2018's Most Lucrative Tour Is Not Who You Might Think

A new industry report not only indicates that music lovers are flocking in droves to concerts, but also that if you had to book one act to appear at your stadium or arena, put your money on Ed Sheeran. That's because he not only made more money touring this year than anyone else in the world, per Cosmopolitan, but his concerts pulled in more in a single year than any other artist in the 30-year history of the Pollstar survey, Rolling Stone reports. The "Shape of You" singer's "Divide" tour pulled in a $432.4 million gross in 2018, selling nearly 4.9 million tickets for 94 shows in 53 cities.

Sheeran was trailed by names you might have thought would trounce him: Taylor Swift ($345.1 million), Jay-Z and Beyonce ($254.1 million), Pink ($169.2 million), and Bruno Mars ($167.6 million). Rounding out the top 10: the Eagles, Justin Timberlake, Roger Waters, U2, and the Rolling Stones. Swift did trounce Sheeran in one area: the North American tour gross, which brought her $277.3 million to Sheeran's fifth-place $105 million. Check out Pollstar to see how much your favorite band brought in. (Sheeran was hit with a copyright infringement suit this summer.)