Ed Sheeran Tops Pollstar’s 2018 Touring Chart With Record $432 Million Gross
By Jem Aswad
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Ed Sheeran topped Pollstar’s 2018 year-end global touring chart with a record $432 million gross on 4,860,482 tickets sold, the publication announced today , with Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” tour leading the U.S. tours chart with $277.3 million and came in second globally with $345.1 million on 2,888,892 tickets sold.
Jay-Z and Beyonce’s “OTRII” tour of North America and Europe came in third globally, with $254.1 million on 2,169,050 tickets sold.
In the announcement, the longtime live-entertainment touring publication said its Top 100 World Wide tours totaled $5.6 billion, with 59.8 million tickets sold, compiled from 3,691 event records. Its Top 100 North American tours totaled $3.7 billion U.S. dollars with 40.0 million tickets sold compiled from 3,025 event records.
Among other highlights, it noted that Sheeran’s 2018 tour numbers, when combined with 2017, is already the third highest-grossing tour in Pollstar’s history ($554.6 million) behind U2’s “360” ($735 million) and the Rolling Stones’ “A Bigger Bang” ($558 million) tours.
Swift’s “Reputation” tour is No. 2 on the Top 100 Worldwide tours chart, with grossing $345 million; that puts her career history within $74.3 million of a $1 billion total, the publication noted.
Combined grosses from Sheeran and Swift’s tours — a whopping $777.5 million — comprises 14% of the overall gross of the Top 100 Worldwide Tours.
Pollstar also noted that four artists — U2, Bruno Mars, 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: U2, who topped the 2017 chart with a $316 million gross and 2,713,136 tickets sold; Bruno Mars, fourth in 2017 with $200.1 million on 2,030,029 tickets sold; Sheeran, eighth in 2017 with $124.1 million on 1,525,882 tickets sold; and the Rolling Stones, ninth in 2017 with $120 million on 755,345 tickets sold.
2018 Top 10 Worldwide Tours:
GROSS TICKETS SOLD
$432.4 4,860,482*
$345.1 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 521,215
Gillette Stadium Foxboro, MA 454,383
Top Amphitheaters
Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center Noblesville, IN 588,023
BB&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
