Move over Taylor Swift; there’s a new top-grossing performer for 2018. Ed Sheeran has surpassed Swift to become the highest grossing touring artist in a single year.
Nine of the other top ten performers on Pollstar’s Top 100 Worldwide Tours chart saw over $100 million in sales. Previously, that’s been a rare occurrence, but this year marks the first time gross revenue surpassed $2 billion from just the top 10 grossing tours alone.
2017 came close with $1.8 billion, but this year’s top 10 artists easily hit the $2 billion mark — and then some.
Ed Sheeran topped the charts with $432.4 million in gross revenue. His Divide tour stopped in 53 cities to perform 94 shows.
Taylor Swift was knocked to second place with $345.1 million. Her Reputation Stadium tour stopped in 36 cities and performed 53 shows.
Sheeran’s larger tour certainly helped propel him to the top of the list this year.
Here’s a peek at the other top-grossing touring artists for 2018.
- Ed Sheeran – $432.4 million
- Taylor Swift – $345.1 million
- Jay-Z/Beyonce – $254.1 million
- Pink – $169.2 million
- Bruno Mars – $167.6 million
- Eagles – $166 million
- Justin Timberlake – $151 million
- Roger Waters – $131.3 million
- U2 – $126.2 million
- The Rolling Stones – $116.6 million
Pop artists took six of the top seven slots, but Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift are a powerhouse. According to Pollstar, the two performers pulled in a combined $777 million in sales, or 14% of the overall gross for Top 100 Worldwide Tours.
Rock legends The Rolling Stones, Eagles, U2, and Roger Waters rounded out the rest of the top ten. Every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s is represented in the top ten list this year.
Ed Sheeran’s Divide tour traveled across four continents and served up around 4.8 million tickets to fans. The $400 million-plus gross is a first for a touring artist.
Sheeran breaks U2’s single-year gross record from 2017 of $316 million.
Did you compare the number of dates they performed? Swift toured for less than a year while Sheeran had toured for almost two years now. Dont you think that would skew results?