METALLICA Remains One Of The Most Successful Live Acts

Pollstar just published their 25 Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium list and a few heavier bands made the list.

According to Pollstar, the list is based on “worldwide ticket sales reported to Pollstar from 2001 through the end of 2025, the 25 headlining acts collectively sold more than 340 million tickets over the past 25 years, generating grosses exceeding $35.7 billion. Reflecting pure ticket sales, the list showcases the most popular artists on the planet—those seen by more people than any others.”

Unsurprisingly the top of the heap for heavier music was Metallica, though Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden did pretty well for themselves as well! The list of rock and rock-adjacent acts are:

• No. 8 is Metallica, who thus far have sold 15,567,194 tickets and have grossed $1.4 billion total.
• No. 9 is Bon Jovi, who thus far have sold 13,904,391 tickets and have grossed $1.2 billion total.
• No. 12 is The Rolling Stones, who thus far have sold 12,569,802 tickets and have grossed $2 billion total.
• No. 15 is Guns N’ Roses, who thus far have sold 10,733,957 tickets and have grossed $1 billion total.
• No. 19 is Iron Maiden, who thus far have sold 10,070,915 tickets and have grossed $716 million total.
• No. 25 is Depeche Mode, who thus far have sold 8,747,699 tickets and have grossed $715 million total.

And if you’re wondering who topped the list, surprisingly it was Coldplay. Coldplay has sold 24,805,126 tickets and made themselves a tidy $2.4 billion gross. Which I should note is gross income – the number you see before money goes to all the parties it’s gotta go to, and then whatever’s left is the band’s actual profit.

Pollstar also noted about ticket prices: “Ticket prices and higher ticket sales are two of the primary engines driving the live industry’s unprecedented level of growth over the past 25 years. In 2001 the average ticket price for all events reported that year was $36.68; in 2025 it rose to $90.27, a 146% increase. The number of concert tickets sold increased even more, 214% in the last 25 years, while grosses leaped a staggering 673%.”