The Top-Earning Summer Concert Tours Of 2024

Forbes

Taylor Swift reigned for the second consecutive year, besting Coldplay, Zach Bryan and Bruce Springsteen. Inside a record-breaking year for the music business in which the 10 most successful acts reaped a collective $3 billion on the road.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2024/10/04/the-top-earning-summer-concert-tours-of-2024/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, the top-earning summer concert tours of 2024.

00:07When an artist had the kind of year that Taylor Swift did in 2023, including the record-breaking

00:12Eras Tour, becoming the most famous Kansas City Chiefs fan, and a billionaire, it was

00:18easy to imagine what the 34-year-old pop star would do for an encore, stage another Eras

00:24Tour.

00:26With 65 performances across Europe, Asia, and Oceania in 2024, Forbes estimates that

00:32Swift grossed $1.15 billion before taxes and fees, with pre-tax earnings of $400 million

00:39— $100 million more than what she earned last year.

00:44We conservatively estimate that she is worth $1.6 billion.

00:49It was also a record-breaking year overall in the music business, with Polestar reporting

00:54year-over-year increases in the number of tickets sold, number of shows, and total grosses

00:59for artists.

01:01In addition, 2024 marked the highest average ticket price ever recorded, at nearly $127

01:07a seat.

01:09Agent Jabou Lewis, who represents Latin trap megastar Bad Bunny, who ranks No. 7 this year,

01:15says, quote,

01:16There's no question that it's more expensive to tour than it's ever been before.

01:21The evolution of technology and ticket pricing, like Ticketmaster's dynamic model, has allowed

01:26tours at the high end to earn more money than they've ever earned before, which offsets

01:30a lot of that increase in cost.

01:33Overall, Forbes estimates that the top 10 touring acts collectively grossed more than

01:40$3 billion from January through the end of August, a nearly 10% increase from the same

01:45period last year.

01:47Other top acts this year include Coldplay, whose Music of the Spheres tour earned the

01:52band an estimated $131 million, and billionaire Bruce Springsteen banked $101 million for

01:58another tour alongside the E Street Band.

02:02Next year's top earners could be very different, seeing as Swift's Ares tour will come to an

02:07end in December.

02:09To date, some big names, including Billie Eilish, Metallica, and BTS, have announced

02:14tours for 2025, and should Oasis' greatly anticipated Reunion tour last longer than

02:20Jane's Addictions, the Britpop band could find themselves on next year's list.

02:26Here are a few of the acts that had the top-earning summer concert tours of 2024.

02:31At number one is Taylor Swift.

02:33The Ares tour had 65 shows, grossing $1.15 billion, with earnings of $400 million.

02:40In the middle of the tour, Swift also dropped her 11th studio album in April, The Tortured

02:45Poets Department, which became Spotify's most-streamed album of all time in its first 12 hours of

02:51release.

02:53Tracks were quickly added to her Ares tour setlist, with new outfits to match, including

02:57a white Vivienne Westwood gown covered in album lyrics.

03:01Swifties were soon able to buy a t-shirt featuring her in the gown for $45, with Swift pulling

03:07in an additional $70 million just from apparel, postcards, and other tour merchandise.

03:13At number two is Coldplay.

03:15The Music of the Spheres tour had 40 shows, grossing $302 million, with earnings of $131

03:22million.

03:23Chris Martin and company dethroned Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour as the biggest

03:28touring rock act in history.

03:30John held the record at $939 million in 2023, and Coldplay now sits at $946 million and

03:37counting.

03:39More impressive are the 8.8 million tickets the band sold since kicking off its tour in

03:432022, showing that appetite for their music is greater than previous record holders U2,

03:49with 7.3 million tickets.

03:53At number three is Zach Bryan.

03:55The Quentin Time tour had 63 shows, grossing $318 million, with earnings of $113 million.

04:04Bryan's brand of moody country made him 2024's top-earning country act.

04:09The Navy veteran and something-in-the-orange crooner still has stops across North America

04:14through the end of the year, meaning there is more green coming his way.

04:19For full coverage and to see the whole list of top-earning summer concert tours of 2024,

04:25check out Lissette Voigt-Goe-Best's piece on Forbes.com.

04:30This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes, thanks for tuning in.

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