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, and contemporary musicians may be overrepresented.
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist of all time, collecting $3 billion according to Pollstar. U2, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John also passed two-billion mark in concert revenue. The Rolling Stones are the highest-grossing live music group of all time, collecting over $2.9 billion according to Billboard Boxscore. The concert industry is very male-dominated,[1] and only five women have grossed more than $1 billion (as of 2024), with Madonna being the first.[2]
All-time ranking
Pollstar
Billboard
Rankings by category
Hip-hop artists
Latin artists
Decade ranking
2000s
2010s
Records
Most $100-million tours
The following artists have the most tours grossing over US$100 million according to Billboard Boxscore.
Most $400-million tours
The following artists have multiple tours grossing over US$400 million according to Billboard Boxscore.
See also
Notes
- ^ The figures are not limited from touring and may include standalone concerts or concert residencies.
- ^ The Rolling Stones grossed $2,165,280,638 as of 2022 according to Pollstar.[4] They expanded the number with $235,077,193 in 2024.[5]
- ^ Bruce Springsteen grossed $1,527,407,373 as of 2022 according to Pollstar.[4] He expanded the number with $379,496,085 in 2023 and $251,296,432 in 2024.[7][8]
- ^ Metallica grossed $1.4 billion as of 2019 according to Pollstar.[10] They expanded the number with at least $21,897,870 in 2022[11][12] and at least $455,668,518 during the M72 World Tour in the years from 2023 to 2025,[13][14] although there is no complete data for 2022 from Pollstar.
- ^ Iron Maiden grossed $1 billion as of 2025 according to Pollstar.[16] The attendance number is used from the 2025 Pollstar report, using only data from the year 2001 and onwards.[3]
- ^ Metallica grossed $593,100,000 as of February 2019, according to Billboard.[28] They expanded the number with $177,434,939 at the end of 2019,[29] $43,398,993 in 2022,[30] $125,800,000 in 2023,[31] $175,200,000 in 2024,[32] $136,200,000 in 2025[33] and additional $41,500,000 in November 2025, but Billboard counts that in the 2026 touring year.[34]
- ^ 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.[36]
- ^ Guns N' Roses grossed $774,100,000 as of October 2021, according to Billboard.[37] They expanded the number with $93,383,197 in 2022,[38] $96,200,000 in 2023[39] and $95,600,000 in 2025.[33]
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Allen, Bob (December 8, 2025). "Coldplay, U2, Ed Sheeran, Dave Matthews Band, Taylor Swift Top Pollstar's 25 Most Popular Touring Artists Of The Millennium". Pollstar. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "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.
- ^ Speer, Debbie (December 16, 2024). "The Rolling Stones: Still Gathering No Moss After 60+ Years". Pollstar. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Lind, J.R. (March 14, 2024). "Auf Wiedersehen, Baby: U2 Wraps Sphere Run". Pollstar. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Vaddell, Ray (December 16, 2024). "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Still One Of The Best In Rock". Pollstar. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Borba, Ryan (September 17, 2019). "Tour & Destroy: The Case For Metallica As The World's Biggest Touring Act". Pollstar. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
- ^ "121222.top.300.concert.grosses_1027.pdf" (PDF). Pollstar. December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ King, Ariel (May 31, 2024). "Metallica Unveils 'M72 World Tour' Dates". Pollstar. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- ^ Allen, Bob (May 23, 2025). "This Week's Top Tour: Metallica Claims Top LIVE75 Ranking After Resuming 'M72' Tour". Pollstar. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ Allen, Bob (September 5, 2025). "2025 Q3: Beyonce Has Top Tour; Record-Setting Top 100; Smaller Venues Face Challenges". Pollstar. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
- ^ Gensler, Andy (May 5, 2024). "Madonna's Rio Concert Sets All-Time Attendance Record With 1.6 Million Fans". Pollstar. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Borba, Ryan (November 4, 2025). "Number Of The Beast: 50 Years of Iron Maiden's Touring Dominance (Special)". Pollstar. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ a b Frankenberg, Eric (October 24, 2024). "The Rolling Stones Had the Biggest Summer of Their Career on Hackney Diamonds Tour". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
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- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (2021-04-13). "Boxscore Flashback: 10 Years Ago, U2 Set The All-Time Boxscore Record With The 360 Tour". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (March 28, 2024). "U2 Leads February Boxscore Report With Final Sphere Shows". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Could Coldplay Surpass Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Record with Spheres Tour Extension?". Billboard. September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
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- ^ "Bruce Springsteen Is Bigger Than Ever As His Latest Tour Earns Over $700 Million". Billboard. 16 July 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
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- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (July 13, 2023). "Elton John's Farewell Tour Comes to an End With $939 Million and 6 Million Tickets". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ^ a b Frankenberg, Eric (2025-07-28). "Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour Wraps as Biggest Country Tour in Billboard Boxscore History". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (September 18, 2025). "Ed Sheeran's Last Tour Was His Biggest of All Time — His Latest Was Even Bigger". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
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- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (May 9, 2024). "Madonna Is Only Woman to Achieve This Boxscore Feat as The Celebration Tour Wraps". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (August 20, 2019). "P!nk Enters the Record Books With Final Figures For The Beautiful Trauma World Tour". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 19, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (November 25, 2024). "P!nk Wraps 2023-2024 Touring With Almost $700 Million Grossed". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
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- ^ "No. 75: Cliff Burnstein & Peter Mensch". Billboard. 2 February 2019. Archived from the original on March 8, 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "2019 Year-End Boxscore Charts". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "THE YEAR IN TOURING 2022" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (8 December 2023). "Top 10 Highest-Grossing Rock Tours of 2023". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Top Tours Year-End 2024" (PDF). Billboard. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 14, 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ a b Frankenberg, Eric (11 December 2025). "Top 10 Highest Grossing Rock Tours of the Year". Billboard.com. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "Billboard Boxscore - November 2025". Billboard. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ Nicholson, Jessica (August 24, 2023). "Top-Grossing Country Artists of All Time, According to Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ "Celine Dion Wraps Historic 16-Year Run in Las Vegas With Record-Breaking $681 Million in Ticket Sales". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ "Guns N' Roses Return to the Road With $50 Million Haul". Billboard. 21 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2024-12-05. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
- ^ "THE YEAR IN TOURING 2022" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (8 December 2023). "Top 10 Highest-Grossing Rock Tours of 2023". Billboard.com. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ Allen, Bob. "Madonna Extends Record as Highest-Grossing Solo Touring Artist | Billboard – Billboard". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (16 June 2022). "Coldplay Hits $1 Billion in Career Touring Grosses". Billboard. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (2022-06-23). "Paul McCartney's Career Boxscore Total Soars Past $1 Billion". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (2024-05-16). "These 25 Rappers Are the Top-Grossing Hip-Hop Touring Acts of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved 2026-03-04.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric (September 19, 2024). "Luis Miguel ya tiene la gira latina más taquillera de todos los tiempos". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Raygoza, Isabela (January 29, 2026). "Shakira rompe récord Guinness con la gira hispana más taquillera de la historia". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ^ Frankenberg, Eric; Cobo, Leila (July 24, 2024). "Karol G's Record-Breaking Mañana Será Bonito Tour Grosses More Than $313 Million". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ *Roiz, Jessica (January 23, 2023). "RBD Tour: Dream Setlist for Soy Rebelde Tour". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ "Top Touring Artists Of The Pollstar Era Boxoffice Grossesas - Pollstar News" (PDF). January 16, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ "Mexican Icon Gloria Trevi Reclaims Her Career & Brings The Soundtrack of Generaciones To Arenas - Pollstar News". January 16, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ "Top Touring Artists of the Decade". Billboard. 2009-12-11. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ "Top Tours of the Decade: North America 2000-2009" (PDF). Pollstar. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
- ^ "Top Touring Artists". Billboard. 2019-10-31. Archived from the original on 2022-04-06. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
- ^ "Top Touring Artists of the Decade". Pollstar. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2022.