Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have blown past music industry records before, picking up dozens of Grammy awards and smashing streaming numbers. So, it shouldn’t be any surprise that both pop stars are also on track to break another record — the highest-grossing concerts of all-time.
Beyoncé could rake in more than $2 billion from her “Renaissance” world tour, which kicked off this week and includes 57 shows, projections show. Taylor Swift, who is also touring this year, could similarly surpass the billion-dollar mark. The country-pop singer’s 20-city nationwide “Eras” tour, with 52 shows, is expected to gross a whopping $1.6 billion, Forbes reported.
The projections are based on “the most optimistic assumptions of the number of fans buying tickets” and assume an average ticket price of $700, the publication said.
But, while the pop queens’ earnings could far exceed those of their peers, they’re not the only ones raking in concert cash.
Billboard Boxscore, a report that tracks live entertainment receipts, shows the top five highest-earning music tours of all-time have earned a staggering $635.6 million on average.
Here is a list of the top five highest-grossing concert tours of all time, according to Billboard Boxscore. The list has been edited to exclude tours, such as Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour,” that are currently ongoing or that had repeated runs.
1. Ed Sheeran “The ÷ (Divide) Tour” (2017-19)
Based off Sheeran’s third album, The Divide Tour grossed $776 million over the course of 258 shows attended by 8.9 million people.
2. U2 “360° Tour” (2009-11)
The seven-leg world tour promoting the Irish band’s 12th album grossed $736 million for 110 shows attended by 7.3 million concertgoers.
3. Guns N’ Roses “Not in This Lifetime Tour” (2016-19)
The hard-rock band’s most recent tour raked in $584 million for 158 shows across the world, with 5.4 million people turning out to see them perform.
4. The Rolling Stones “A Bigger Bang Tour” (2005-07)
The iconic rock band’s tour grossed $558 million for 147 shows that brought out 3.5 million fans. The tour —one of the last before the passing of founding member, Charlie Watts, help the title of highest grossing tour of all time, before being outgrossed by U2’s “360° Tour.”
5. Coldplay “A Head Full of Dreams Tour” (2016-17)
The British rock band’s five-continent tour to promote its seventh album pulled in $524 million in gross revenue over 115 shows attended by 5.4 million concertgoers.
See the full list here.
