U2 is one of the most successful and highest grossing bands of all time. The Irish rock band formed in 1976 and has since released 14 studio albums and toured the world multiple times. With decades of fame under their belt, U2 continues to draw huge crowds and generate impressive revenue from their live shows and tours. But exactly how much does U2 make for each of their concerts? Let’s take a closer look at the financials behind U2’s live performances.
U2’s Touring History
Since forming in the late 1970s, U2 has embarked on 15 concert tours. Their first tour took place in 1980 in support of their debut album “Boy.” For this and their next tour in 1981, the band played small club venues and earned very modest fees. However, with the release of their 1987 album “The Joshua Tree,” U2’s popularity skyrocketed. The Joshua Tree Tour saw the band break into larger arenas and earn significantly higher paychecks.
Just how much were they earning per show at that point? Estimates put their nightly gross around $28,000 for arena shows on The Joshua Tree Tour. Not bad for a band that was still on the rise. However, their next tour is where earnings started getting into the big leagues.
The ZooTV Tour in 1992-1993 saw U2 play to their largest audiences yet in huge stadiums. They introduced elaborate visuals and staging for the first time, including massive LED screens displaying visual effects. For this tour, the band’s nightly earnings averaged around $275,000 per show.
In the 2000s and 2010s, U2 saw their nightly gross increase substantially. The Elevation Tour in 2001 grossed around $1.4 million per night. Just seven years later, the 360° Tour in 2009-2011 grossed a staggering $2.7 million per night, thanks to U2’s gigantic 360-degree stage setup in the middle of stadiums.
Most recently, the band’s 2015 Innocence + Experience Tour grossed roughly $2.3 million per show. Their Joshua Tree Tour 2017, celebrating 30 years of The Joshua Tree album, pulled in about $2.45 million per concert.
In total, estimates put U2’s total career touring grosses at over $1.6 billion. The band ranks among the top 5 highest grossing touring acts of all time along with The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen.
What Factors Affect U2’s Earnings?
Several key factors account for the ability of U2’s concerts to generate millions of dollars per show:
- Reputation – With over 40 years in the music industry and multiple hit albums, U2 has built a reputation as one of the most famous bands on the planet.
- Fan Base – U2 has a massive loyal fan base willing to pay hundreds of dollars for concert tickets.
- Production Value – The band is known for state-of-the-art light shows, video displays and staging, adding to the spectacle.
- Set Length – U2 plays marathon sets averaging over 2 hours long, giving fans more bang for their buck.
- Venue Size – U2 routinely sells out stadiums and arenas with seating capacities over 50,000.
Let’s break these down in more detail:
Reputation
With 14 chart-topping studio albums, 22 Grammy Awards and over 170 million records sold worldwide, U2 has firmly established themselves as rock legends. They’ve had multiple eras of massive success, first in the 1980s with The Joshua Tree, then again in the 1990s with Achtung Baby. This reputation allows them to charge premium ticket prices that fans will readily pay.
Fan Base
U2 has cultivated a huge global fan base of dedicated followers who snap up every new album and tour. Some fans have attended dozens of U2 concerts over multiple decades. These loyal audiences ensure quick sellouts whenever U2 announces a tour.
Production Value
While U2’s music alone is a huge draw, the band has also become known for groundbreaking stagecraft and visual spectacles. Their 1992-93 ZooTV Tour featured elaborate LED screens and multimedia effects. Later tours took production even further. The 360° Tour featured a giant cylindrical LED screen and a circular stage, while 2015’s Innocence + Experience Tour was an arena-sized sensory overload.
These awe-inspiring live shows enhance U2’s earning power by providing fans with a can’t-miss experience worth the high ticket cost.
Set Length
A typical U2 concert lasts well over two hours, often approaching the 2.5 hour mark. Fans get plenty of bang for their buck, with the band powering through dozens of career-spanning hits per show. This encourages fans to fork over more money, knowing they’ll get a marathon performance.
Venue Size
To maximize their earnings, U2 exclusively plays massive venues on tour. Stadiums like Chicago’s Soldier Field (capacity 63,000) and Amsterdam’s Johan Cruijff Arena (capacity 68,000) are typical U2 stomping grounds. The band routinely sells these venues out, multiplying their gross potential versus smaller arenas. Large venues also allow for elaborate stage designs not possible in more intimate settings.
Breakdown of U2’s Concert Earnings
To really understand U2’s live show earnings, it helps to break down the major revenue sources:
Ticket Sales
Revenue from ticket sales makes up the bulk of U2’s per-show gross. For example, on their 2015 tour the average ticket price was $131. With 55,000 tickets sold per show on average, that equates to $7.2 million from tickets alone per gig.
Merchandise
Concert merchandise like t-shirts, hoodies, hats, programs and other collectibles is hugely lucrative for mega-bands on tour. Industry experts estimate bands earn between $20-$25 in merchandise sales per attendee. For U2 that likely equates to $1.25 million in merch sales per night.
Sponsorships
Major corporate sponsorships also pad U2’s bottom line on tour. The band signed a reported $25 million deal with BlackBerry during their 2009-2011 tour. They also inked a 2015 tour sponsorship with Dreamworks Animation.
While specific details aren’t public, sponsorships can easily add eight figures in revenue across an entire tour.
When you tally up all these income sources, it becomes clear how U2 manages to gross well over $2 million per show these days.
How Does U2’s Pay Compare to Other Artists?
Very favorably! Only a handful of other touring acts can command the paydays U2 can on the road. Here’s how U2’s per-show earnings stack up against other top-grossing legends:
Artist | Avg. Gross Per Show |
---|---|
The Rolling Stones | $5.2 million |
Guns N’ Roses | $3.5 million |
Coldplay | $2.7 million |
U2 | $2.4 million |
Bruce Springsteen | $2.1 million |
The Stones top the list courtesy of their recent record-setting No Filter Tour from 2021-2022. Guns N’ Roses drew big receipts for their Not in This Lifetime Tour from 2016-2019. Coldplay and Bruce Springsteen earn similarly strong numbers to U2.
Outside of older legacy rock artists, very few musical acts today can rival U2 in touring income. Pop superstars like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift or Drake earn amounts closer to the $1 million per show range. Ed Sheeran is a newer artist with U2-level grossing power.
Within the rock genre specifically, no groups are currently as dominant as U2 in touring revenue. Onetime mega-earners like Metallica, Bon Jovi and the Red Hot Chili Peppers now draw less than half per show compared to U2. Even hugely popular bands like Foo Fighters or Imagine Dragons don’t earn at the same echelon.
Thanks to both the band’s longevity and continued relevance, U2 is truly in a class of their own when it comes to live show payouts.
U2’s Touring Decline and Impact of Covid-19
That said, U2’s touring business has declined somewhat in recent years leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic. Their 2017 Joshua Tree anniversary tour saw an average gross of $2.45 million per show, down from the $2.7 million average on their previous 2009-2011 tour. For a brief period in 2018, U2 even dropped off the list of the world’s 10 highest-grossing touring artists.
Some speculate that U2’s outspoken political activism, including their criticism of Donald Trump, has alienated part of their traditionally more conservative Midwest U.S. fanbase. Flagging album sales for their last release Songs of Experience may have also be a factor.
Nonetheless, U2’s touring revenue still dwarfs nearly every other artist globally. And the disruptions caused by Covid-19 stand to make U2’s live shows even more lucrative in the future.
The pandemic wiped out live music for most of 2020 and 2021. Even now, many major artists have still not resumed touring regularly. This pent-up fan demand for live music looks to make U2’s next trip on the road a massive moneymaker. If their 2023 tour becomes their first since 2017, expect ticket prices and gross revenue to skyrocket even beyond their usual numbers.
How Do U2’s Earnings Get Divided?
Of course, U2 doesn’t pocket 100% of their nightly gross. Their earnings first get divided among band members, crew, management and others:
- Band members – Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. split the bulk of earnings equally.
- Manager – Longtime manager Paul McGuinness gets around a 15% commission.
- Crew – The road crew of over 100 who sets up stages and equipment receive salaries and bonuses.
- Venue – The stadium hosting U2 collects around 5% of gross ticket sales.
- Promoter – Concert promoters like Live Nation who finance the tours get a promoter fee.
Factoring in all these payouts, it’s estimated each U2 band member pockets around $400,000-$500,000 per show minimum on recent tours. Meanwhile, the band’s full-time salaried employees who manage and run their business operations earn annual salaries from tour profits and the band’s other income sources.
How Much Does U2 Make Annually?
Let’s now estimate U2’s total annual earnings based on an example year on the road:
- Gross per show: $2.5 million
- Number of shows: 50
- Total tour gross: $125 million
- Net per member after splits: $20 million
- Additional non-tour income: $5 million
- Total yearly income per member: $25 million
This example lines up closely with financial figures reported for U2’s most recent tours. In particularly busy years on the road, U2’s members can net over $30 million each annually.
Their combined net worth as a band is estimated at over $1 billion total. A good chunk of that wealth comes from their decades of prolific touring.
Could U2 Earn Even More Per Show?
While U2’s tour earnings are enormously impressive already, could they earn even more per show if they wished? Let’s look at some ways the band could potentially increase their average gross:
Charge Higher Ticket Prices
If they chose, U2 could almost certainly get away with raising ticket prices across the board on their next outing. Based on previous tours, fans have shown willingness to pay $200 or more for floor seats. Jacking up prices 20% could add well over $1 million in extra revenue per gig.
Play Longer Shows
U2 concerts already run about 2.25 hours typically. If they pushed each show to 2.5 or even 3 hours with an intermission, they could possibly increase grosses without reducing the number of shows on a tour. Their most hardcore fans would gladly sit through a U2 marathon.
Do Bigger Venues
The largest stadium U2 has headlined is a 110,000 capacity venue in Mexico City. But even bigger venues exist in college football stadiums and race tracks able to hold over 150,000 people. If U2 booked a major event at one of these oversized venues, they could surely break their own gross records.
More Corporate Partners
U2 could potentially boost sponsorship dollars by signing more corporate partners, allowing for creative co-branding campaigns. Brands would pay premium rates to partner with such an iconic act.
Tour More Often
In the 2000s, U2 averaged about 100 shows per tour and grossed over $750 million per tour cycle. By touring more frequently and doing longer tours, even by their standards, they could maximize yearly earnings.
That said, U2 shows no signs of wanting to milk their fans or overexpose themselves by extending tours. The band seems content with touring heavily for a year or two, then taking extended breaks. Fans appreciate that U2 tours feel like can’t-miss events rather than never-ending cycles.
Conclusion
U2 remains an absolute giant in the touring world, with the ability to rake in over $2 million per show consistently. Even in their 60s and 50+ years into their career, the band’s popularity as a live act shows no signs of fading. If anything, demand for U2’s tours seems to only increase the longer they’re away.
Thanks to their tremendous fan loyalty, outstanding reputation, willingness to innovate production and focus on only the very largest venues, U2 can command massive payouts unmatched by any younger act. Their continued relevance decades later is also essentially unprecedented for a rock band of the CD era.
Looking ahead, it’s hard to envision a day when U2 tours will not be major financial home runs. Though the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the live music economy, all signs point to U2 breaking box office records again when they return to the road. Even if they simply maintained current averages, U2 members would continue raking in tens of millions yearly from touring alone.
For true superstar acts with global fan bases and extensive catalogs like U2, the economics of live performance simply operate at a different scale. Although they could potentially push earnings even higher, U2 has shown no inclination to milk the concert circuit. With a satisfaction exceeding money, the band seems content with their already unprecedented levels of tour income.