The following is a list of concert tours that have generated the most gross income. The data and rankings come largely from 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 information about pre-2000 tours. In the early 21st century, tour revenue skyrocketed as record sales collapsed and musicians began relying on live shows for their income.[3]
The first tours to surpass $100 million in revenue, according to reports, were Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour and Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour, which both ran from 1987 to 1989.
In 2023, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour allegedly became the first tour to collect US$1 billion in revenue, based on estimates by Pollstar.[4] [5] In October 2024, Forbes estimated the tour's gross at US$1.93 billion from 121 shows, though Swift has yet to officially report the gross. In 2024, Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour became the first to gross over US$1 billion in revenue based on officially reported boxscores.[6] [7]
While the touring industry is largely dominated by bands and male soloists of rock music,[8] 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.
| † | Indicates ongoing tour | |
| Indicates tour dates are split between two different calendar decades |
| Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | $1,930,000,000 | $1,930,000,000 | † | 2023–2024 | 121 | $ | |||
| 2 | 2 | $1,144,590,969 | $1,144,590,969 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour † | 2022–2025 | 175 | $ | ||
| 3 | 1 | $939,100,000 | $939,100,000 | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | 330 | $ | [9] | |||
| 4 | 1 | $776,200,000 | $ | ÷ Tour | 2017–2019 | 255 | $ | |||
| 5 | 1 | $736,421,586 | $ | U2 | 360° Tour | 2009–2011 | 110 | $ | [10] | |
| 6 | 4 | $617,325,000 | $617,325,000 | Love On Tour | 2021–2023 | 169 | $ | |||
| 7 | 7 | $584,700,000 | $584,700,000 | Pink | Summer Carnival | 2023–2024 | 97 | $ | ||
| 8 | 7 | $584,551,454 | $584,551,454 | +–=÷× Tour † | 2022–2025 | 103 | $5,675,257 | |||
| 9 | 7 | $584,200,000 | $696,203,983 | Guns N' Roses | Not in This Lifetime... Tour | 2016–2019 | 158 | $3,697,468 | ||
| 10 | 7 | $579,879,268 | $579,879,268 | Beyoncé | Renaissance World Tour | 2023 | 56 | $ | [11] | |
| 11 | 1 | $558,255,524 | $ | 2005–2007 | 144 | $ | ||||
| 12 | 5 | $546,500,000 | $ | No Filter Tour | 2017–2021 | 58 | $ | [12] | ||
| 13 | 3 | $523,033,675 | $ | Coldplay | 2016–2017 | 114 | $ | |||
| 14 | 3 | $459,000,000 | $ | 2010–2013 | 219 | $ | ||||
| 15 | 3 | $441,900,000 | $ | AC/DC | Black Ice World Tour | 2008–2010 | 165 | $ | [13] | |
| 16 | 8 | $430,000,000 | $ | Metallica | WorldWired Tour | 2016–2019 | 143 | $ | ||
| 17 | 2 | $411,000,000 | $ | Madonna | Sticky & Sweet Tour | 2008–2009 | 85 | $ | ||
| 18 | 10 | $397,300,000 | $ | Pink | Beautiful Trauma World Tour | 2018–2019 | 156 | $ | ||
| 19 | 12 | $390,778,581 | $ | U2 | 2017, 2019 | 66 | $ | |||
| 20 | 1 | $389,000,000 | $ | U2 | Vertigo Tour | 2005–2006 | 131 | $ |
| Artist | Tour title | Record-setting gross | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Jacksons | Victory Tour | $75,000,000 | |
| 1985 | Bruce SpringsteenE Street Band | Born in the U.S.A. Tour | $90,000,000 | |
| 1989 | Michael Jackson | Bad World Tour | $125,000,000 | |
| Pink Floyd | A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour | $135,000,000 | ||
| 1990 | The Rolling Stones | Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour | $175,000,000 | [14] |
| 1994 | Pink Floyd | The Division Bell Tour | $250,000,000 | |
| 1995 | The Rolling Stones | Voodoo Lounge Tour | $320,000,000 | |
| 2006 | U2 | Vertigo Tour | $333,000,000 | [15] |
| The Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang Tour | $437,000,000 | [16] | |
| 2007 | $558,255,524 | |||
| 2011 | U2 | 360° Tour | $736,421,586 | |
| 2019 | Ed Sheeran | ÷ Tour | $776,200,000 | |
| 2023 | Elton John | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | $939,100,000 | |
| Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | $1,039,263,762 | ||
| 2024 | $1,930,000,000 |
| Artist | width=25% | Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $135,000,000 | $ | Pink Floyd | 197 | $ | [17] | |||
| 2 | $125,000,000 | $ | Bad World Tour | 1987–1989 | 123 | $ | [18] | ||
| 3 | $98,000,000 | $ | Steel Wheels Tour < | -- does not include 1990 or Urban Jungle extension shows at this point --> | 1989 * | 60 | $ | ||
| 4 | $90,000,000 | $ | E Street Band | Born in the U.S.A. Tour | 1984–1985 | 156 | $ | [19] | |
| 5 | $86,000,000 | $ | Glass Spider Tour | 1987 | 86 | $ | [20] | ||
| 6 | $75,000,000 | $ | Victory Tour | 1984 | 55 | $ | [21] | ||
| 7 | $60,000,000 | $ | Genesis | Invisible Touch Tour | 1986–1987 | 111 | $ | [22] | |
| 8 | $60,000,000 | $ | Break Every Rule World Tour | 1987–1988 | 220 | $ | [23] | ||
| 9 | $56,000,000 | $ | U2 | 1987 | 109 | $ | [24] | ||
| 10 | $50,000,000 | $ | 1981 | 50 | $ | [25] |
| Artist | width=25% | Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $320,000,000 | $ | Voodoo Lounge Tour | 129 | $ | [26] | |||
| 2 | $274,000,000 | $ | Bridges to Babylon Tour | 1997–1998 | 108 | $ | |||
| 3 | $250,000,000 | $ | Pink Floyd | 1994 | 110 | $ | [27] | ||
| 4 | $173,610,864 | $ | U2 | PopMart Tour | 1997–1998 | 93 | $ | [28] | |
| 5 | $165,000,000 | $ | HIStory World Tour | 1996–1997 | 83 | $ | [29] | ||
| 6 | $152,900,000 | $ | Eagles | Hell Freezes Over Tour | 1994–1996 | 122 | $ | ||
| 7 | $151,000,000 | $ | U2 | Zoo TV Tour | 1992–1993 | 157 | $ | [30] | |
| 8 | $133,000,000 | $ | Let's Talk About Love World Tour | 1998–1999 | 97 | $ | [31] | ||
| 9 | $130,000,000 | $ | Wildest Dreams Tour | 1996–1997 | 255 | $ | [32] | ||
| 10 | $105,000,000 | $ | 1996–1998 | 220 | $ | [33] |
| Artist | width=25% | Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $558,255,524 | $ | 144 | $ | [34] | ||||
| 2 | $411,000,000 | $ | Madonna | Sticky & Sweet Tour | 2008–2009 | 85 | $ | [35] | |
| 3 | $389,000,000 | $ | U2 | Vertigo Tour | 2005–2006 | 131 | $ | [36] | |
| 4 | $358,825,665 | $ | 2007–2008 | 146 | $ | [37] | |||
| 5 | $311,637,730 | $ | U2 | 360° Tour | 2009 * | 44 | $ | ||
| 6 | $311,000,000 | $ | Licks Tour | 2002–2003 | 117 | $ | |||
| 7 | $279,200,000 | $ | Taking Chances World Tour | 2008–2009 | 129 | $ | |||
| 8 | $264,100,000 | $ | AC/DC | Black Ice World Tour | 2008–2009 * | 127 | $ | ||
| 9 | $250,000,000 | $ | Cher | 2002–2005 | 325 | $ | |||
| 10 | $235,000,000 | $ | E Street Band | Magic Tour | 2007–2008 | 104 | $ | [38] |
| Artist | width=25% | Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $776,200,000 | $ | ÷ Tour | 255 | $ | [39] | |||
| 2 | $584,200,000 | $ | Guns N' Roses | Not in This Lifetime... Tour | 2016–2019 | 158 | $ | [40] | |
| 3 | $523,033,675 | $ | Coldplay | 2016–2017 | 114 | $ | [41] | ||
| 4 | $459,000,000 | $ | 2010–2013 | 219 | $ | [42] | |||
| 5 | $430,000,000 | $ | Metallica | WorldWired Tour | 2016–2019 | 143 | $ | [43] | |
| 6 | $424,783,856 | $ | U2 | 360° Tour | 2010–2011 * | 66 | $ | ||
| 7 | $415,600,000 | $ | No Filter Tour | 2017–2019 * | 44 | $ | [44] | ||
| 8 | $397,300,000 | $ | Pink | Beautiful Trauma World Tour | 2018–2019 | 156 | $ | [45] | |
| 9 | $390,778,581 | $ | U2 | 2017, 2019 | 66 | $ | [46] | ||
| 10 | $367,700,000 | $ | 24K Magic World Tour | 2017–2018 | 196 | $ |
| Artist | width=25% | Tour title | Year(s) | Shows | Average gross | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,930,000,000 | $1,930,000,000 | † | 2023–2024 | 121 | $ | ||||
| 2 | $1,059,060,322 | $1,059,060,322 | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour † | 2022–2025 | 164 | $ | |||
| 3 | $617,325,000 | $617,325,000 | Love On Tour | 2021–2023 | 169 | $ | [47] | |||
| 4 | $584,700,000 | $584,700,000 | Pink | Summer Carnival | 2023–2024 | 97 | $ | [48] | ||
| 5 | $584,551,454 | $584,551,454 | +–=÷× Tour † | 2022–2025 | 103 | $ | [49] | |||
| 6 | $579,800,000 | $579,800,000 | Beyoncé | Renaissance World Tour | 2023 | 56 | $ | [50] | ||
| 7 | $471,400,000 | $471,400,000 | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | 2020–2023 * | 136 | $ | ||||
| 8 | $379,496,085 | $379,496,085 | E Street Band | 2023 Tour † | 2023 | 66 | $ | |||
| 9 | $350,985,529 | $350,985,529 | After Hours til Dawn Tour | 2022–2023 | 61 | $ | [51] | |||
| 10 | $320,513,439 | $320,513,439 | Drake | It's All A Blur Tour | 2023–2024 | 80 | $4,006,418 | [52] < | -- ONLY TOP 10 TOURS LISTED PER DECADE --> |
This list represents the top-grossing tour of each year according to either Pollstar or Billboard Boxscore (formerly Amusement Business). The two publications may differ on their annual figures due to different total of dates reported or different year-end tracking period. For example, Pollstar listed Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour as the top tour of 2008 with $281.6 million, but Billboard ranked it third on their year-end chart whose tracking period ended on November 11, 2008, thus excluding 20 shows by Madonna.[53] [54] In 2019, Billboard listed Ed Sheeran's ÷ Tour as the top tour of the year ($223.7 million), instead of Pink's Beautiful Trauma World Tour ($215.2 million) as reported by Pollstar. However, Billboards figure included Sheeran's gross from November 2018 shows; therefore, Pollstars figure is closer to accurate for the 2019 calendar year.[55]
| 1987 | $35,100,000 | $ | U2 | 79 | North America | [56] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | $98,000,000 | $ | Steel Wheels Tour | 60 | North America | [57] | ||
| 1990 | $74,100,000 | $ | New Kids on the Block | 152 | Unknown | [58] | ||
| 1991 | $34,700,000 | $ | Grateful Dead | Grateful Dead Summer Tour | 76 | North America | [59] | |
| 1992 | $67,000,000 | $ | U2 | Zoo TV Tour | 73 | North America | [60] | |
| 1993 | $45,600,000 | $ | Grateful Dead | Grateful Dead Tour 1993 | 81 | North America | [61] | |
| 1994 | $121,200,000 | $ | Voodoo Lounge Tour | 60 | North America | [62] | ||
| 1995 | $63,300,000 | $ | Eagles | Hell Freezes Over Tour | 58 | Unknown | [63] | |
| 1996 | $43,600,000 | $ | Kiss | Alive/Worldwide Tour | 92 | Unknown | [64] | |
| 1997 | $138,500,000 | $ | U2 | PopMart Tour | 78 | Global | [65] | |
| 1998 | $193,350,000 | $ | Bridges to Babylon Tour | 82 | Global | [66] | ||
| 1999 | $89,200,000 | $ | No Security Tour | 45 | Global | [67] | ||
| 2000 | $122,500,000 | $ | Twenty Four Seven Tour | 108 | Global | [68] | ||
| 2001 | $143,000,000 | $ | U2 | Elevation Tour | 113 | Global | [69] | |
| 2002 | $126,100,000 | $ | Driving World Tour | 58 | Global | [70] | ||
| 2003 | $299,520,230 | $ | Licks Tour | 115 | Global | [71] | ||
| 2004 | $125,000,000 | $ | Madonna | Re-Invention World Tour | 56 | Global | [72] | |
| 2005 | $260,000,000 | $ | U2 | Vertigo Tour | 90 | Global | [73] | |
| 2006 | $425,100,000 | $ | 110 | Global | [74] | |||
| 2007 | $212,227,302 | $ | 66 | Global | [75] | |||
| 2008 | $281,600,000 | $ | Madonna | Sticky & Sweet Tour | 58 | Global | [76] | |
| 2009 | $311,637,730 | $ | U2 | 360° Tour | 44 | Global | [77] | |
| 2010 | $201,100,000 | $ | Bon Jovi | 80 | Global | [78] | ||
| 2011 | $293,281,487 | $ | U2 | 360° Tour | 44 | Global | [79] | |
| 2012 | $305,158,363 | $ | Madonna | 88 | Global | [80] | ||
| 2013 | $259,500,000 | $ | Bon Jovi | Because We Can | 102 | Global | [81] | |
| 2014 | $290,000,000 | $ | One Direction | Where We Are Tour | 69 | Global | [82] | |
| 2015 | $250,733,097 | $ | 85 | Global | [83] | |||
| 2016 | $268,300,000 | $ | E Street Band | 76 | Global | [84] | ||
| 2017 | $316,990,940 | $ | U2 | 50 | Global | [85] | ||
| 2018 | $432,400,000 | $ | ÷ Tour | 94 | Global | [86] | ||
| 2019 | $215,200,000 | $ | Pink | Beautiful Trauma World Tour | 68 | Global | [87] | |
| 2020 | $87,100,000 | $87,100,000 | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | 38 | Global | [88] | ||
| 2021 | $115,500,000 | $ | No Filter Tour | 12 | Global | [89] | ||
| 2022 | $342,192,313 | $ | Coldplay | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 64 | Global | [90] | |
| 2023 | $1,039,263,762 | $1,039,263,762 | Taylor Swift | 60 | Global |