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The following is a list of concert tours that have generated the most gross income, largely from ticket sales. The rankings are based largely on reports by trade publications Billboard and Pollstar. Billboard, which launched the boxscore ranking in 1975 through its spin-off magazine Amusement Business, has featured the ranking in its own magazine since the issue date of October 3, 1981.[1] Pollstar began reporting box office data on November 29, 1981,[2] but it has relatively little data about tours before 2000.[3]
Michael Jackson's Bad tour and Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, which both ran from 1987 to 1989, were the first tours to have reportedly surpassed $100 million in revenue. As record sales collapsed in the early 21st century, musicians began relying on live music shows for their income, causing the touring industry to skyrocket.[4] In 2023, Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour became the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue.[A] The tour reportedly grossed $1.039 billion from 60 shows in one calendar year, surpassing Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road which earned $939.1 million from 330 shows from 2018 to 2023.
While the touring industry is largely dominated by bands and male soloists of rock music,[7] some of the highest-grossing tours have featured pop stars such as Swift, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles, Beyoncé, Pink, and Madonna, as well as country singer Garth Brooks.
The Rolling Stones set the all-time tour-revenue record three times (1990, 1995, and 2006); their Voodoo Lounge Tour held the record for 11 years (1995–2006), longer than any other record-holder. They are the only act to have the highest-grossing tour of the decade twice, in the 1990s and the 2000s. U2 has mounted the highest-grossing tour of the year at least eight times, more than any other act.
Highest-grossing tours
| † | Indicates ongoing tour |
| * | Indicates tour dates are split between two different calendar decades |
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Ed Sheeran on the ÷ Tour
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| Rank | Peak | Actual gross | Adjusted gross (in 2023 dollars) |
Artist | Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | $1,039,263,762 | $1,039,263,762 | Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour † | 2023–2024 | 60 | $17,321,063 | [A] |
| 2 | 1 | $939,100,000 | $939,100,000 | Elton John | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | 2018–2023 | 330 | $2,845,758 | [8] |
| 3 | 3 | $810,966,041 | $810,966,041 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour † | 2022–2024 | 132 | $6,143,682 | [9] |
| 4 | 1 | $776,200,000 | $925,014,604 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ Tour | 2017–2019 | 255 | $3,043,922 | [10] |
| 5 | 1 | $736,421,586 | $997,437,284 | U2 | U2 360° Tour | 2009–2011 | 110 | $6,694,742 | [11] |
| 6 | 4 | $617,325,000 | $617,325,000 | Harry Styles | Love On Tour | 2021–2023 | 169 | $3,652,811 | [12] |
| 7 | 3 | $584,200,000 | $696,203,983 | Guns N' Roses | Not in This Lifetime... Tour | 2016–2019 | 158 | $3,697,468 | [13] |
| 8 | 7 | $579,879,268 | $579,879,268 | Beyoncé | Renaissance World Tour | 2023 | 56 | $10,353,571 | [14] |
| 9 | 1 | $558,255,524 | $820,315,772 | The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang Tour | 2005–2007 | 144 | $3,876,774 | [15] |
| 10 | 5 | $546,500,000 | $614,485,325 | The Rolling Stones | No Filter Tour | 2017–2021 | 58 | $9,422,414 | [16] |
| 11 | 11 | $556,400,000 | $556,400,000 | Ed Sheeran | +–=÷× Tour † | 2022–2024 | 94 | $5,919,149 | [17] |
| 12 | 3 | $523,033,675 | $650,135,260 | Coldplay | A Head Full of Dreams Tour | 2016–2017 | 114 | $4,588,015 | [18] |
| 13 | 3 | $459,000,000 | $600,372,000 | Roger Waters | The Wall Live | 2010–2013 | 219 | $2,094,401 | [19] |
| 14 | 3 | $441,900,000 | $617,432,687 | AC/DC | Black Ice World Tour | 2008–2010 | 165 | $2,678,182 | [20] |
| 15 | 8 | $430,000,000 | $512,440,453 | Metallica | WorldWired Tour | 2016–2019 | 143 | $3,006,993 | [21] |
| 16 | 2 | $411,000,000 | $583,700,326 | Madonna | Sticky & Sweet Tour | 2008–2009 | 85 | $4,835,294 | [3] |
| 17 | 10 | $397,300,000 | $473,471,144 | Pink | Beautiful Trauma World Tour | 2018–2019 | 156 | $2,546,795 | [22] |
| 18 | 12 | $390,778,581 | $485,741,065 | U2 | The Joshua Tree Tours 2017 & 2019 | 2017, 2019 | 66 | $5,920,888 | [23] |
| 19 | 1 | $389,000,000 | $587,930,670 | U2 | Vertigo Tour | 2005–2006 | 131 | $2,969,466 | [24] |
| 20 | 20 | $379,496,085 | $379,496,085 | Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band | 2023 Tour † | 2023–2024 | 66 | $5,749,941 | [5] |
Timeline of the highest-grossing tour
| Established | Artist | Tour title | Record-setting gross | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Jacksons | Victory Tour | $75,000,000 | [25] |
| 1985 | Bruce Springsteen · E Street Band | Born in the U.S.A. Tour | $90,000,000 | [26] |
| 1989 | Michael Jackson | Bad | $125,000,000 | [27] |
| Pink Floyd | A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour | $135,000,000 | [28] | |
| 1990 | The Rolling Stones | Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour | $175,000,000 | [29] |
| 1994 | Pink Floyd | The Division Bell Tour | $250,000,000 | [30] |
| 1995 | The Rolling Stones | Voodoo Lounge Tour | $320,000,000 | [31] |
| 2006 | U2 | Vertigo Tour | $333,000,000 | [32] |
| The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang Tour | $437,000,000 | [33] | |
| 2007 | $558,255,524 | [15] | ||
| 2011 | U2 | U2 360° Tour | $736,421,586 | [11] |
| 2019 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ Tour | $776,200,000 | [10] |
| 2023 | Elton John | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | $939,100,000 | [8] |
| Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | $1,039,263,762 | [A] |
Highest-grossing tours by decade
1980s
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Michael Jackson on the Bad world tour -
David Bowie on the Glass Spider Tour
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