List of highest-grossing live music artists

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The Rolling Stones are the highest-grossing live music act of all time.

The highest-grossing

nominal dollars without being adjusted for inflation
, hence they do not reflect the real value of revenue from older concerts.

The Rolling Stones are the highest-grossing live music act of all time, collecting over $2.5 billion according to Billboard Boxscore. The band is followed by U2 and Elton John, who both also passed two-billion mark in concert revenue. The concert industry is very male-dominated,[1] and only four women have grossed more than $1 billion (as of 2024), with Madonna being the first.[2] According to Pollstar, Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing woman with over $1.96 billion.

All-time ranking

Elton John is the highest-grossing solo live music artist of all time.
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing female live music artist of all time.

Pollstar

Artists with concert revenue of over US$1 billion according to Pollstar
Rank Artists Nationality Nominal gross Tickets sold As of Ref.
1 The Rolling Stones United Kingdom $2.16 billion 22.13 million 2022 [3]
2 U2 Ireland $2.12 billion 26.17 million 2022 [3]
3 Elton John United Kingdom $2 billion 22 million 2023 [4]
4 Taylor Swift United States $1.96 billion 13.91 million 2023 [3][5]
5 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band United States $1.91 billion 24.31 million 2023 [3][5]
6 Coldplay United Kingdom $1.77 billion 19.36 million 2024 [6]
7 Beyoncé United States $1.59 billion 12.12 million 2023 [3][5]
8 Ed Sheeran United Kingdom $1.44 billion 16.93 million 2023 [b]
9 Madonna United States $1.38 billion 11.67 million 2022 [3]
10 Celine Dion Canada $1.35 billion 10.90 million 2022 [3]
11 Bon Jovi United States $1.32 billion 17.75 million 2022 [3]
12 Eagles United States $1.31 billion 10.99 million 2022 [3]
13 Metallica United States $1.21 billion 19.46 million 2022 [3]
14 Paul McCartney United Kingdom $1.19 billion 10.45 million 2022 [3]
15 Billy Joel United States $1.18 billion 16.97 million 2022 [3]
16 Kenny Chesney United States $1.11 billion 16.41 million 2022 [3]
17 Dave Matthews Band United States $1.08 billion 23.27 million 2022 [3]

Billboard

Artists with concert revenue of over US$1 billion according to Billboard
Rank Artists Nationality Nominal gross Tickets sold As of Ref.
1 The Rolling Stones United Kingdom $2.6 billion 28 million 2022 [9]
2 U2 Ireland $2.22 billion 28.3 million 2021 [10]
3 Elton John United Kingdom $1.98 billion 20.6 million 2023 [11]
4 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band United States $1.489 billion — 2017 [c]
5 Madonna United States $1.45 billion 12.13 million 2023 [14]
6 Beyoncé United States $1.3 billion 11.6 million 2023 [15]
7 Ed Sheeran United Kingdom $1.27 billion — 2023 [d]
8 Kenny Chesney United States $1.172 billion 17.9 million 2023 [18]
9 Celine Dion Canada $1.115 billion 8.8 million 2019 [e]
10 Bon Jovi United States $1.03 billion — 2016 [20]
11 Coldplay United Kingdom $1.017 billion 12 million 2022 [21]
12 Eagles United States $1 billion — 2022 [21]
13 Paul McCartney United Kingdom $1 billion — 2022 [22]

Decade ranking

U2 is the highest-grossing live music act of the 2010s and the second highest of the 2000s.
Madonna is the highest-grossing solo live music artist of the 2000s.
Bruce Springsteen is the highest-grossing male solo live music artist of the 2000s.
Ed Sheeran is the highest-grossing solo live music artist of the 2010s.

2000s

Top 10 highest-grossing live music artists globally of the 2000s (Billboard)[23]
Rank Artists Nationality Nominal gross Tickets sold
1 The Rolling Stones United Kingdom $869,471,325 8,236,586
2 U2 Ireland $844,157,925 9,869,953
3 Madonna United States $801,299,671 6,387,124
4 Bruce Springsteen United States $688,136,476 8,605,238
5 Elton John United Kingdom $603,804,670 5,789,833
6 Celine Dion Canada $536,593,262 4,099,963
7 Dave Matthews Band United States $505,447,901 11,230,696
8 Kenny Chesney United States $477,931,760 9,210,288
9 Bon Jovi United States $419,481,741 5,384,747
10 Billy Joel United States $418,421,266 4,141,287
Top 10 highest-grossing live music artists in North America of the 2000s (Pollstar)[24]
Rank Artists Nationality Nominal gross Tickets sold
1 Dave Matthews Band United States $529.1 million 11.6 million
2 Celine Dion Canada $522.2 million 4 million
3 Kenny Chesney United States $455.6 million 8.6 million
4 Bruce Springsteen United States $444.3 million 5.7 million
5 The Rolling Stones United Kingdom $426.9 million 3.2 million
6 U2 Ireland $391 million 4.4 million
7 Madonna United States $325.3 million 2.1 million
8 Eagles United States $313.4 million 2.8 million
9 Elton John United Kingdom $286.4 million 2.5 million
10 Jimmy Buffett United States $285.8 million 4.5 million

2010s

Top 10 highest-grossing live music artists of the 2010s (Billboard)[16]
Rank Artists Nationality Nominal gross
1 U2 Ireland $1.018 billion
2 Taylor Swift United States $910.2 million
3 The Rolling Stones United Kingdom $907.6 million
4 Ed Sheeran United Kingdom $848.3 million
5 Coldplay United Kingdom Unrevealed
6 Bruce Springsteen United States Unrevealed
7 Beyoncé United States Unrevealed
8 Bon Jovi United States Unrevealed
9 Paul McCartney United Kingdom Unrevealed
10 Roger Waters United Kingdom Unrevealed
Top 10 highest-grossing live music artists of the 2010s (Pollstar)[25]
Rank Artists Nationality Nominal gross
1 U2 Ireland $1,038,104,132
2 The Rolling Stones United Kingdom $929,196,083
3 Ed Sheeran United Kingdom $922,361,663
4 Taylor Swift United States $899,627,048
5 Bon Jovi United States $868,715,392
6 Beyoncé United States $857,405,819
7 Paul McCartney United Kingdom $813,811,559
8 Coldplay United Kingdom $731,805,591
9 Bruce Springsteen United States $729,789,815
10 Roger Waters United Kingdom $702,231,419

See also

Notes

  1. concert residencies
    .
  2. ^ Ed Sheeran grossed $922,361,663 as of 2019 according to Pollstar.[7] He expanded the number with $251,000,000 in 2022 and $268,017,633 in 2023.[8][5]
  3. ^ Bruce Springsteen grossed $1,196,116,507 as of May 2014, according to Billboard.[12] He expanded the number with $255,364,196 in 2016 and $37,972,463 in 2017.[13]
  4. ^ Ed Sheeran grossed $848.3 million as of 2019 according to Billboard.[16] He expanded the number with $417.67 million in 2022 and 2023.[17]
  5. concert residencies. She remains the highest-grossing residency artist of all time, with a total of $681 million as of 2019, according to Billboard.[19]

References

  1. ^ Mims, Taylor (November 7, 2019). "Female Executives Discuss Navigating a Male Dominated Industry at Billboard Live Music Summit". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  2. ^ Terry, Josh (May 27, 2014). "These Five Artists Have Made Over a Billion Dollars Touring". Consequence. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Top Touring Artist of the Pollstar Era" (PDF). Pollstar. June 10, 2022. pp. 1–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Speer, Debbie (July 10, 2023). "Elton John's Sun Goes Down on UK's Yellow Brick Road With Epic Glasto Finale". Pollstar. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Gensler, Andy (December 8, 2023). "Taylor Swift Sets All-Time Touring Record With $1 Billion Gross". Pollstar. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  6. ^ $965.3 million from 11.7 million tickets: $810.9 million from 7.66 million tickets:
  7. ^ "No. 3 – Ed Sheeran". Pollstar. November 21, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  8. ^ Gensler, Andy (December 12, 2022). "2022 Year-End Biz Analysis: Record-Setting Year Marked By Bad Bunny, Ed Sheeran & Stadiums". Pollstar. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (2022-09-08). "The Rolling Stones Celebrate 'SIXTY' Years With $120 Million Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  10. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (2021-04-13). "Boxscore Flashback: 10 Years Ago, U2 Set The All-Time Boxscore Record With The 360 Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  11. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (July 13, 2023). "Elton John's Farewell Tour Comes to an End With $939 Million and 6 Million Tickets". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  12. ^ Waddell, Ray (May 27, 2014). "Rolling Stones No. 1 on List of Top 25 Live Artists Since 1990". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  13. ^ "Top 25 Tours of 2016" (PDF). Billboard. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 8, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  14. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (January 20, 2023). "How Much Money Could Madonna's Celebration Tour Make?". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  15. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (October 13, 2023). "Here's How Beyoncé's $580M Renaissance World Tour Stacks Up in the Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Top Touring Artists". Billboard. 2019-10-31. Archived from the original on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  17. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (July 14, 2023). "Taylor, Beyoncé & Beyond: Who Could Challenge Elton John's Boxscore Record?". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  18. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (August 24, 2023). "Top-Grossing Country Artists of All Time, According to Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  19. ^ "Celine Dion Wraps Historic 16-Year Run in Las Vegas With Record-Breaking $681 Million in Ticket Sales". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  20. ^ Allen, Bob. "Madonna Extends Record as Highest-Grossing Solo Touring Artist | Billboard – Billboard". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  21. ^ a b Frankenberg, Eric. "Coldplay Hits $1 Billion in Career Touring Grosses – Billboard". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  22. ^ Frankenberg, Eric (2022-06-23). "Paul McCartney's Career Boxscore Total Soars Past $1 Billion". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  23. ^ "Top Touring Artists of the Decade". Billboard. 2009-12-11. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  24. ^ "Top Tours of the Decade: North America 2000-2009" (PDF). Pollstar. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  25. ^ "Top Touring Artists of the Decade". Pollstar. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
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