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

The highest-grossing live music artists (also known as "highest-grossing touring artists") [a] are reported by Billboard and Pollstar boxscores. The cumulative figures may be incomplete because not all concert dates are reported by those publications. For simplification, the figures are presented in 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. ^ The figures are not limited from touring and may include standalone concerts or 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. ^ Majority of Celine Dion's figure came from her Las Vegas 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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