Taylor Swift, Beyoncé lead highest-grossing tours of 2023
The highest-grossing tours of 2023 have been revealed, with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé in the first and second spots.
Swift this year performed 66 shows in the US, Mexico and South America on The Eras Tour, generating more than US$900 million in ticket sales, according to estimates from Billboard.
While no official numbers have been reported yet, Swift’s tour should pass Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour ($939.1m) as the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
Moreover, this year’s gross for The Eras Tour is expected to nearly double in 2024, becoming the first concert tour in history to gross more than US$1 billion.
Beyoncé meanwhile grossed $579.8m and sold 2.8 million tickets on her Rennaisance World Tour between 10 May and 1 October, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
Beyoncé and Swift are the only two women and only American solo artists in the top 10 tours in Boxscore history
During Billboard‘s tracking period of 1 November 2022 and 30 September 2023, the Renaissance World Tour earned $570.5m and sold 2.7 million tickets, plus another $9.3m and 53,200 tickets in Kansas City on 1 October.
That makes it the biggest one-year sum for an artist in Boxscore history, dating back to the mid-1980s. Both Bad Bunny and Ed Sheeran grossed more than $434m in 2022 and 2018, respectively.
The Renaissance World Tour is the seventh highest-grossing tour in the Boxscore archives. Swift joins her as the only two women and only American solo artists in the top 10. Beyoncé is also the only Black artist on the all-time ranking.
Beyoncé and Swift lead a touring boom in 2023, with more tours than ever grossing above $300m (three), $200m (seven) or $100m (17).
Also in the top 10 highest-grossing tours for 2023 is Coldplay ($342.5m for 55 shows), Harry Styles ($338.2m for 69) and Morgan Wallen ($260.4m for 44).
In the bottom half of the top 10 is Ed Sheeran ($256.9M for 46), P!nk ($226.6m for 37 shows), Elton John ($210m for 65), The Weeknd ($192.5m for 35) and Depeche Mode ($175.2m for 47).
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift boosts The Eras Tour to 120 shows
Taylor Swift has added three more dates to The Eras Tour, extending the blockbuster outing to a total of 120 shows across 21 months.
The star will play an additional trio of dates in Canada, at Vancouver’s BC Place (cap. 54,500) between 6-8 December 2024, with Gracie Abrahms supporting.
The shows on Canada’s west coast follow six shows in Toronto and are part of the 15-date 2024 autumn run Swift announced in August.
The Eras Tour was easily the highest-grossing tour of H1 2023, based on Pollstar data and, with the added shows in Vancouver, it is likely to exceed an estimated US$1.5 billion.
The shows on Canada’s west coast follow six shows in Toronto and are part of the 15-date 2024 autumn run
The tour, which is produced by Taylor Swift Touring and promoted by Messina Touring Group, has been on a break since August.
It resumes 9 November for a South American run with concerts in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janiero and São Paulo, while Asia dates begin in February.
Meanwhile, Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film grossed more than $100 million in advance ticket sales over a week before its premiere.
The BBC reports it is already the most profitable concert film in history, overtaking Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, which made $99m in 2011, and the Swift film will join just five movies in having generated more than $100m in their North America debut this year.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
The Eras Tour’s $5.7bn economic impact revealed
The opening leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour reportedly contributed a whopping $5.7 billion to the US economy.
Running to 50+ dates, the 2023 US stretch launched at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in March and concluded with six shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California in August.
The Washington Post has broken down the numbers behind the tour, reporting that her SoFi Stadium residency brought an estimated $320 million alone to the Los Angeles economy. Other highlights included her two dates at each of Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium and Kanas City’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which generated around $50m for their respective economies.
Widely expected to become the highest-grossing tour of all time, Eras will return to the US in autumn next year for further dates in North America, including six nights in Canada at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Swift’s Eras Tour concert film earned $96m domestically and $128m worldwide in its opening weekend
The tour is currently on a break following a four-show run in Mexico at Foro Sol, Mexico City in August. It will resume in South America in November and heads to Japan, Australia and Singapore in early 2024 before touching down in Europe in May.
The Eras Tour led the way in the revenue stakes in H1 2023, garnering $300.8m from its first 22 nights on total ticket sales of 1,186,314 and an average ticket price of $253.56.
Meanwhile, Swift’s Eras Tour film has got off to a storming start at the box office after debuting in 100 countries on 13 October. The WP reports the presentation earned $96m domestically and $128m worldwide in its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo – the biggest opening for a concert film ever and the second biggest domestic opening for an October film of any genre, behind only 2019’s Joker.
Eras was screened in nearly 4,000 movie theatres in North America and features footage from the singer’s SoFi Stadium concerts, and shattered AMC’s US record for the highest ticket-sales revenue during a single day in the company’s 103-year history. The film should comfortably surpass the record-breaking $99m (adjusted for inflation) earned by Justin Bieber’s 2011 movie Never Say Never.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift concert film advance sales top $100m
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film has grossed more than $100 million in advance ticket sales over a week before its premiere.
AMC Theatres Distribution and its sub division partners Variance Films, Trafalgar Releasing, Cinepolis and Cineplex have reached agreements for the presentation to debut at 8,500 cinemas in 100 countries next Friday, 13 October.
It will be screened in nearly 4,000 movie theatres in North America alone, as well as every ODEON Cinema in Europe.
In its first 24 hours on sale, the film shattered AMC’s US record for the highest ticket-sales revenue during a single day in the company’s 103-year history.
The BBC reports it is already the most profitable concert film in history, overtaking Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, which made $99m in 2011, and the Swift film will join just five movies in having generated more than $100m in their North America debut this year.
“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon”
The Eras Tour was the highest-grossing tour of H1 2023 by a wide distance, based on Pollstar data and has been tipped to become the first live music tour in history to gross more than US$1 billion.
“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon,” International Artist Group EVP and head of global music Jarred Arfa told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s pretty astonishing.”
AMC will also distribute Beyoncé’s concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé this December. According to a statement, the film “chronicles her intention, hard work as creative and producer, and her process in mastering her craft to execute the 56-performance, 39-city, record-breaking and phenomenally successful global outing”.
The singer’s Renaissance World Tour wrapped earlier this week after earning more than $579 million (€554m) worldwide at the box office.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift to bring Eras Tour film to cinemas
Taylor Swift will bring her blockbuster Eras Tour to the big screen this autumn.
The concert film will open at cinemas in the US, Canada and Mexico on 13 October, where fans will be able to watch the pop star’s history-making live tour.
Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour will be available to watch at every AMC cinema in the US – with at least four showings per day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays – and some Cinemark and Regal branches. Many of AMC’s IMAX and Dolby cinemas will also be screening the film in high definition.
“The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon,” Swift posted on her social media, alongside a trailer (see below) for the film. “Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged…”
As previously reported on IQ, The Eras Tour is on target to become the first concert tour in history to gross more than US$1 billion.
It was comfortably the highest-grossing tour of H1 2023, generating $300.8m in revenue from its first 22 nights on total ticket sales of 1,186,314 and an average ticket price of $253.56.
“The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far”
The run currently amounts to 117 shows up to August 2024, with the potential for further dates to be added.
Swift isn’t the only artist to capitalise on a successful live tour with a concert film. K-pop stars BTS have enjoyed a record-breaking reign at the box office, having screened several of their tours in cinemas worldwide.
The band’s latest release, which documented their BTS Yet to Come in Busan concert, grossed more than $53 million. The film, titled BTS: Yet To Come in Cinemas, was screened in more than 5,817 cinemas across 128 countries.
Elsewhere, Coldplay last year screened their concert at Buenos Aires’ River Plate Stadium on the Music Of The Spheres World Tour in thousands of cinemas across more than 70 countries.
More recently, Machine Gun Kelly took his 2022 Mainstream Sellout Tour to cinemas worldwide, for one night only.
The film, titled Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland: The Pink Era, recapped the star’s sold-out hometown concert at the FirstEnergy Stadium (cap. 50,000) in Cleveland, Ohio, and gave fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the whole tour.
French pop-rock band Indochine, classical superstar André Rieu and the Eurovision Song Contest have also been given the cinema treatment.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift’s Eras on track to be first $1bn tour
Taylor Swift’s ever-expanding Eras Tour is on target to become the first concert tour in history to gross more than US$1 billion, according to a new report.
The current benchmark was set by Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which grossed $887 million from 5.7 million ticket sales from its first 309 shows, and is expected to settle on around $925m upon its conclusion.
The Eras Tour was comfortably the highest-grossing tour of H1 2023, based on Pollstar data. It generated $300.8m in revenue from its first 22 nights on total ticket sales of 1,186,314 and an average ticket price of $253.56. The run currently amounts to 117 shows up to August 2024, with the potential for further dates to be added.
While a number-crunching report by the Wall Street Journal notes that top tickets in the US tend to cost 20% to 30% more than in the rest of the world, the trek still has every chance of breaking through the $1bn barrier.
“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon,” International Artist Group EVP and head of global music Jarred Arfa tells the WSJ. “It’s pretty astonishing.”
“For production reasons, she will only come to Amsterdam”
Swift’s recently announced 2024 European leg goes on sale in mid-July, but will not stop off in Belgium. Greenhouse Talent, which is staging Swift’s Amsterdam stadium shows in the Netherlands, addresses the omission, telling Het Laastse Nieuws a Brussels date at King Baudouin Stadium was “not an option” because of noise concerns.
“For production reasons, she will only come to Amsterdam,” says the promoter. “The stage had to be on the short side and that is not possible in Brussels due to noise nuisance for the neighbourhood.”
The Manila Bulletin reports that eight million people have applied for tickets for the 33-year-old’s concerts in Asia, while tickets for the singer’s four Japan shows at the 55,000-cap Tokyo Dome will be allocated by a lottery system. Fans must submit an application for the lottery by 10 July and then wait for the results.
More than four million users attempted to buy pre-sale tickets for her Sydney and Melbourne concerts in Australia earlier this week. The New South Wales and Victorian governments moved to crack down on touting after resale prices in excess of $3,000 were listed, with the latter designating the concerts as “major events,” triggering anti-scalping provisions in state legislation.
Elsewhere, in Brazil, a congresswoman has tabled the “Taylor Swift Act”, which would increase the maximum sentence for ticket touting from two to four years in prison, and fines of up to 100x the original price of the tickets.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
170k Taylor tickets to be sold via Ticketstoday
Ticketmaster is set to sell the remaining 170,000 tickets for Taylor Swift’s The Eras US tour dates via Live Nation subsidiary Ticketstoday.
Ticketstoday, which was acquired by LN in 2008 and operates Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Request platform, was initially set up for Dave Matthews Band’s fan club 20 years ago and has also been used by acts such as Phish and Ween.
A number of “Swifties” who had signed up to the Verified Fan scheme but were unsuccessful in the original sale were notified last week that they would be given a second chance at tickets for the 2023 stadium dates.
“You were identified as a fan who received a boost during the Verified Fan presale but did not purchase tickets,” read a note from Ticketmaster. “We apologise for the difficulties you may have experienced, and have been asked by Taylor’s team to create this additional opportunity for you to purchase tickets.
Billboard reports that fans will be invited to select which tickets they’d like to purchase, with successful applicants being determined by a digital lottery. Sales will be limited to two tickets per person and the process is expected to be completed by 23 December.
The tour is reportedly on course to gross $591 million in the US, which would represent a new record for a female artist
The move comes after Swift shifted a record 2.4 million tickets for her AEG-promoted 52-date tour in a single day last month. The sale was marred by reports of “significant service failures” due to “historically unprecedented demand” as 3.5m people pre-registered for the Verified Fan presale, 1.5m of whom were later invited to participate in the onsale.
Billboard notes the tour is on course to gross $591 million in the US, which would represent a new record for a female artist.
The 33-year-old will begin the run at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium on 17 March next year. The US leg currently comprises 52 dates and is due to wrap up with five nights at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles from 3-9 August. Ticket prices range from US$49 to $449, with VIP packages priced from $199 to $899.
The singer-songwriter had been due to embark on the Lover Fest tour in 2020 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which led her to cancel a string of European festival dates, which were to include headline slots at the UK’s Glastonbury festival and BST Hyde Park, along with her first visits to Portugal (Nos Alive), Denmark (Roskilde) and Poland (Open’er).
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift fans get second chance to buy tickets
Some fans who were unable to buy tickets after signing up for the Verified Fan presale for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour have been notified they will be given a second chance.
A number of “Swifties” have been notified they will have an opportunity to participate in an upcoming sale for the singer-songwriter’s 2023 US stadium dates before 23 December, on a date and time to be confirmed.
“You were identified as a fan who received a boost during the Verified Fan presale but did not purchase tickets,” reads a note from Ticketmaster. “We apologise for the difficulties you may have experienced, and have been asked by Taylor’s team to create this additional opportunity for you to purchase tickets.
“Invitations will be staggered by tour dates in each city”
“All fans receiving this opportunity were notified via email on Monday, December 12. Notified fans will receive their individual invite to submit their purchase request prior to Friday, December 23. Invitations will be staggered by tour dates in each city.”
Swift shifted a record 2.4 million tickets for her AEG-promoted 52-date The Eras Tour in a single day last month, but the sale was marred by reports of “significant service failures” and lengthy delays on Ticketmaster’s website.
The tour experienced “historically unprecedented demand” as 3.5m people pre-registered for Swift’s Verified Fan presale, 1.5m of whom were later invited to participate in the onsale. However, the Ticketmaster site struggled to cope with the traffic after being swamped by bot attacks.
Ticketmaster went on to cancel the scheduled general sale, citing “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” and issued a public apology to Swift and her fans.
More than two dozen Swift fans launched a lawsuit against Ticketmaster owner Live Nation earlier this month over the controversial presale.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift fans sue Ticketmaster
More than two dozen Taylor Swift fans are suing Ticketmaster owner Live Nation for “unlawful conduct”, alleging fraud, misrepresentation and antitrust violations over the controversial presale for the singer’s 2023 stadium tour.
Swift shifted a record 2.4 million tickets for her AEG-promoted 52-date The Eras Tour in a single day last month, but the sale was marred by reports of “significant service failures” and lengthy delays on Ticketmaster’s website.
Ticketmaster went on to cancel the scheduled general sale, citing “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” and issued a public apology to Swift and her fans.
Now, as part of a new lawsuit filed with the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, the company is accused of “anticompetitive conduct… to impose higher prices on music concert attendees in the presale, sale and resale market”.
“Defendant’s anticompetitive behaviour has substantially harmed and will continue to substantially harm Taylor Swift fans,” says the 33-page filing on behalf of 26 plaintiffs.
“Global investment and financial services firm Citi last week upgraded its outlook for Live Nation”
The lawsuit is seeking $2,500 for each violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. Jennifer Kinder, attorney for one of the complainants, tells the Washington Post that around 150 fans have expressed interest in being added to the suit since it was filed on Friday (2 December).
“They messed with the wrong fan base,” says Kinder.
The Eras Tour experienced “historically unprecedented demand” as 3.5m people pre-registered for Swift’s Verified Fan presale, 1.5m of whom were later invited to participate in the onsale. However, the Ticketmaster site struggled to cope with the traffic after being swamped by bot attacks. Seatgeek (which took on $238m in private equity investment in August) experienced similar technical issues ticketing five of the Swift dates.
Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee announced last month that a US Senate antitrust panel would look into a “lack of competition in ticketing markets”, in response to the cancelled onsale. However, global investment and financial services firm Citi last week upgraded its outlook for Live Nation, saying it was unlikely to be split up as a result of the panel.
Live Nation has not responded to the lawsuit, but previously addressed competition concerns in a lengthy statement.
“Live Nation takes its responsibilities under the antitrust laws seriously and does not engage in behaviours that could justify antitrust litigation, let alone orders that would require it to alter fundamental business practices,” it said.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift ticketing fallout continues
The fallout from the controversial presale for Taylor Swift’s 2023 stadium tour has escalated, with a US Senate antitrust panel set to look into a “lack of competition in ticketing markets”.
Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee of the senate judiciary subcommittee on competition policy, antitrust and consumer rights have announced the hearing – which will take place on a date to be confirmed – in response to last week’s cancelled onsale.
Swift shifted more than two million tickets – a new record for an artist in a single day – for her AEG-promoted 52-date The Eras Tour, but the sale was marred by reports of “significant service failures” and lengthy delays on Ticketmaster’s website.
“Last week, the competition problem in ticketing markets was made painfully obvious when Ticketmaster’s website failed hundreds of thousands of fans hoping to purchase concert tickets,” says Klobuchar. “The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve.
“This is a story about the status of Taylor Swift, not the status of Ticketmaster”
“That’s why we will hold a hearing on how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industry harms customers and artists alike. When there is no competition to incentivise better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences.”
Days before the announcement, Klobuchar wrote an open letter to Live Nation chief Michael Rapino, expressing “serious concerns about the state of competition in the ticketing industry”. The letter came just weeks after a coalition of American consumer, artist and lobbying groups launched a Break Up Ticketmaster campaign, claiming that artists and venues are being exploited by the company.
Several industry commentators have been quick to point out that unprecedented demand for Taylor Swift tickets has little to do with Ticketmaster’s relationship with Live Nation. “This is a story about the status of Taylor Swift, not the status of Ticketmaster,” wrote Bob Lefsetz. “I wish everybody would STFU! There is no villain here. Just an incredibly successful pop star and a company that was caught off guard by demand.”
In his weekly Full Rate No Cap email, former Billboard editorial director Bill Werde wrote, “It’s pretty obvious that putting 52 dates on sale at once is an unnecessary stress to any tech platform,” adding that Swift’s team had been advised not to put all dates on sale at the same time, “But they wanted the big splash. End result? Her fans suffered.”
“We did sell over two million tickets that day, we could have filled 900 stadiums”
The Eras Tour attracted “historically unprecedented demand” as 3.5m people pre-registered for Swift’s Verified Fan presale, 1.5m of whom were later invited to participate in the onsale. However, the Ticketmaster site struggled to cope with the traffic after being swamped by bot attacks. Seatgeek (which took on $238m in private equity investment in August) experienced similar technical issues ticketing five of the Swift dates.
“The site was supposed to be opened up for 1.5 million verified Taylor Swift fans,” said Live Nation chair Greg Maffei. “We had 14 million people hit the site, including bots – another story – which are not supposed to be there. And despite all the challenges and the breakdowns, we did sell over two million tickets that day, we could have filled 900 stadiums.
“Interestingly, AEG our competitor, who is the promoter for Taylor Swift, chose to use us because we are in reality, the largest and most effective ticket seller in the world. Even our competitors want to come on our platform.”
However, in a rebuttal that may add fuel to the antitrust fire, AEG Presents yesterday told CNBC, “Ticketmaster’s exclusive deals with the vast majority of venues on The Eras Tour required us to ticket through their system…We didn’t have a choice.”
“We’re working to shore up our tech for the new bar that has been set by demand”
Ticketmaster has apologised to Swift and her fans, “especially those who had a terrible experience trying to purchase tickets”.
“Historically, we’ve been able to manage huge volume coming into the site to shop for tickets, so those with Verified Fan codes have a smooth shopping process,” it said in a blog post. “However, this time the staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests – 4x our previous peak.
“We handle onsales for countless top tours, some of the biggest sporting events, and more. Never before has a Verified Fan onsale sparked so much attention – or traffic. This disrupted the predictability and reliability that is the hallmark of our Verified Fan platform.
“We’re always working to improve the ticket buying experience. Especially for high demand onsales, which continue to test new limits. We’re working to shore up our tech for the new bar that has been set by demand.”
Live Nation released a statement addressing competition concerns last weekend. “Live Nation takes its responsibilities under the antitrust laws seriously and does not engage in behaviours that could justify antitrust litigation, let alone orders that would require it to alter fundamental business practices,” it said.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.