POLLSTAR End of Year Numbers for Touring Acts

ED SHEERAN TOPS 2018 WORLDWIDE TOURS CHART; GROSSES $432 MILLION IN A YEAR, SETTING ALL-TIME TOURING RECORD 

Taylor Swift Tops North American Tours Chart Pollstar continues to be regarded as the most credible source and final word for box office data. Pollstar’s rankings, which are based on data that is reported to Pollstar, are an important marketing tool for agents and venues, and talent buyers and others depend on box office histories to make informed business choices.   Pollstar received, inputted and verified more than 44,000 records, including a record-setting total gross reported of more than $10.4 billion, and 152.1 million tickets sold this year.   

Pollstar’s Top 100Worldwide Tours totaled $5.6 billion U.S. dollars with 59.8 million tickets sold compiled from 3,691 event records.·       The Top Ten of the Worldwide Tours chart surpassed $2 billion in grosses for the first time Pollstar’s Top 100 North American tours totaled $3.7 billion U.S. dollars with 40.0 million tickets soldcompiled from 3,025 event records Ed Sheeran set the all-time touring record in a calendar year with an astronomical gross of $432 million.·       

Sheeran’s 2018 tour numbers when combined with 2017 is already the third highest-grossing tour ($554.6) behind U2’s “360” ($735 m) and the Rolling Stones’ “A Bigger Bang” ($558m) tours. Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” Stadium Tour is No. 2 on the Top 100 Worldwide tours chart, grossing $345 million·       

Swift topped the Top 100 North American tours chart, grossing $277.3 million ·       

For all Swift’s touring, she’s within $74.3 million of reaching $1 billion Combined grosses from Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift’s astronomical tours gross – $777.5 million – comprises 14% of the overall gross of the Top 100 Worldwide Tours.  Four artists – U2, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and The Rolling Stones – who appear in the Top 10 of the 2018 Worldwide Tours chart also ranked in the Top 10 of 2017’s Worldwide Tours chart.·       

In 2017:

  • U2 topped the chart, grossing $316m with 2,713,136 tickets sold
  • Bruno Mars came in at #4, grossing $200.1m with 2,030,029 tickets sold
  • Ed Sheeran came in at #8, grossing $124.1m with 1,525,882 tickets sold
  • The Rolling Stones came in at #9, grossing $120m with 755,345 tickets sold

2018 Top 10 Worldwide Tours: 

GROSS                                                           TICKETS SOLD        

 432.4              Ed Sheeran                            4,860,482*
 345.1              Taylor Swift                          2,888,892    
 254.1              Jay-Z / Beyoncé                   2,169,050 
 169.2              Pink                                        1,285,411  
 167.6              Bruno Mars                           1,290,438*  
 166.0             Eagles                                      964,245   
 151.0              Justin Timberlake                1,193,365
 131.3              Roger Waters                        1,448,771
 126.2              U2                                           927,034*             
 116.6              The Rolling Stones              750,914*   

2018 Top 10 North American Tours: 

GROSS                                               TICKETS SOLD         

 277.3              Taylor Swift                          1,268,706   
 166.4              Jay-Z / Beyoncé                   1,298,038
 166.0             Eagles                                       964,245
 114.4              Kenny Chesney                     1,297,731   
 110.0              Justin Timberlake                 791,780  
 105.0             Ed Sheeran                            1,136,497   
 97.8               Journey / Def Leppard        1,000,272
 95.3               Pink                                          688,558
 88.3               Springsteen On Broadway  173,461   
 79.0               Drake                                       678,410  

Top 3 Promoters

Live Nation                         49.6 million tickets                          

AEG Presents          11.6 million tickets

Messina Touring Group    5.3 million tickets

Top Stadiums 

Foro Sol                      Mexico City, Mexico          887,802
MetLife Stadium               East Rutherford, NJ          521,2
Gillette Stadium             Foxboro, MA                 454,383

Top Amphitheaters

Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center  Noblesville, IN           588,023BB&T Pavilion                     Camden, NJ              505,287
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion   The Woodlands, TX   467,620

Top Theaters

Auditorio Nacional       Mexico City, Mexico          1,325,493     
Radio City Music Hall    New York, NY                 1,004,255     
Fox Theatre             Atlanta, GA                  704,828

Top Clubs

The Anthem               Washington, D.C.               391,835
House Of Blues Boston    Boston, MA                    325,731
9:30 Club                Washington, D.C.               240,156

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