There is no denying the touring power that is METALLICA as the infamous metal act have now officially been revealed as the top touring metal band of the last 40 years.
For Pollstar‘s 40th anniversary, the publication has created two special charts that show the overall impact of box-office sales during the four decades of Pollstar‘s existence.
The two special charts present the “Top Touring Artists Of The Pollstar Era“, both ranking the top 150 headlining acts during Pollstar‘s entire history.
Each listing is comprised of cumulative totals for each artist and compiled from all the thousands of box-office reports Pollstar received since it’s inception the early 1980s. Both charts present the Top Touring Artists, but one is ranked by gross and the other by the number of tickets sold. For both, Pollstar has counted only headlining shows for each act, omitting results from any festival appearance since the festival itself is eligible to rank on the All-Time Boxoffice chart, as many of them have. Pollstar also did not include any event where the touring artist participated as a support act.
Notable acts included on the “Top Touring Artists Of The Pollstar Era: Boxoffice Grosses” list:
#9 METALLICA ($1,219,599,179)
#23 GUNS N’ ROSES ($751,306,152)
#27 AC/DC ($668,427,967)
#41 KISS ($532,363,017)
#42 DEF LEPPARD ($514,231,844)
#44 IRON MAIDEN ($475,817,777)
#51 MUSE ($413,911,387)
#55 FOO FIGHTERS ($397,110,491)
#63 MÖTLEY CRÜE ($367,345,912)
#65 PEARL JAM ($351,816,504)
#73 RUSH ($341,767,928)
#89 Vans Warped Tour ($296,571,532)
#91 VAN HALEN ($295,611,828)
#97 ZZ TOP ($278,705,470)
#99 SCORPIONS ($271,865,172)
#100 TOOL ($269,044,896)
#113 QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT ($225,209,819)
#119 GREEN DAY ($204,959,692)
#132 OZZY OSBOURNE ($186,754,231)
#143 Ozzfest ($174,320,095)
Notable acts included on “Top Touring Artists Of The Pollstar Era: Tickets Sold” list:
#6 METALLICA, with 19,468,173 tickets sold for a gross total of $1,219,599,179
#22 AC/DC, with 11,512,424 tickets sold for a gross total of $668,427,967
#23 DEF LEPPARD, with 11,321,650 tickets sold for a gross total of $514,231,844
#27 Vans Warped Tour, with 10,524,715 tickets sold for a gross total of $296,571,532
#30 KISS, with 9,867,419 tickets sold for a gross total of $532,363,017
#35 IRON MAIDEN, with 9,187,132 tickets sold for a gross total of $475,817,777
#36 ZZ TOP, with 9,104,788 tickets sold for a gross total of $278,705,470
#42 MÖTLEY CRÜE, with 8,748,806 tickets sold for a gross total of $367,345,912
#43 RUSH, with 8,593,428 tickets sold for a gross total of $341,767,928
#44 GUNS N’ ROSES, with 8,470,755 tickets sold for a gross total of $751,306,152
#53 VAN HALEN, with 7,483,253 tickets sold for a gross total of $295,611,828
#63 PEARL JAM, with 7,006,815 tickets sold for a gross total of $351,816,504
#66 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, with 6,846,945 tickets sold for a gross total of $391,478,473
#78 MUSE, with 6,124,001 tickets sold for a gross total of $413,911,387
#80 OZZY OSBOURNE, with 6,006,522 tickets sold for a gross total of $186,754,231
#83 SCORPIONS, with 5,864,625 tickets sold for a gross total of $271,865,172
#84 FOO FIGHTERS, with 5,815,511 tickets sold for a gross total of $397,110,491
#88 PINK FLOYD, with 5,662,178 tickets sold for a gross total of $159,560,275
#105 GREEN DAY, with 4,764,387 tickets sold for a gross total of $204,959,692
#109 TOOL, with 4,483,293 tickets sold for a gross total of $269,044,896
#118 POISON, with 3,911,113 tickets sold for a gross total of $77,878,900
#120 Ozzfest, with 3,802,261 tickets sold for a gross total of $174,320,095
#149 LINKIN PARK, with 3,211,166 tickets sold for a gross total of $164,426,28