U2 had an astounding 100% reported sell out record; Madonna was next, with 98.5%. After them, The Police had 93% and Bon Jovi had 90%.

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http://www.billboard.com/...est-o....0 4053065.story

Nothing beats the concert experience -- and no one knows that better than these 25 road warriors who rocked more faces (and made more money doing it!) than others this decade. Watch videos of each of the stars live in action, and relive your moment in the front row.

1 THE ROLLING STONES

Total Gross: $869,471,325
Total Attendance: 8,236,586
Number of Shows: 264
Number of Sell-Outs: 190

2 U2

Total Gross: $844,157,925
Total Attendance: 9,869,953
Number of Shows: 288
Number of Sell-Outs: 288

3 MADONNA

Total Gross: $801,299,671
Total Attendance: 6,387,124
Number of Shows: 248
Number of Sell-Outs: 244

4 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Total Gross: $688,136,476
Total Attendance: 8,605,238
Number of Shows: 403
Number of Sell-Outs: 248

5 ELTON JOHN

Total Gross: $603,804,670
Total Attendance: 5,789,833
Number of Shows: 541
Number of Sell-Outs: 470

6 CELINE DION

Total Gross: $536,593,262
Total Attendance: 4,099,963
Number of Shows: 792
Number of Sell-Outs: 597

7 DAVE MATTHEWS BAND

Total Gross: $505,447,901
Total Attendance: 11,230,696
Number of Shows: 547
Number of Sell-Outs: 282

8 KENNY CHESNEY

Total Gross: $477,931,760
Total Attendance: 9,210,288
Number of Shows: 622
Number of Sell-Outs: 409

9 BON JOVI

Total Gross: $419,481,741
Total Attendance: 5,384,747
Number of Shows: 249
Number of Sell-Outs: 224

10 BILLY JOEL

Total Gross: $418,421,266
Total Attendance: 4,141,287
Number of Shows: 241
Number of Sell-Outs: 213

11 THE POLICE

Total Gross: $361,851,102
Total Attendance: 3,327,161
Number of Shows: 144
Number of Sell-Outs: 134

12 THE EAGLES

Total Gross: $347,640,186
Total Attendance: 3,107,832
Number of Shows: 240
Number of Sell-Outs: 174

13 TIM MCGRAW

Total Gross: $303,950,209
Total Attendance: 5,203,501
Number of Shows: 388
Number of Sell-Outs: 175

14 AEROSMITH

Total Gross: $292,201,481
Total Attendance: 4,646,827
Number of Shows: 320
Number of Sell-Outs: 61

15 NEIL DIAMOND

Total Gross: $264,810,659
Total Attendance: 3,845,603
Number of Shows: 288
Number of Sell-Outs: 244

16 CHER

Total Gross: $257,319,809
Total Attendance: 3,402,569
Number of Shows: 383
Number of Sell-Outs: 171

17 PAUL MCCARTNEY

Total Gross: $238,755,522
Total Attendance: 1,870,274
Number of Shows: 106
Number of Sell-Outs: 85

18 ROD STEWART

Total Gross: $233,773,789
Total Attendance: 3,022,292
Number of Shows: 281
Number of Sell-Outs: 148

19 METALLICA
Total Gross: $227,568,718
Total Attendance: 3,581,445
Number of Shows: 187
Number of Sell-Outs: 93

20 RASCAL FLATTS

Total Gross: $222,256,153
Total Attendance: 4,514,282
Number of Shows: 401
Number of Sell-Outs: 274

21 BRITNEY SPEARS

Total Gross: $216,229,560
Total Attendance: 3,704,826
Number of Shows: 255
Number of Sell-Outs: 158

22 JIMMY BUFFETT

Total Gross: $215,367,754
Total Attendance: 3,927,053
Number of Shows: 196
Number of Sell-Outs: 131

23 TINA TURNER

Total Gross: $212,012,527
Total Attendance: 3,205,895
Number of Shows: 168
Number of Sell-Outs: 106

24 TOBY KEITH

Total Gross: $271,904,093
Total Attendance: 6,355,046
Number of Shows: 542
Number of Sell-Outs: 200

25 TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

Total Gross: $203,605,519
Total Attendance: 5,045,297
Number of Shows: 728
Number of Sell-Outs: 309

that's quite impressive

good for them!!

is there a link that works?
[Edited 12/11/09 9:35am]

Further Proof that radio/video has no clue, look at this Top 20, has any really had a hit single for the most part? With the exception of the occasional Madonna single and of course Britney, this is basically who sells albums, who can play or perform in some way. NOTE the lack of ONE Rb/HipHop/Rap act in that 20, and dont say Tina Turner for RB, be real now.

lastdecember said:

and Tina only toured in 00 and 08-09

lastdecember said:

Serious money comes from touring and most of it, with the exception of the immensely popular Britney Spears and country-crossovers Rascal Flatts, is earned by older, veteran acts. All 25 have dedicated followings which is why they could get away with the crazy ticket prices. Everybody can't pack an arena like these people and most artists would trade their radio/album success to be able to. When commercial viability wanes, this is what they usually rely on to bring in the dough.

Madonna's Hard Candy didn't even scan a million copies in the U.S. yet she earned more than $240 million the following year, most of it from *cough* *cough* touring.

musicjunky318 said:

Well its always been the bread and butter, but the change now is the so called "charts" used to pretty much mirror what was going on the touring circuit.

lastdecember said:

white artists always gross more touring than black artists,especially older white artists, tina turner is black but her fanbase is overwhelmingly white.most black artists dont charge 300 plus dollars for a ticket.its not even a fair comparison.

25 TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

And THAT is why record sales don't mean shit when it comes to bank. Prince might make 51% of Lotus, roughly $6, but when you only sell 293,000, that's 1.75 million. Not a lot considering his lifestyle and payroll. Touring has most always been the place where artists make their dough. It's why I never felt THAT guilty about downloading music. I'm not out to steal music, but I'm gonna damn sure preview it before I buy it. Yet oddly, I've bought CDs after hearing half of one song, and wasn't disappointed (and it was a new band for me). I always support folks at the cash register that I believe in and enjoy. But gheez, when people are raking in 200,000,000 bucks on a tour.....seems me taking a $12 CD over the internet isn't going to dent them that much.

At the same time, the whole list is a disgusting display of greed and excess. Every one of these MFers should give a couple million to St. Judes, or AmFar, and a laundry list of other charities and hospitals.

when is the last time the stones have released new music?

minneapolisFunq said:

Well the list is "touring acts", not biggest selling artist. We all know the Stones don't need an album to put on a show. People will go see them regardless. And even with their recent output, anyone REALLY remember a hit single from them in the past 10 years???

lastdecember said:

with huge sales for susan boyle and andre bochelli, something tells me things are going to swing back in favor of older acts...simply because gramps and mom don't know how to download and steal music.

hmmm once again, someone is missing

BklynBabe said:

yeah, poor MJ.

sosgemini said:

MJ didn't tour in the last decade, did he?

ernestsewell said:

that was a joke.

sosgemini said:

Don't you get sassy w/ me!

sosgemini said:

once again, she, the Artist of the Decade, is absent in sales and touring...

Me or someone in my family went to see almost every one of those acts this decade.

This includes the age 50-something parental/aunt/uncle generation.

BklynBabe said:

Yeah,it's amazing that,as popular as Beyonce is,her tours aren't nearly as successful as the older artists' tours.

musicjunky318 said:

This is astounding. You know people mess up their averages by adding second shows to the same city and find that the next show doesn't sell out, but U2 does this and it still sells to capacity

I'm seeing them in 2010

BklynBabe said:

I thought you were talking about Prince.

musicjunky318 said:

That is .8 BILLION dollars!! You go girl!

ernestsewell said:

Yep...and Prince, one of the very best live acts out there, isn't even on the list!

CandaceS said:

Yeah, partly because Prince doesn't empty his fans' pockets with exhorbitant ticket prices. That is one of the things I love about him. He is arguably the best out there live and one of the best of all time, yet his tickets are far less pricey than most of the people on this list. I wouldn't have minded seeing some of them, but after seeing their prices I passed. If it costs more than a Prince ticket, it's just not worth it to me. The only person I ever broke that rule for was George Michael because I knew he was worth it, and his tickets still weren't outrageous like Madonna, the Stones, Police, etc.

Also, @ ernestsewell, I think Prince has made more than enough to support his lifestyle and payroll. He doesn't appear to be hurting.
[Edited 12/15/09 21:06pm]

bellanoche said:

Uhh, so how much did those Las Vegas tickets cost? The website lifetime memberships that always end up expiring and albums with two good tracks on them? It's all relative I say...and it's all considered bilking.

bellanoche said:

It has more to do with not being able to charge that much and not being able to schedule stadium gigs, nothing to do with caring about the fans.

ernestsewell said:

Well that's why the UK summer festivals are such a big thing now. It's the only way the bands can guarantee a wide audience and income. For me to buy a cd now it either has to be vinyl (yes I know) or offer features (I mean packaging and the like) that appeal to me.

I occasionally buy albums on the back of a review or after a quick "preview". The Scissor Sisters debut album was one of the latter. That album for me was a breath of fresh air.

As for the earnings of each tour, well by the time everyone has taken their slice of the pie...

And besides we all know that if you dole out £100 to five people it's only a small matter of time before one person ends up with most of it. Some people are just crap with their cash. It gets back into circulation at some point.

sosgemini said:

LiveToTell86 said:

Yeah, I think the fans let him know back in May 2006 that they wouldn't pay $300+ to see him, even in a relatively intimate setting.

http://www.lasvegasvegas....gas_at.php

But at least Madonna has a huge production to pay for...Prince doesn't, so why should I pay that much to see him and his band play some "greatest hits."
[Edited 12/19/09 2:40am]