Overview
- Pollstar’s list covers events from January 1, 2001 through the end of 2025 using reported and estimated global box-office data.
- Coldplay leads with about 24.8 million tickets sold, followed by U2 at 20.2 million and Ed Sheeran at 19.6 million.
- Taylor Swift ranks fifth by attendance at roughly 18.9 million tickets but leads cumulative gross in the new millennium with more than $3.1 billion, compared with nearly $2.5 billion for Coldplay.
- The 25 artists collectively sold more than 340 million tickets over 25 years and generated grosses exceeding $35.7 billion.
- Pollstar highlights sharp industry growth, with the average ticket price rising from $36.68 in 2001 to $90.27 in 2025, tickets sold up 214%, and grosses up 673%, as legacy acts like Metallica, Bon Jovi, the Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden remain major draws.