The band that has sold the most tickets since records began
Music is a subjective art form, and what’s commercially successful doesn’t always directly relate to the quality of the product. However, when a musical act can sell millions of tickets over multiple decades, their longevity suggests they must be doing something right, and can work as a barometer of brilliance.
While the current act holding the record for selling the most tickets in history will likely be surpassed by Taylor Swift if she carries on playing stadiums at this rate, as it stands, she still has a long way to go before the achievement is inevitably surpassed. The Rolling Stones have been at the forefront of culture since the 1960s and helped pioneer large-scale rock concerts.
For decades, The Rolling Stones have been frequenting huge venues wherever they go. According to Pollstar, a company who have specialised in tracking concert attendances for decades, The Stones have sold over 22 million tickets to their headline shows since their records began.
Their data doesn’t count audiences from festival appearances, such as The Rolling Stones’ heroic headline show at Glastonbury in 2013. Remarkably, despite selling tens of millions of tickets throughout their career, The Rolling Stones can only settle for third place. However, if records began when The Stones started their career, they’d perhaps be at the top of the list, but Pollstar only started charting attendances in 1982.
Other notable artists featured in the top ten are Metallica, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Bon Jovi and Billy Joel. The Dave Matthews Band have sold over 23 million tickets and are in second place, according to the 2022 study.
When attendances started to be recorded, it was perfect timing for U2, who had begun their ascent to superstardom. The Irish rock band have been one of the biggest groups in the world for decades, playing to millions on every tour, and in total, they’ve sold 26,178,043 tickets since records began.
U2 pride themselves on their live performances, and while they haven’t released a classic album in recent memory, many millions will still flock to see them across the globe because they provide guaranteed entertainment.
As a live act, U2 also pride themselves as innovators. The perfect example of their forward-thinking approach to their shows is their collaboration with the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas, which promises to have a sound system, unlike any other venue in the world.
Speaking about the residency with Apple Music, Bono commented: “Most music, over playing a theatre, most music venues are sports venues. They’re stadiums, they’re arenas. They’re built for sports. They’re not built for music, they’re not built for art. So this building was built for immersive experiences in cinema and performance. It was not built for [sports], you can’t come here and see an ice hockey game.”
He added: “There are no speakers. The entire building is a speaker. So wherever you are, you have perfect sound is the plan.”
Watch the footage below of U2 performing ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ at a concert in Paris from 2015.
