In a year marked by blockbusters, Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Eras Tour” claims the No. 1 position on Pollstar’s 2023 Year-End Top Worldwide Tours and Top North American Tours charts. Swift’s historic, $1 billion-plus-grossing “Eras Tour” highlighted a record-setting year for the live entertainment industry in 2023, with concert business up double-digit percentages in virtually every metric, with Swift’s tour topping all previous tours in ticket sales in a year marked by blockbusters.
For the Pollstar eligibility box office year (Nov. 17, 2022, to Nov. 15, 2023), Swift took in an estimated ticket gross of $1.04 billion, with 4.35 million tickets sold from 60 shows that took place during the period. The highly anticipated year-end charts were released today by Pollstar, the most relevant, in-depth, and reliable source for concert and live industry data, and can be viewed in the magazine’s 2023 Year-End Special Issue.
Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Eras Tour”
Beyond ticket revenues, Pollstar’s research has calculated the “Eras Tour” merchandise sales at approximately $200 million during the run. These extraordinary figures are indicative of the year the superstar has had overall. On the big screen, it has been reported that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie crossed the $250 million mark in worldwide ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing concert movie of all time. Additionally, Pollstar projects that “Eras Tour” ticket sales for the next eligibility box office year will again hit $1 billion, taking the tour’s total to more than $2 billion.
Top 10 rankings on 2023’s Worldwide Tours
In addition to Taylor Swift, the Top 10 rankings on 2023’s Worldwide Tours are Beyoncé (No. 2), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (No. 3), Coldplay (No. 4), Harry Styles (No. 5), Morgan Wallen (No. 6), Ed Sheeran (No. 7), P!nk (No. 8), The Weeknd (No. 9), and Drake (No. 10). 2023 was yet another unprecedented year for the concert industry as total grosses for the Worldwide Top 100 Tours were up 46% to a record-breaking $9.17 billion (2022’s total was $6.28 billion), and attendance was up 18.38% in total tickets sold to 70.1 million (2022’s total was 59.2 million).
Top 10 of the North American Tours
In addition to Taylor Swift, charting in the Top 10 of the North American Tours are Beyoncé (No. 2), Morgan Wallen (No. 3), Drake (No. 4), P!nk (No. 5), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (No. 6), Ed Sheeran (No. 7), George Strait (No. 8), Karol G (No. 9), and RBD (No. 10). In 2023, the Top 100 North American Tours also set a gross record with $6.63 billion (2022’s total was $4.77 billion).
Taylor Swift
“This has been the Year of the Blockbuster, none earning that title more than Taylor Swift’s cultural takeover in Eras, Pollstar‘s first-ever billion-dollar tour. The live entertainment industry remains in the midst of a record-breaking Golden Era, marked by innovation and creativity, artist development, and a paradigm shift in fan experience, as defined by the Sphere in Las Vegas and U2’s amazing run.” – stated Ray Waddell, president of Oak View Group’s Media & Conferences Division, which oversees Pollstar and sister publication VenuesNow.
Pollstar’s Year-End Special takes an in-depth look at the past year, with live business analysis and perspectives from a variety of industry segments. Also included are features on U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, 2023’s most impactful game-changing transformational artists, and more. Additional editorial features and industry news will be released on December 11, 2023, at www.pollstar.com. The annual Pollstar ranking of the concert industry’s top-performing artists is tabulated for all shows worked between Nov. 17, 2022, and Nov. 15, 2023. All ticket sales figures are calculated in U.S. dollars and are based on reported information and extensive research by Pollstar. * Pollstar’s estimate reflects actual box office reports from the “Eras Tour,” combined with estimated tickets sold based on venue capacities, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other research.
Pollstar Live!
Pollstar Live! is the world’s largest gathering of live entertainment professionals and the flagship event for Pollstar magazine, the leading trade publication for the global live entertainment industry. With over 30 years of history, the Pollstar Live! Conference offers three days of compelling discussions led by visionaries in the live entertainment business, beginning with Production Live!, a full day dedicated to production and transportation in live events, followed by Pollstar Live!, including the annual Pollstar Awards celebration. Registration for Pollstar Live! 2024 is open now.
ABOUT POLLSTAR:
Since its founding in 1981, Pollstar, The Voice of Live, has been the premier trade publication dedicated to covering the worldwide concert industry. Pollstar data is the leading resource for the touring industry encompassing box office numbers, routing, and directories. Pollstar produces a weekly magazine, publishes daily content to Pollstar.com and its “Daily Pulse” e-newsletter, and executes the world’s largest gathering of live music industry professionals – Pollstar Live.
ABOUT OAK VIEW GROUP (OVG):
Oak View Group (OVG) is a global sports and entertainment company founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. OVG’s mission is to be a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports, live entertainment, and hospitality industries. OVG is world-renowned as the leading full-service live entertainment and hospitality group, with 10 major new arenas either open or under development including Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center; UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY; Moody Center in Austin, TX; Acrisure Arena in Greater Palm Springs, CA; and CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD; as well as arena development projects for Co-op Live in Manchester, UK; Anhembi Arena in São Paulo, Brazil; FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, ON; a New Arena and entertainment district in Las Vegas, NV; and a New Arena in Cardiff, Wales. OVG360 is a full-service venue management, hospitality solutions, and venue services company servicing more than 400 arenas, stadiums, performing arts centers, culture institutions, and convention centers worldwide. Find out more information at OakViewGroup.com.