The five most profitable tours in music history
On August 26th, 2007, The Rolling Stones played in London, bringing their A Bigger Bang tour to a close. The tour was a success, and it ended with fans doing what those all around the world already had done previously, losing themselves in a couple of hours of great rock ‘n’ roll.
The Rolling Stones were no strangers to big tours when they embarked on their A Bigger Bang stint. When you have music as toe-tapping and sing-along worthy as they do, you can’t be surprised when fans in their masses flock to see it live. They had always been graced with huge crowds, but this tour saw them bring in their biggest yet.
Those big crowds also brought in a massive sum of money. It grossed a total of $558million, a sum that seemed too big to comprehend for many at the time. Talk about ushering in a new age for live music, as The Rolling Stones showed that even with mass record sales, one of the most profitable avenues for artists was performing.
Well, that message was received loud and clear, as since The Rolling Stones set the record for the highest-grossing tour of all time in 2007, their record has been broken, smashed and torn apart time and time again.
So, who are the lucky artists who broke it? Let’s find out, as we take you through the five most profitable tours in music history.
The most profitable tours ever recorded in music history
U2 – 360
U2 have never been afraid to push boundaries, this has sometimes worked in their favour, and in other instances, it’s worked against them. As they embrace different marketing tactics, styles of music and performance techniques, some fans have stuck by them throughout, meanwhile others have been put off by the band’s creative decisions.
One of the most bold risks they took was on their 360 tour, when U2 opted to use one of the most expensive stages in the history of live music. The set design alone cost them $31million, but this risk paid off, as the band managed to rake in $736m in what was one of the most profitable tours of all time.
Ed Sheeran – Divide
How much of an impact can one man and a guitar really have? Well, if you’re Ed Sheeran, a pretty big one. Sheeran’s albums Multiply and Divide had both done incredibly well in the charts, and those album sales directly translated to the sale of tour tickets. Despite his shows being made up of just him using his voice and a loop pedal, he managed to sell out arenas around the world.
Ed Sheeran has never struggled to find a willing audience ready to engage with his music, and that continues to be the case no matter where he performs. While he has done plenty of shows since this tour, these remain his most profitable, as they brought in just over $776m.
Elton John – Farewell Yellow Brick Road
It might sound harsh, but the fact of the matter is, some artists overstay their welcome. We see it all the time, as artists announce they will be doing their final tour and the overwhelming response is: “They’re still touring?” It results in low ticket sales and an underwhelming turn out to their last hurrah. However, while this is a fate that befalls many a legend, it’s not one that impacted Elton John.
A lot of people got to watch an installation of Elton John’s final tour as he performed the set as a headliner at Glastonbury. The hits were churned out from the early stuff to more recent offerings, and fans in their living rooms throughout the country were left dancing in their pyjamas with a wine in hand and a song in their hearts (or was that just me?). The point is, Elton John put on a spectacular farewell tour, and that was reflected in ticket sales, as he earned close to $1 billion throughout.
Coldplay – Music of the Spheres Coldplay
Yes, Coldplay aren’t cool, we can all agree on that. Chris Martin continues to be the Dad at a wedding trying to convince everyone to start dancing when they’re not drunk enough yet. However, even the coolest of music lovers would have a hard time looking at the spectacle that is their recent Music of the Spheres tour and not be somewhat impressed.
The tour has attracted fans all over the world, as every man and his head of HR have rocked up to sing along to the classics and enjoy having one of their wrists contribute to the light show. It’s difficult to tell how much this tour will make as it’s still ongoing, but at the time of writing it has already surpassed $1 billion. Not bad going for a Dad at a wedding.
Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour
It doesn’t matter how interested or disinterested you are in Taylor Swift, the fact of the matter remains that there is nobody within the stratosphere of social media who wasn’t inundated with updates about The Eras Tour when it was happening. We first heard about the ticket prices, then we heard about the bustling nature of cities where the tour was going, and then we saw extended clips of night after night.
I don’t care what your opinion on Taylor Swift is, anyone who is performing for three and a half hours every night on a tour that takes them around the world deserves the respect of lovers of live music everywhere. Swift pulled out all the stops on this tour, and that dedication was reciprocated by her audience who attended shows in their thousands. Swift ended up making over $2 billion on The Eras Tour, setting a bar that will be hard to reach.
