of the year with a gross of $282.2 million, which was 6 1/2 times more than what One Direction’s previous year tour had grossed, the New York Post reported. The tour kicked off in April 2014, and the band was joined by 5 Seconds of Summer during the North American dates.

The Rolling Stones' Voodoo Lounge Tour: $300 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $514.9 million When the Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge Tour wrapped, it was the most successful in North American history, Rolling Stone reported. The tour — which started in August 1994 in support of the band’s album of the same name — included 117 dates on six continents, and it grossed $300 million from a combination of ticket sales, T-shirts and television rights. Find Out: 15 Famous People Who Came Out of Retirement and Made a Fortune

The Rolling Stones' Licks Tour: $311 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $442.1 million The Rolling Stones topped their own concert gross record with their 2002-2003 Licks Tour, which grossed $311 million, according to Billboard. The tour kicked off in September 2002 and boasted an impressive roster of supporting acts that included No Doubt, The Strokes, Jonny Lang, Sheryl Crow and The Pretenders.

U2's Joshua Tree Tour (2017): $316 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $337.2 million U2 embarked on the Joshua Tree Tour in 2017 in honor of the 30th anniversary of their No. 1 album of the same name. The tour included 50 shows in over a dozen countries, kicking off in May 2017 and wrapping up in October 2017. The tour sold more than 2.7 million tickets and grossed $316 million, Billboard reported.

Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour: $345.7 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $360.1 million Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour broke records when it became the highest-grossing U.S. tour of all time in November 2018, with a gross of $266.1 million and over 2 million tickets sold domestically, Billboard reported. The tour — which spanned from May to November 2018 — grossed $345.7 million in total.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's Wrecking Ball Tour: $355.6 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $399.3 million Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s Wrecking Ball World Tour reached fans in more countries than any previous Springsteen tour, Shore Fire Media reported. It started in March 2012 in New York City and included 133 shows in 26 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Australia. The tour ended in September 2013 in Brazil.

The Police's Reunion Tour: $362 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $439.8 million The Police reunited for a 2007-2008 tour that spanned 151 shows and earned the band a $362 million gross, Rolling Stone reported. Their May 28, 2007, performance in Vancouver, Canada, was the first time they played together in 23 years, NME reported — and their final show in New York in August 2008 marked the last time The Police ever played together.

Garth Brooks' Garth Brooks World Tour With Trisha Yearwood: $364 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $388.4 million Garth Brooks had been semi-retired for 14 years when he launched his world tour with his wife and fellow country superstar Trisha Yearwood in 2014. He opened his tour in Chicago in June of that year, and it stretched into 2017, with 390 shows played and 6.4 million tickets sold, USA Today reported.

Bruno Mars' 24K Magic Tour: $367 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $382.3 million In support of his 2016 Grammy-winning album “24K Magic,” Bruno Mars embarked on a 200-date world tour that started in March 2017 and ended in November 2018. The tour grossed more than $367 million, Pollstar reported.

U2's Vertigo Tour: $389 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $504.7 million U2 embarked on the Vertigo Tour in March 2005 with a U.S. leg. Throughout the year, the band toured in Europe and North America and wrapped the tour with a fourth leg in 2006 that took them around the world. This is one of three U2 tours that have the distinction of being one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. Some Tried To Sing: 24 Celebrities Who Tried and Failed To Start New Careers

Pink's Beautiful Trauma World Tour: $397.3 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $406.5 million Pink’s March 2018 to November 2019 tour made history as the highest-grossing tour for a woman in over a decade, Billboard reported.

Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour: $408 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $497.5 million Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour spanned three continents and ran from August 2008 to September 2009. At the time the show wrapped, it was the top-grossing tour by a solo artist of all time, Billboard reported.

The Rolling Stones' No Filter Tour: $415.6 Million (So Far) Gross adjusted for inflation: $425.2 million The Rolling Stones kicked off their No Filter Tour in September 2017 in Europe. The second leg of the tour, which took place in the summer of 2018, included dates throughout the U.K., Ireland and Europe. The third leg of the tour took the legendary rock band throughout North America during the summer of 2019. By the end of this leg, the band had grossed $415.6 million, Billboard reported. But the tour isn’t over, so millions more will most certainly roll in. The fourth leg of the tour — which will take place in North America — was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Metallica's WorldWired Tour: $430 MIllion (So Far) Gross adjusted for inflation: $440 million Metallica kicked off its WorldWired Tour in October 2016 in support of their album “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.” The tour was slated to continue into 2020, but came to a halt due to COVID-19, as the band was forced to cancel or reschedule all performances. The tour had grossed $430 million as of September 2019, Consequence of Sound reported.

AC/DC's Black Ice Tour: $441 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $529 million AC/DC’s Black Ice World Tour followed the band’s album of the same name and was the group’s biggest tour ever with 169 dates and over 5 million attendees, AC-DC.net reported. The tour kicked off in October 2008 in the U.S. and ended in June 2010 in Spain.

Roger Waters' The Wall Live Tour: $460 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $516.5 million Pink Floyd fans flocked in droves to Roger Waters’ The Wall Live Tour, which ran from September 2010 to September 2013. The tour marked the first time the 1979 album of the same name had been performed live in its entirety by the band or any of its former members in two decades, Pollstar reported. The Wall Live Tour grossed $460 million across 220 performances, with 4.1 million tickets sold.

Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams Tour: $523 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $558.1 million Shortly after Coldplay performed at the Super Bowl 50 Halftime show, the band kicked off their A Head Full of Dreams Tour in March 2016. The tour, which wrapped in November 2017, included 114 shows in 76 cities and 31 countries. At the time the tour ended, it was the third-highest-grossing global tour of all time with $523 million in ticket sales, Live Nation reported.

The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour: $558 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $704 million It remains to be seen if The Stones’ No Filter Tour can beat the band’s high-grossing A Bigger Bang World Tour, which kicked off in August 2005 and ended two years later. Mick Jagger and the rest of the band held the distinction of having the highest-grossing tour of all time until U2 took over that title in 2011.

Guns N' Roses' Not in This Lifetime... Tour: $584.2 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $597.7 million Guns N’ Roses’ Not in This Lifetime… Tour lasted over three years and included 158 concert dates across six continents. It grossed $584.2 million with nearly 5.4 million tickets sold, Billboard reported. The tour — which kicked off in April 2016 and was extended through November 2019 — featured a reunion of classic-era members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.

U2's U2 360 Degrees Tour: $736.4 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $856.4 million U2’s U2 360 Degrees Tour had three legs that spanned from June 2009 to July 2011. Guests on the epic tour included Lenny Kravitz, Muse and Arcade Fire. When the tour wrapped, it had broken records to become the highest-grossing tour of all time — and held that title until it was dethroned in 2019. However, when adjusted for inflation, it still holds the top title.

Ed Sheeran's Divide Tour: $775.6 Million Gross adjusted for inflation: $793.6 million Ed Sheeran holds the record for the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. His Divide Tour started in March 2017 and ended in August 2019, and took him around the world, with 246 shows across Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and South America. The concert sold over 8.5 million tickets, Billboard reported. More From GOBankingRates Do You Support a Biden Tax Increase? Take Our Poll 20 Home Renovations That Will Hurt Your Home’s Value What Income Level Is Considered Middle Class in Your State? 20 Ways to Pay Less at Costco Laura Woods contributed to the reporting for this article.All data was calculated using the last year of each tour, for those still ongoing, GOBankingRates calculated figures from 2019. All inflation data was calculated using a CPI inflation calculator. All data was collected and is up to date as of March 8, 2021.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : 28 of the Highest-Grossing Concert Tours of All Time

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Travis scott’s ‘circus maximus’ world tour gunning for second-highest grossing rap tour ever.

He would then be joining the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent.

By Amber Corrine

Amber Corrine

Staff Writer, News

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Travis $cott embarked on his North American Circus Maximus tour last year and is headed to Europe soon for its second leg. The run is reportedly on pace to be one of the most successful treks of all time in the rap world.

Half-way through, the Houston rapper is already on track to have the second-highest grossing rap tour ever. He would then be in the league of Drake’s “Aubrey & The Three Migos” and “It’s All A Blur” tours, Kendrick Lamar’s  “The Big Steppers” tour , and 50 Cent’s “Final Lap” tour.

. @trvisXX 's "Circus Maximus" now aiming for $130-140 million from over 1.1 million tickets in 61 shows, following additional dates in Europe. It will mark the second highest-grossing tour by a Rapper in history. Event Date; City; Venue 06/28 – Arnhem @ Gelredome 06/30 – Arnhem… — Touring Data (@touringdata) May 15, 2024

50 Cent’s Final Lap Tour Becomes Fourth-Ever Hip-Hop Tour To Surpass $100M In…

The Circus Maximus tour is $cott’s first show run following Astroworld, where many attendees died and were injured, resulting in major lawsuits.

The tragic festival took place on Nov. 5, 2021, at NRG Park in Houston, where a crowd surge killed eight people on site, and two more who later died in the hospital. According to  Variety,  “More than 4,000 attendees filed hundreds of lawsuits following the event, with 2,400 injury cases to come.”

$cott and his defendants recently settled nine out of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits, but he still faces one pending suit regarding the death of the youngest victim, Ezra Blount.

ABC 7  reported that the terms of the settlements were “confidential and attorneys declined to comment after the court hearing because of a gag order in the case.”

Following the tragic Astroworld Fest, $cott’s team claimed his innocence and the 34-year-old issued the following statement on X:

pic.twitter.com/ijXKslw7E2 — TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021

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How Milwaukee Brewers' American Family Field became one of country's top concert stadiums

In 2023, American Family Field had its biggest year ever for concerts — and it was one of the top-grossing stadiums for concerts in the world.

It may be the new normal.

After hosting four concerts last year — including the first two-night stadium run ever in Milwaukee, with Morgan Wallen, and shows with George Strait and Pink that both broke attendance records — American Family Field is ready to host four more in 2024.

The first two are April 12 and 13, the stadium tour kickoff for country superstar Luke Combs. Kenny Chesney returns in June, this time with Zac Brown Band ; and Green Day is coming in August with the Smashing Pumpkins.

Going forward, depending on routing and the teams' schedule, the Brewers could book four to six major tours a year, predicted Jason Hartlund, who oversees concerts at the stadium as executive vice president — chief commercial officer for the Brewers.

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“We’ve really bent over backwards for artists and production teams to be as hospitable and as easy a process (to stage a concert) as possible,” Hartlund said. “That reputation is starting to get out into the marketplace. It’s helped us.”

Last year, it helped 43,000-seat American Family Field become the 19th top-grossing stadium for concerts in the United States, and 35th in the world, according to concert trade magazine Pollstar, ranking prominently among football stadiums with larger seating capacities. The stadium sold 178,107 concert tickets, collectively grossing $35.4 million.

It's a remarkable development for a 23-year-old stadium in a market Milwaukee's size, especially since there are two stadiums in must-play Chicago — the Cubs' Wrigley Field and the Bears' home field (for now), Soldier Field — that routinely draw Milwaukee fans for shows.

But between the growth of the stadium tour sector of the concert industry — and the $500 million stadium funding bill signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers last December — American Family Field's future as a live music destination is promising.

"Philosophically, when we enter into an agreement with a sports team or stadium, we want to know that they want to be good partners," said Charlie Goldstone, co-president of Live Nation-backed Madison promoter FPC Live, which handled the Pink and Wallen concerts last year and is promoting Green Day's this year.

"It's more than just financial. Will they help promote the shows? Will the team be amenable to uses of the field and the locker rooms? When an artist gets there will they feel welcome? … With the Brewers, the answer is always yes."

More: These are all of the arena, amphitheater and stadium concerts in Milwaukee in 2024

More: Luke Combs at American Family Field: Everything to know for Milwaukee stadium tour kickoff

Years with few concerts at the Milwaukee Brewers' ballpark

For much of the stadium's existence, a big concert each year wasn't a guarantee. After it opened in 2001, Miller Park (renamed American Family Field in 2021) nabbed a few tours its first few years, including Strait, *NSYNC and Bruce Springsteen.

But after 2003, the stadium went a decade without hosting tours, although there were some special events, including Farm Aid in 2010, and birthday bashes for Harley-Davidson and Miller Brewing.

Then in 2013, Kenny Chesney headlined a stadium tour stop at Miller Park for the first time, the beginning of what's become a fruitful relationship with one of the stadium's most reliable promoters, the Messina Touring Group.

In addition to Chesney's headlining shows at the Brewers ballpark in 2016, 2018, 2022 and now this year, Messina brought Ed Sheeran to the stadium in 2018. The promoter also was responsible for Eric Church's second stadium-headlining show ever in 2022, and for the Strait show last year — one of only eight dates the country legend did in 2023 with Chris Stapleton.

In an interview with the Journal Sentinel last year, Louis Messina, head of AEG-backed Messina Touring Group, said doing shows at the stadium was "comfortable" and that the venue itself was "fan-friendly."

"Some stadiums, it's like pulling teeth to do a show there. In Milwaukee, it's not like that," Messina said. "From the top with management all the way down to the groundskeepers, they work with us and make it easy for us to produce shows."

"We're not just another tenant in the building. … That's really important, not only to me and the artists but to my team, box office people, production people — everybody."

After Chesney broke the tour drought, Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter, put Paul McCartney and One Direction shows in the stadium, in 2013 and 2015.

A gamechanger for Wisconsin concerts in 2018

Then in 2018, Live Nation became a majority stakeholder of long-running Madison promoter Frank Productions, parent to FPC Live — and the Brewers took notice.

"The ballpark said they wanted to be in business, and it opened up a new level of shows that were not coming to the state," FPC Live co-president Scott Leslie said. By that time, touring was a rapidly growing business at other ballparks, Leslie noted, including Wrigley Field and Fenway Park in Boston.

"The Brewers saw that this was being done successfully among their peers, so why not them?" Leslie said.

FPC Live brought the only Billy Joel Midwestern concert of 2019 to American Family Field, and a Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett package to the ballpark in 2022. Aside from when the pandemic derailed the touring industry for most of 2020 and much of 2021, the ballpark has hosted at least one stadium tour every year since 2018, and nearly all of them have been at capacity.

"Success breeds success," Hartlund said. "Where artists may have been hesitant to come to the Milwaukee market in the past, we have a catalog of success that tours can play Chicago and Milwaukee. … And because we have had success with shows in the past people are getting more comfortable moving off weekends."

Last year's Pink show at American Family Field, for instance, was on a Monday — and it stopped at Wrigley Field the prior Saturday. But the Milwaukee date was still a smash, with Pink breaking an attendance record at the stadium, performing for 46,644 people.

Leslie suggests that Pink's past success in the market — her Fiserv Forum show in 2019 was the top-grossing concert at the arena that year — likely gave her team more confidence to book a show in the city's biggest venue.

"With Fiserv Forum, there's a brand-new arena with a high volume of really amazing shows that let the market open up in a bigger way," FPC Live's Goldstone said.

The $524 million Milwaukee Bucks arena opened in 2018, bringing more shows nearly every year than the Bradley Center ever did during a single year. And the American Family Insurance Amphitheater at Maier Festival Park has seen a surge of shows, too, following a $51.3 million renovation, reaching its highest volume since 2004. And even though the amphitheater has nabbed some tour dates routed through other stadiums, Hartlund suggests their booking ability has benefited.

"The rising tide lifts all ships," Hartlund said. "Having a new arena is great for the city, having a revamped American Family Insurance Amphitheater at Summerfest is fantastic. The more shows we put in here, the better."

Stadium concert tours are surging around the world

Hartlund says the Brewers have been more aggressive about concert bookings coming out of the pandemic, driven not just by a desire to grow non-baseball revenue, but a growing comfort that field conditions won't be affected by more events.

And there are significantly more events at stadiums around the globe, which the Brewers are also benefiting from. Grosses from the world’s top 100 stadiums for concerts were up 35% in 2023 to $3.62 billion, according to Pollstar. The number of tickets sold for those tours also increased 22.2% to 29.1 million.

Since touring resumed after the pandemic, Dave Brooks, senior director of live and touring for Billboard, estimates that at least an artist or two in different genres, including country, pop and Latin music, have been able to rise up to the stadium level every year, while some artists have experimented with packages to help fill stadium seats, like Chesney is doing with Zac Brown Band and Green Day with the Pumpkins.

"The financial incentives are obvious," Brooks said. "You can get a much larger audience for the fraction of the price it costs you to do multiple arena shows. The costs are somewhat higher for a stadium concert than an arena show, but the increase in attendance is like double depending on how big the stadium is, and you can make almost double the money."

Promoters also like the "huge consumer marketing databases" that MLB and NFL teams have from selling tickets to their games to help them sell shows, Brooks continued, and fans have shown with their wallets that they don't mind the stadium concert experience.

"The use of video boards and technology makes the concert feel more intimate," Brooks said of more recent stadium tours.

New stadium developments could lead to more concerts

Hartlund is hopeful that the Brewers' new centerfield scoreboard — one of the largest in Major League Baseball — will appeal to some promoters. As of the Journal Sentinel interview, he was unsure if any tours would use the scoreboard this year, but Strait and Stapleton did last year.

And while the team's new QR code-based parking payment system was temporarily suspended due to technical issues for opening day — and will not be in operation for the Combs shows — Hartlund said that, when it's up and running, it will cut down on backups into the ballpark. Traffic into the park has triggered some backlash in the past, most notably for Sheeran's show in 2018, prompting the team to issue an apology.

And then there's the $500 million public-funding plan for the ballpark to support long-term renovations and improvements, which will include "winterizing" the venue so it could operate beyond its typical April-to-October timeframe.

The stadium's retractable roof has already been an asset — Hartlund suggests it was a key reason why Combs opted to kick off the tour there this year — but following renovations, American Family Field theoretically could host concerts in March or November.

And yes, some stadium tours have been routed through the Midwest in November; Stapleton and Strait played the indoor U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis in November 2021, and Joel played the NFL stadium with Stevie Nicks last November.

"Promoters are aware of the plan for that to take place," Hartlund said, although a definitive timeline has yet to be set. "It's all about the comfort levels for the artist and the fans. If the building is winterized and heated to appropriate levels, it's no different from an arena show in November or March."

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or  [email protected] . Follow him on X at  @pietlevy  or Facebook at  facebook.com/PietLevyMJS .

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