Taylor Swift has officially dethroned Elton John's infamously lengthy Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour for the highest-grossing tour of all time, with the Eras tour becoming the first-ever to gross $1 billion USD.
According to data from live music trade publication Pollstar, the worldwide cultural phenomenon and larger-than-life pop spectacle was the year's biggest concert tour by a long shot, earning more in ticket sales than the next two highest-grossing tours (Beyoncé at $580 million and Bruce Springsteen at $379 million, respectively) combined. Coldplay, Harry Styles, Morgan Wallen, Ed Sheeran, P!nk, the Weeknd and Drake had the other biggest revenue-generating stints on the road in 2023.
Eras tour ticket prices averaged about $238 USD, and each show grossed over $17 million, with approximately 72,000 people in attendance every night. As per Pollstar, Swift sold around 4.3 million tickets and made an estimated $200 million from merch alone.
And that's not to mention what the pop star is earning from the Eras Tour film, which has earned about $250 million at the global box office, or its revenue when it becomes available to rent on-demand — with additional performances — beginning December 13.
The tour has grossed $1,039,263,762 in 2023, not including sales for the upcoming shows Swift will play next year, which Pollstar projects will bring in another $1.125 billion. So that means the full two-year Eras tour, as Andy Gensler writes, "has the possibility of setting an even more astronomical record, that is hard to even fathom: a $2.165 billion gross — which is more than the GDP of 17 small nations." Capitalism! Totally fine and normal!
In comparison, the Time Person of the Year only earned a measly $100 million in Spotify royalties in 2023 despite being the world's most-streamed artist on the platform (and Apple Music, if anyone cares).
According to data from live music trade publication Pollstar, the worldwide cultural phenomenon and larger-than-life pop spectacle was the year's biggest concert tour by a long shot, earning more in ticket sales than the next two highest-grossing tours (Beyoncé at $580 million and Bruce Springsteen at $379 million, respectively) combined. Coldplay, Harry Styles, Morgan Wallen, Ed Sheeran, P!nk, the Weeknd and Drake had the other biggest revenue-generating stints on the road in 2023.
Eras tour ticket prices averaged about $238 USD, and each show grossed over $17 million, with approximately 72,000 people in attendance every night. As per Pollstar, Swift sold around 4.3 million tickets and made an estimated $200 million from merch alone.
And that's not to mention what the pop star is earning from the Eras Tour film, which has earned about $250 million at the global box office, or its revenue when it becomes available to rent on-demand — with additional performances — beginning December 13.
The tour has grossed $1,039,263,762 in 2023, not including sales for the upcoming shows Swift will play next year, which Pollstar projects will bring in another $1.125 billion. So that means the full two-year Eras tour, as Andy Gensler writes, "has the possibility of setting an even more astronomical record, that is hard to even fathom: a $2.165 billion gross — which is more than the GDP of 17 small nations." Capitalism! Totally fine and normal!
In comparison, the Time Person of the Year only earned a measly $100 million in Spotify royalties in 2023 despite being the world's most-streamed artist on the platform (and Apple Music, if anyone cares).