More than 250 million people attend live music concerts every year in the U.S., according to Gitnux, a market research and statistics site. Billboard reports that there were 33,629 concerts — both individual shows and festivals — in North America last year (and that’s not counting club dates), up 15.3% from 2022, when the live music business was still suffering the effects of COVID-19. The same source notes that Live Nation, whose merger with Ticketmaster was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2010, is by far the largest promoter of musical events in the country, taking in $22.7 billion in 2023. Clearly, concert tours are very big business.
Apart from a handful of performers at the very highest level of popularity, it’s all but impossible for anyone to make money solely from recorded music these days, because the royalties paid by streaming platforms are minimal, to say the least. (Spotify generally offers artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream — while the same artists might earn anywhere from $1.50 to $4 for each CD or vinyl album sold.)
The profit, then, is in live performances — including income from both ticket sales and merchandise. And many of today’s top musical acts take on grueling tour schedules every year, selling millions of tickets at prices in the hundreds of dollars apiece, and occasionally even more.
To determine the concert tours with the highest ticket prices in 2024, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data from the last-minute ticket-buying app Gametime. Artists touring in 2024 were ranked based on the median ticket price for their concerts this year. Supplemental data on Billboard Hot 100 performance is current through Dec. 30, 2023.
The artists on the list span many musical genres, including blues, country, pop, folk-pop, rock, metal, reggaeton, alternative — even classical. Veteran stars like Eagles, Madonna, Billy Joel, Santana, and Bruce Springsteen are among those represented, as are newer stars on the scene like Noel Kahan and Sleep Token. And it probably won’t surprise anyone to learn that the No. 1 position here, with a median ticket price of more than $3,500, is arguably the biggest musical sensation of our age — Taylor Swift. (Here’s a list of the biggest Billboard artist debuts of 2023.)
Scroll down for the most expensive concert tickets in 2024:
20. Pink
- Median ticket price: $399.57
- Number of events: 22
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 36 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 701 weeks
19. Tedeschi Trucks Band
- Median ticket price: $409.53
- Number of events: 13
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: N/A
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: N/A
18. Sleep Token
- Median ticket price: $427.61
- Number of events: 11
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: N/A
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: N/A
17. Jon Batiste
- Median ticket price: $438.58
- Number of events: 22
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: N/A
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: N/A
16. Santana
- Median ticket price: $444.57
- Number of events: 16
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 23 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 363 weeks
15. Madonna
- Median ticket price: $456.17
- Number of events: 42
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 58 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 917 weeks
14. Drake
- Median ticket price: $463.73
- Number of events: 32
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 328 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 3,182 weeks
13. Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Median ticket price: $463.73
- Number of events: 19
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 15 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 270 weeks
12. Noah Kahan
- Median ticket price: $488.02
- Number of events: 40
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 7 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 45 weeks
11. Bruce Springsteen
- Median ticket price: $507.46
- Number of events: 25
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 26 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 329 weeks
10. Andrea Bocelli
- Median ticket price: $519.67
- Number of events: 14
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 1 song
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 1 week
9. Billy Joel
- Median ticket price: $535.69
- Number of events: 14
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 42 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 595 weeks
8. Garth Brooks
- Median ticket price: $545.70
- Number of events: 36
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 8 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 87 weeks
7. Morgan Wallen
- Median ticket price: $619.58
- Number of events: 26
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 64 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 800 weeks
6. Bad Bunny
- Median ticket price: $661.01
- Number of events: 47
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 93 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 756 weeks
5. The Eagles
- Median ticket price: $731.59
- Number of events: 22
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 21 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 295 weeks
4. Olivia Rodrigo
- Median ticket price: $734.17
- Number of events: 46
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 25 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 282 weeks
3. U2
- Median ticket price: $1,182.16
- Number of events: 15
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 34 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 397 weeks
2. Adele
- Median ticket price: $2,079.36
- Number of events: 32
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 25 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 361 weeks
1. Taylor Swift
- Median ticket price: $3,525.42
- Number of events: 18
- Billboard Hot 100 hits: 232 songs
- Total time on Billboard Hot 100: 1,595 weeks