Beyoncé is one of the most successful and highest-paid musicians in the world. As a solo artist and former member of Destiny’s Child, she has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has won 24 Grammy Awards, more than any other female artist. Her concert tours consistently rank among the highest-grossing for any artist. So how much does Queen Bey earn from her live shows? Let’s take a closer look at Beyoncé’s concert touring over the years and estimate how much she likely makes per show.
Destiny’s Child
Beyoncé first rose to fame in the late 1990s as part of the R&B girl group Destiny’s Child. The group’s first major concert tour was the Destiny Fulfilled…And Lovin’ It tour in 2005, which hit 16 countries over nearly six months. The tour reportedly grossed over $70 million, averaging around $1 million per show. With all four members spliting earnings, Beyoncé likely made around $250,000 per concert on that tour. Destiny’s Child officially disbanded the following year after their final studio album and tour together.
Early Solo Tours
After Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé embarked on a solo career in 2003. Her first major concert tour was the Dangerously in Love Tour in 2003 to support her debut solo album. It was relatively small scale, hitting just Europe and a few shows in the U.S. over a few months.
Beyoncé’s first worldwide tour was The Beyoncé Experience in 2007, which hit over 90 venues globally and grossed over $24 million. On that tour she likely averaged around $500,000 per show.
Her next tour, the I Am… World Tour in 2009-2010 brought in over $86 million gross. With 109 shows, she probably earned around $800,000 per concert on that tour.
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour
In 2013-2014, Beyoncé embarked on her biggest tour yet at the time, The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. It included 132 shows over 14 months spanning Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Total gross revenue was $212 million, averaging $1.6 million per show. This suggests that Beyoncé earned around $800,000 per concert on that tour.
Highest Grossing Concerts of The Mrs. Carter Show Tour
| City | Venue | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas | MGM Grand Garden Arena | $2.1 million |
| Atlanta | Philips Arena | $2.0 million |
| Houston | Toyota Center | $1.97 million |
| Toronto | Air Canada Centre | $1.86 million |
| Stockholm | Ericsson Globe | $1.68 million |
As the table shows, Beyoncé’s biggest paydays on The Mrs. Carter Show tour came from shows in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Houston, Toronto, and Stockholm, where she grossed over $1.6 million per show.
Highest Grossing Legs of The Mrs. Carter Show Tour
| Leg | # of Shows | Total Gross |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 66 | $116 million |
| Europe | 31 | $41.4 million |
| Australia | 18 | $37.7 million |
| Latin America | 8 | $11.6 million |
Looking at the tour by leg, Beyoncé grossed the most from the North American shows, earning over $100 million from just 66 concerts. Her Australia leg was also hugely successful, bringing in nearly $40 million despite being just 18 shows.
Top 10 Highest Grossing Concerts Ever by a Female Artist
To put Beyoncé’s touring power into perspective, here are the top 10 highest grossing single shows by a female artist:
| # | Artist | Venue | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | ANZ Stadium – Sydney | $7.7 million |
| 2 | Beyoncé | Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA | $4.84 million |
| 3 | Madonna | Stade de France – Paris | $4.6 million |
| 4 | Taylor Swift | Etihad Stadium – Melbourne | $4.5 million |
| 5 | Celine Dion | Tokyo Dome – Tokyo | $4.5 million |
| 6 | Adele | ANZ Stadium – Sydney | $4.48 million |
| 7 | Beyoncé | Croke Park – Dublin | $4.2 million |
| 8 | Miley Cyrus | Estadio Nacional – Lima | $4.1 million |
| 9 | Madonna | Yankee Stadium – New York | $3.995 million |
| 10 | Madonna | Staples Center – Los Angeles | $3.855 million |
Beyoncé occupies the #2 and #7 spots on this list with her shows at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Croke Park in Dublin on The Mrs. Carter Show tour. Only Taylor Swift has topped her with massive stadium shows in Australia.
The Formation World Tour
After taking a break to have twins, Beyoncé returned triumphantly to touring in 2016 with The Formation World Tour. While a more stripped down affair at just 49 dates, it grossed a tremendous $256 million. That comes out to around $5.2 million per show, by far Beyoncé’s highest per show average yet.
Highest Grossing Concerts of The Formation World Tour
| City | Venue | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | Stade de France | $9.9 million |
| London | Wembley Stadium | $7.6 million |
| New York City | MetLife Stadium | $6.6 million |
| Amsterdam | Amsterdam Arena | $5.7 million |
| Edmonton | Commonwealth Stadium | $5.4 million |
The Formation tour included Beyoncé’s biggest single concert payday yet with a $9.9 million gross at Stade de France in Paris. She also earned multiple millions per night in London, New York City, Amsterdam, and Edmonton among other cities.
Highest Grossing Legs of The Formation World Tour
| Leg | # of Shows | Total Gross |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 33 | $175 million |
| Europe | 14 | $75 million |
| Oceania | 2 | $5.8 million |
Once again, North America provided Beyoncé’s biggest payday, bringing in $175 million from just 33 concerts. But her short 14-show Europe leg was also massively successful, grossing $75 million.
On The Run II Tour with Jay-Z
In 2018, Beyoncé teamed up with husband Jay-Z for the co-headlining On The Run II Tour. This marathon tour hit 48 stadiums over 5 continents and grossed an awe-inspiring $254 million. Across 36 shows in Europe and 48 total, it averaged $5.3 million per concert. Here are some of the biggest earners on the tour:
Highest Grossing Concerts of On The Run II Tour
| City | Venue | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | Stade de France | $11 million |
| London | London Stadium | $10.1 million |
| Amsterdam | Amsterdam Arena | $7.5 million |
| Cardiff | Principality Stadium | $6.8 million |
| Copenhagen | Telia Parken | $6.4 million |
Paris once again proved to be a massive payday, with a $11 million gross for two shows at Stade de France. London, Amsterdam, Cardiff, Copenhagen also generated huge numbers for the power couple.
Highest Grossing Legs of On The Run II Tour
| Leg | # of Shows | Total Gross |
|---|---|---|
| Europe Stadium | 36 | $181 million |
| North America Stadium | 11 | $69.6 million |
| North America Arena | 2 | $6 million |
The Europe stadium leg accounted for the bulk of earnings, grossing a staggering $181 million across just 36 shows. The 11 stadiums in North America added another $70 million.
How Much Does Beyoncé Make Per Concert?
Based on the grosses from her tours analyzed above, here is an estimate of how much Beyoncé has earned per show at different points in her career:
| Tour | Beyoncé’s Estimated Earnings Per Show |
|---|---|
| Destiny’s Child – Destiny Fulfilled…And Lovin’ It Tour (2005) | $250,000 |
| Beyoncé – Dangerously in Love Tour (2003) | $100,000 |
| Beyoncé – The Beyoncé Experience (2007) | $500,000 |
| Beyoncé – I Am… World Tour (2009-2010) | $800,000 |
| Beyoncé – The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013-2014) | $800,000 |
| Beyoncé – The Formation World Tour (2016) | $5,200,000 |
| Beyoncé & Jay-Z – On The Run II Tour (2018) | $5,300,000 |
As we can see, Beyoncé’s per show earnings have skyrocketed from around $250,000 in her Destiny’s Child days to as much as $5.3 million in recent years as a solo artist. She now commands over $5 million per concert on average when touring stadiums.
Why Does Beyoncé Make So Much?
What accounts for Beyoncé’s incredible touring power and ability to generate over $5 million per show? There are several factors:
- Her status as a pop culture icon with massive global popularity. Beyoncé has fans around the world who are willing to pay top dollar to see her live.
- Her spectacular live productions with hundreds of costumes, video interludes, pyrotechnics and choreographed dances. Beyoncé’s concerts are an audio-visual feast costing millions to produce, driving up ticket prices.
- Restricted supply. Beyoncé tours less often and does fewer dates than many other major pop stars, making her tickets extremely high demand.
- She often plays at massive stadium venues like Wembley Stadium and Stade de France that hold 50,000-80,000+ fans paying premium prices.
- Having only a few shows in each city draws international travelers willing to fly in solely to see Beyoncé live.
- Her loyal fan base (the “BeyHive”) includes wealthy demographics like upper-class adults willing to shell out big money for the star.
- Secondary market effects. Beyoncé’s high ticket demand leads to rampant reselling at marked-up prices, bringing the overall average price paid per ticket to astronomical levels.
Putting all those factors together, it’s not hard to understand how the legend known as Queen Bey can make over $5 million every time she takes the stage.
Conclusion
To summarize, here are some key takeaways on how much Beyoncé makes per concert:
- As a solo artist, Beyoncé now routinely makes over $5 million per show on her stadium tours.
- Her biggest paydays have come from concerts in cities like Paris, London, New York, Amsterdam and Melbourne.
- Her highest grossing tours were The Formation World Tour in 2016 grossing $256 million across 49 shows, and 2018’s On The Run II Tour with Jay-Z grossing $254 million from 48 concerts.
- Beyoncé’s ability to generate over $5 million per show is due to her mega-star status, spectacular productions, restricted tour supply, huge stadium venues, loyal fan base and expensive resale market.
- She has come a long way from earning $250k per show with Destiny’s Child in the early 2000s.
Beyoncé’s unprecedented touring power has made her one of the richest entertainers on Earth. With her shows consistently selling out stadiums and grossing multi-millions per night, Queen Bey’s reign is unlikely to end any time soon. She has set records for the highest grossing concerts of all time by a female artist that may not be broken for many years to come.