Where Data Tells the Story
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With digital streaming becoming the dominant way to consume music, artists now rely almost entirely on touring and merchandise to make a living.
In the infographic above, we present data on the most successful music tours worldwide as of December 2025.
It is based on gross revenue in million dollars and comes from the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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Seven of ten entries in the all-time ranking are from 2017 or later.
Only U2’s 360° Tour (2009-11) and the Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang (2005-07) predate the full restructuring of music industry economics in the streaming era.
The shift from recorded music revenue toward live performance income (as streaming compressed per-song royalties while live ticket prices surged) is the market condition that produced this list’s concentration in recent years.
According to Pollstar via AMW, the average U.S. concert ticket prices reached $144 in 2025, a 31% increase over five years.
Meanwhile, the top-10 grossing tours averaged $408 per ticket
Another important context is that these are gross figures.
Artists typically receive only 10-20% of gross ticket revenue after venue, promoter, and agent fees.
For example, at 15%, Taylor Swift’s estimated artist share of $2.1 billion is approximately $310 million before her own touring costs.
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