The commercial success of bands like The Rolling Stones , U2 , Guns N' Roses , and Kiss is undeniable. But how does this translate to the live concert experience? In a new report, Pollstar has selected the most successful touring artists of the last 40 years, and we've compiled a Top 15 list of rock and metal artists here.
According to Loudwire , the report considered data from the last four decades without counting festival appearances or guest appearances; in other words, only shows where the band in question was the main attraction were considered.
With this information, two rankings were created to consider the main touring artists based on gross sales value and also the number of tickets sold. In the Top 10 of both, only Metallica represents metal , with Iron Maiden in 44th position in the overall gross value ranking (US$475,817,777) and 35th place in number of tickets sold during this period, with 9.1 million fans at the band's shows, not considering audiences such as Rock In Rio or other festivals.
The band that grossed the most in tour revenue was The Rolling Stones, with over 2.1 billion. The veterans are closely followed by U2. However, in terms of ticket sales, the Stones fall to third place with 22 million tickets, while U2 tops the ranking with 26 million paying fans during that period.
The list of ticket sales figures also includes some surprises that don't appear when the criterion is sales value, such as Grateful Dead , Def Leppard , and Journey .
Wikimetal has compiled a Top 15 list of rock and metal artists from each ranking, excluding artists from other musical genres. Access the full list here .
Rock and metal artists who earned the most on tour
The Rolling Stones ($2,165,280,638)
U2 ($2,127,771,684)
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band ($1,527,407,373 20,845,687)
Bon Jovi ($1,329,891,400 17,750,044)
Eagles ($1,314,544,780 10,995,128)
Metallica ($1,219,599,179 19,468,173)
Paul McCartney ($1,193,812,645 10,459,620)
Dave Matthews Band ($1,085,558,730 23,279,056)
Roger Waters ($841,218,937 8,986,408)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra ($768,990,894 15,276,864)
Guns N' Roses ($751,306,152 8,470,755)
AC/DC ($668,427,967 11,512,424)
Fleetwood Mac ($663,614,335 7,329,435)
Aerosmith ($603,229,413)
KISS ($532,363,017)
Rock and metal artists who sold the most tickets
U2 (26 million)
The Rolling Stones (22 million)
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (20 million)
Metallica (19 million)
Bon Jovi (17 million)
Grateful Dead (15 million)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (15 million)
Aerosmith (13 million)
AC/DC (11 million)
Def Leppard (11.3 million)
Eagles (10.9 million)
Paul McCartney (10.4 million)
Journey (9.9 million)
KISS (9.8 million)
Iron Maiden (9.1 million)
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