Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have broken music industry records before, picking up dozens of Grammy Awards and crushing broadcast numbers. So it should come as no surprise that both pop stars are also on their way to breaking another record: the highest-grossing concerts of all time.
Beyoncé could gross more than $2 billion from her “Rebirth” world tour, which kicked off this week and includes 57 shows, projections show. Taylor Swift, who is also on tour this year, could also cross 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 about the number of fans buying tickets” and assume an average ticket price of $700, the publication said.
But while the queens of pop’s earnings might far exceed those of their peers, they’re not the only ones making money from concerts.
Billboard Boxscore, a report which tracks receipts from live entertainment, shows that the top five highest-earning music tours of all time have earned a staggering average of $635.6 million.
Here’s 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 have been repeated.
1. Ed Sheeran “The Tour ÷ (Divide)” (2017-19)
Based on Sheeran’s third album, The Divide Tour grossed $776 million over the course of 258 shows attended by 8.9 million people.
2. “Turn 360°” by U2 (2009-11)
The seven-leg world tour promoting the Irish band’s twelfth album grossed $736 million from 110 shows attended by 7.3 million people.
3. Guns N’ Roses “Not in This Lifetime Tour” (2016-19)
The hard rock band’s most recent tour grossed $584 million from 158 shows around the world, with 5.4 million people turning out to see them perform.
4. The Rolling Stones’ “A Bigger Bang Tour” (2005-2007)
The iconic rock band’s tour grossed $558 million from 147 shows that drew 3.5 million fans. The tour, one of the last before the passing of founding member Charlie Watts, helped to the highest-grossing tour title of all time, before being overcome for U2’s “360° Tour.”
5. Coldplay’s “A Head Full of Dreams” Tour (2016-17)
The British rock band’s five-continent tour to promote their seventh album generated $524 million in gross receipts from 115 shows attended by 5.4 million people.
See the full list here.