US rock band Bon Jovi had the highest grossing international music tour of the year, according to Billboard magazine’s 2013 rankings. Billboard’s Boxscore reports the band played 90 sell-out shows, to more than two million fans during 2013 and grossed over $205 million.
According to Billboard’s annual number crunch, 2013 has proven to be one of the biggest earning years for live tours we’ve seen this century. The Boxscores chart, which calculates the gross earnings of the world’s biggest live shows, this year saw a record level of $4.8 billion in gross ticket sales worldwide.
Those figures represent a near 30% increase on 2012’s numbers and a healthy 9% more than in 2009, which was previously the biggest Boxscore year recorded. Top grossing artist tours this year varied in genre, from rock ‘n’ roll veteran comebacks to dazzling popstars, country superstars and even theatrical stage productions. Coming second to Bon Jovi was Cirque Du Soleil‘s Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour which grossed over $157 million, followed by singer Pink, who only managed a measly $148m.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band came in fourth after grossing over $147m from 53 shows, followed by popstar Rihanna at number five, who played to more than 1.5m fans at 87 shows during the year, bringing in nearly $138m. The Rolling Stones, whose upcoming Australian dates weren’t factored in, were the highest placed British act, raking in $126m from 23 shows putting them in sixth place.
This is the third time a tour by Bon Jovi has finished as Billboard’s highest grossing show of the year, the band previously achieved top spot in 2008 and 2010. Bon Jovi’s Because We Can Tour finishes up tonight at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
Other notable acts to make the list include Beyoncé with $104m at number 8, Depeche Mode‘s $100m put them at 9, then Pink Floyd‘s Roger Waters (11), One Direction (12) who beat out Justin Bieber (13), Paul McCartney (16), Fleetwood Mac (17) and heavy metal band Iron Maiden at 25.
You can check out the full list of tours and their earnings in our slideshow below.
Highest Earning 25 Tours of 2013
Top Tours 2013
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Iron Maiden
25: IRON MAIDEN Total Gross: $44,980,749 Total Attendance: 684,200 Total Capacity: 764,186 No. of Shows: 34 No. of Sellouts: 13 -
Luke Bryan Images
24: LUKE BRYAN Total Gross: $45,558,589 Total Attendance: 1,143,727 Total Capacity: 1,153,536 No. of Shows: 75 No. of Sellouts: 65 -
Bruno Mars Sad
23: BRUNO MARS Total Gross: $46,417,795 Total Attendance: 666,926 Total Capacity: 668,110 No. of Shows: 48 No. of Sellouts: 44 -
Lady Gaga Beautiful Dirty Rich Music Video Lady Gaga 9514489 1440 720
22: LADY GAGA Total Gross: $46,957,070 Total Attendance: 544,333 Total Capacity: 550,122 No. of Shows: 23 No. of Sellouts: 22 -
Jason Aldean
21: JASON ALDEAN Total Gross: $47,814,095 Total Attendance: 1,004,303 Total Capacity: 1,043,158 No. of Shows: 62 No. of Sellouts: 42 -
AndreRieuLivelarge
20: ANDRE RIEU Total Gross: $49,983,266 Total Attendance: 484,599 Total Capacity: 558,467 No. of Shows: 70 No. of Sellouts: 5 -
Dave Matthews Band
19: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND Total Gross: $52,960,667 Total Attendance: 882,287 Total Capacity: 1,152,025 No. of Shows: 61 No. of Sellouts: 17 -
Maroon 5
18: MAROON 5 Total Gross: $54,354,974 Total Attendance: 930,953 Total Capacity: 933,867 No. of Shows: 60 No. of Sellouts: 57 -
Fleetwood Mac
17: FLEETWOOD MAC Total Gross: $61,899,473 Total Attendance: 554,548 Total Capacity: 579,480 No. of Shows: 45 No. of Sellouts: 13 -
Paul Mccartney
16: PAUL MCCARTNEY Total Gross: $69,584,403 Total Attendance: 565,705 Total Capacity: 566,696 No. of Shows: 21 No. of Sellouts: 15 -
Jay Z Justin
15: JAY Z & JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Total Gross: $69,753,905 Total Attendance: 622,559 Total Capacity: 622,559 No. of Shows: 14 No. of Sellouts: 14 -
Madonna Money Makers 650 430
14: MADONNA Total Gross: $76,752,277 Total Attendance: 577,169 Total Capacity: 577,169 No. of Shows: 16 No. of Sellouts: 16 -
Bieber
13: JUSTIN BIEBER Total Gross: $77,423,264 Total Attendance: 959,886 Total Capacity: 982,523 No. of Shows: 65 No. of Sellouts: 55 -
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12: ONE DIRECTION Total Gross: $78,311,383 Total Attendance: 1,223,144 Total Capacity: 1,236,308 No. of Shows: 81 No. of Sellouts: 43 -
Roger Waters
11: ROGER WATERS Total Gross: $81,305,650 Total Attendance: 830,123 Total Capacity: 915,081 No. of Shows: 27 No. of Sellouts: 0 -
Kenny Chesney
10: KENNY CHESNEY Total Gross: $90,932,957 Total Attendance: 1,186,925 Total Capacity: 1,214,694 No. of Shows: 44 No. of Sellouts: 31 -
Depeche Mode
9: DEPECHE MODE Total Gross: $99,972,733 Total Attendance: 1,390,141 Total Capacity: 1,400,298 No. of Shows: 54 No. of Sellouts: 51 -
Beyonce 'Diva' video
8: BEYONCE Total Gross: $104,358,899 Total Attendance: 883,062 Total Capacity: 934,021 No. of Shows: 59 No. of Sellouts: 40 -
Taylor Swift
7: TAYLOR SWIFT Total Gross: $115,379,331 Total Attendance: 1,363,510 Total Capacity: 1,363,510 No. of Shows: 66 No. of Sellouts: 66 -
Rolling Stones
6: THE ROLLING STONES Total Gross: $126,182,391 Total Attendance: 326,998 Total Capacity: 326,998 No. of Shows: 23 No. of Sellouts: 23 -
Rihanna
5: RIHANNA Total Gross: $137,982,530 Total Attendance: 1,595,161 Total Capacity: 1,600,851 No. of Shows: 87 No. of Sellouts: 84 -
Bruce Springsteen
4: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND Total Gross: $147,608,938 Total Attendance: 1,389,778 Total Capacity: 1,454,499 No. of Shows: 53 No. of Sellouts: 36 -
Pink1
3: P!NK Total Gross: $147,947,543 Total Attendance: 1,581,939 Total Capacity: 1,583,801 No. of Shows: 114 No. of Sellouts: 111 -
Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour
2: MICHAEL JACKSON THE IMMORTAL WORLD TOUR by CIRQUE DU SOLEIL Total Gross: $157,299,100 Total Attendance: 1,425,442 Total Capacity: 1,853,022 No. of Shows: 205 No. of Sellouts: 0 -
20130209_Bon_Jovi_Mohegan_5231.NEF
1: BON JOVI Total Gross: $205,158,370 Total Attendance: 2,178,170 Total Capacity: 2,178,170 No. of Shows: 90 No. of Sellouts: 90
