10 Highest Grossing Concerts 2011

Top 10 Concerts of 2011

The concert industry , after a difficult year in 2010, is showing total revenue from the Top 50 tours worldwide is up more than 11 percent for the first half of 2011, according to Pollstar, the concert-industry tracking publication.

Totals from those 50 tours added up to $1.65 billion, despite a 2.1 percent drop in the number of tickets sold—19.4 million—meaning the bump in the total box office came as the result of higher ticket prices on average.

The list of the Top 10 Tours comprises a healthy mix of genres and generations, from country stars Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney to classic rockers Bon Jovi and Roger Waters — and of course, a few pop divas like Gaga.

1. U2 – $164 million
2. Roger Waters – $97.9 million
3. Bon Jovi – $92.1 million
4. Lady Gaga – $65.3 million
5. Usher – $62.2 million
6. Kylie Minogue – $52.1 million
7. Kenny Chesney – $46.7 million
8. Andre Rieu – $46 million
9. Elton John – $44 million
10. Taylor Swift – $42.9 million

“The increased admission price seems to be spread throughout the chart rankings,” Pollstar’s report says. “There were 12 tours on this year’s chart that charged more than $100 per ticket, as compared to only eight last year. Even more interesting is the huge increase in tours hovering just under the magic three-digit price point. There were 22 tours charging more than $90 this year as compared to 12 tours last year.”