Metallica Are the Most Successful Touring Metal Act of the Past 40 Years
A new list released by Pollstar commemorates four decades of tracking live music sales with a list that reveals the most successful touring acts in that time period. Metallica claim the #6 spot for total tickets sold, which is the highest placement for a metal band by a long shot. Iron Maiden are the next on the list at #35.
Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Kiss, Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe, plus others, also make the list. There are two lists included; one which ranks box office gross and one which ranks total tickets sold. According to Pollstar:
“Both charts present the Top Touring Artists, but one is ranked by gross and the other by the number of tickets sold. For both, we have 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. We also did not include any event where the touring artist participated as a support act”
Our friends at Metal Injection sorted through the list and pulled any relevant artists, which you can look at below. If you’re interested in reading the full lists, which were topped by The Rolling Stones and U2 respectively, they’re available via Pollstar.
For what it’s worth, Pollstar told us Metallica were the biggest metal band in the world in 2019, so this is just a confirmation.
Box Office Gross
- #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)
Tickets Sold
- #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
