When you think of the highest-grossing tours of all time, it’s easy to think of some of the biggest names in the music industry. There’s nothing like going to a concert and hearing your favorite artist perform live. That’s why live music has always been and always will be one of the biggest parts of the music industry. Who has made the most money off of live music? Which tours are the highest-grossing tours of all time? While some names are quite obvious, others might surprise you.
Highest-Grossing Tour? Taylor Swift, Of Course
Taylor Swift is known for breaking records left and right, and honestly, it’s no surprise to see that her tour, The Eras Tour, is the highest-grossing tour EVER.
According to Music Business Worldwide, the Eras Tour brought in $2,077,618,725 in ticket sales. The tour took place over nearly two years with a total of 149 shows. That’s approximately $13.9 million in gross sales per show. A total of 10,168,008 people attended the tour, making the average ticket price approximately $209.
In true Taylor Swift fashion, she broke another record with the Eras Tour. The tour’s concert film became the highest-grossing concert film of all time, bringing in $261.6 million globally, according to Music Business Worldwide.
Coldplay
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour has been going on since March 2022. The band follows Taylor Swift as far as the highest-grossing tour ever. According to AXS TV, the tour has covered four continents with 156 shows, becoming the highest-grossing rock tour in history. It is also the second tour to ever gross over a billion dollars, right behind Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. To even be in the same bracket as the powerhouse that is Taylor Swift is a feat in itself. The band could possibly get even closer to her if they keep it up, as the tour is still ongoing.
Elton John
Elton John is one of the most legendary and iconic musicians who is still making an impact on music today. Despite saying goodbye to touring, his last tour, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, left its mark on the music industry as one of the highest-grossing tours ever.
IQ Magazine reported that the tour took home a gross revenue of $939.1 million, just shy of hitting that billion mark like Taylor Swift and Coldplay. The tour had a total of 330 shows and it took place from 2018 to 2023 over five continents, as Elton John made his rounds, saying goodbye to his legions of fans one last time before he stopped touring.
Ed Sheeran (Divide World Tour)
It really should come as no surprise that Ed Sheeran is on this list, as he’s one of the most successful solo artists. Ed Sheeran’s Divide World Tour, which took place from 2017 to 2019, took home a gross revenue of $775.6 million, according to Forbes. With 255 shows with 8.9 million tickets sold on six different continents, it’s no wonder that Ed has one of the highest-grossing tours ever. Forbes also states that he had the highest ticket sales for a single concert tour in both Australia and New Zealand at the time, and he also played one of the biggest shows in Iceland’s history when he visited the country.
U2
Up next is U2’s 360° world tour that took place from 2009 to 2011 with 11o shows. According to Billboard, the tour took home a gross of $736,137,344 with an attendance of over 7.2 million. In comparison to some of the other tours on this list, U2 had an advantage as they used something unheard of at the time: a 360-degree production. Because of this, Billboard reported that it increased the capacities of stadiums by as much as 25%.
Ed Sheeran (Mathematics World Tour)
Believe it or not, Ed Sheeran is on this list a second time. The singer is so popular when it comes to touring that he’s had not one, but two of the highest-grossing tours of all time. Unlike these other tours, the Mathematics World Tour kicked off in 2022, but it’s still ongoing with more dates lined up through the fall. According to TouringData, the tour has made approximately $649,529,567 so far, with that number expected to change with more dates ahead.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is yet another giant artist who has made an impact on the touring industry with his 2023-2025 world tour. According to Forbes, Springsteen’s tour grossed an approximate total of $630 million so far. As of right now, the tour is still ongoing, so there’s obviously a chance for Bruce and his band to add more to the tour’s revenue thus far, and add to his newly-appointed billionaire status,
Harry Styles
From 2021 to 2023 Harry Styles took the world by storm with his Love On Tour. The tour had 169 shows with an attendance of approximately 5 million people. It’s no surprise that Love On Tour is one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. According to Billboard, the tour took in approximately $617.3 million. We’re more than sure that once Harry gets back on tour he’ll be trying to break his own record.
Pink
Pink’s Summer Carnival tour is yet another tour that took home a lot of money. Pink is an incredible performer — not only does she have an amazing voice and songs that everyone knows and loves, but she performs flying through the air, doing tricks and flips all while sounding flawless. It’s no wonder that the Summer Carnival tour took home approximately $584,723,498, according to TouringData. There were a total of 94 shows with over 4.3 million tickets sold.
Guns N’ Roses
Rounding out the top ten highest-grossing tours ever is the Not in This Lifetime tour. This tour was a long one, as it kicked off starting in 2016, and running through 2019. According to Loudwire, the tour grossed $584.2 million and sold over 5.3 million tickets. The tour went across six continents, and was a massive tour for the band. At the time, this was one of the highest-grossing tours ever at the top of this list, but now it rounds out the top ten.
Looking at this list, it’s easy to see that live music isn’t going anywhere. It’ll be interesting to see where this list stands in a few years time!
