Rock + Metal Artists Who've Made the Most Money Selling Tickets

Here are the 35 rock and metal artists who have made the most money selling concert tickets.

The totals are culled from Pollstar's July 2022 report of the Top Touring Artists of the Pollstar Era (Boxoffice Grosses). The official tracking of these figures dates back to 1981, meaning any boxoffice ticket sales prior to this date are not reflected in the figures.

While some of the artists on this list certainly enjoyed overwhelming tour success in the '60s and '70s and their overall totals are higher than what appears here, it's still a rather impressive list of who's who when it comes to live demand.

The gap between No. 35 and No. 1 is incredibly wide — almost tenfold! The sales figures below range from just over $271 million to more than $2.1 billion.

Only two acts have eclipsed the $2 billion in boxoffice ticket sales feat. No, Metallica aren't one of them, but they did place in Pollstar's overall Top 10, which includes musical artists of all genres.

See which touring artist has earned the most money at the boxoffice and which 34 acts trail them.

The 35 Highest Grossing Touring Artists in Rock + Metal (Boxoffice Only)

IMPORTANT:

All ticket totals below are from Pollstar's July 2022 report of the Top Touring Artists.

These concert ticket totals date back to 1981, which is when Pollstar began tracking.

Only two rock artists have grossed more than $2 billion in ticket sales, according to this data!

Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita

The Songs 30 Huge Rock + Metal Bands Only Played Live Once

Note: songs that were played as part of a medley and cover songs were not considered for this list. Only full performances of individual songs were taken into account.

Gallery Credit: Joe DiVita

Source: The 35 Rock + Metal Artists Who’ve Made the Most Money Selling Tickets (Two Artists Over $2 Billion!)

Filed Under: Kiss, AC/DC, Eric Clapton, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam, The Who, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Halen, Journey, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Foo Fighters, Nickelback, Scorpions, ZZ Top, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, The Police, Fleetwood Mac