December 24, 2012
Madonna Earns No. 1 Spot on Billboard's Highest-Grossing Tour List
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Madonna once again reminded us why she has been hailed the Queen of Pop when Billboard reported that her MDNA Tour was named the top-grossing concert event of the year, the Los Angeles Times points out.
The singer beat out music icons like Bruce Springsteen, Roger Waters, Coldplay and Lady Gaga. Madge's 72-show tour, all of which were sold out, grossed an astounding $228.4 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. Her tour ran from Nov. 9 2011, to Nov. 13, 2012.
Springsteen & the E Street Band placed second by earning $199.4 million. The rock legend also put on 72 shows and 54 of them sold out. Water, who is the founding member of Pink Floyd, came in third with $186. 5 million from his extended tour with "The Wall." Like the other musicians, Waters held 72 concerts. Cirque du Soleil's "Michael Jackson - the Immortal World Tour," raked in $147.3 from 183 shows but only nine sold out. Coldplay grossed $147.2 million and put on 67 concerts, while Lady Gaga was listed in 10th for earning $124.9 million.
Country superstars Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw's "Brothers of the Sun" stadium tour earned $96.5 million and Van Halen brought in $54.4 million on his tour. Additionally, Jay-Z and Kanye West earned in $47 million and Andre Reiu, a classical-pop violinist, accumulated $46.8 million.
Although Madonna scored big with her MDNA concert, she was not the top-earning female musician of the year. That honor went to Britney Spears, according to Forbes, who earned over $58 million over the past year, $8 million more than 2010. Most of the money came from her latest album "Femme Fatale" and her supporting tour. Taylor Swift placed second by grossing just one million dollars less than Spears. Bad girl Rihanna placed third with $53 million and Lady Gaga came in fourth with $52 million, thanks to touring, record sales and her new Fame perfume. Katy Perry ended up in fifth place with $45 million.
Madonna did come in ninth, however, placing behind singers like Sade, Beyonce and Adele. Forbes notes that her massively successful tour fell "outside our scoring period," but the pop star still managed to bring in $30 million.
