How much money does a band make on the road? Billboard hopes to answer that question, somewhat, by providing gross sale reports in their weekly Boxscore report. We like to check in every once in a while to see how metal bands are doing. Keep in mind, these are gross sales, meaning this is before the venue, promoter, etc. get the cut. This doesn't mean the band gets the entire piece of the pie and their profits vary based on the deals they make. As always, thanks to ThePRP for doing all the dirty work. Check out our previous Earnings & Attendance Reports.
This is a very special edition of this feature, as it will focus on the monstrous economy that is the Guns N Roses summer tour. Billboard reports that the tour which reunited Axl Rose with Slash and Duff McKagan for the first time in many years has currently grossed $116 million and counting for a total of 21 stadium dates. This makes GNR, far-and-away, the highest grossing touring act of the year. To put it in perspective, Bruce Springsteen is in second place with "only" $33 million in earnings. Barbara Streisand, in third, has $26 million. But things get really crazy when you break down the show numbers by date:
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Lenny Kravitz
Venue: East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
Date: Jul. 22nd-23rd, 2016
Gross Sales: $11,687,391
Attendance/Capacity: 100,177 / 100,177
Ticket Prices: $280, $45.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Cult
Venue: Los Angeles, CA – Dodger Stadium
Date: Aug. 18th-19th, 2016
Gross Sales: $8,917,758
Attendance/Capacity: 84,634 / 87,917
Ticket Prices: $275, $45.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Alice In Chains
Venue: Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
Date: Jul. 01st, 03rd, 2016
Gross Sales: $8,843,684
Attendance/Capacity: 82,172 / 96,088
Ticket Prices: $250, $44.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Lenny Kravitz
Venue: Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
Date: Jul. 19th-20th, 2016
Gross Sales: $8,302,575
Attendance/Capacity: 65,472 / 71,099
Ticket Prices: $280, $50.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses amp; Skrillex
Venue: Houston, TX – NRG Stadium
Date: Aug. 05th, 2016
Gross Sales: $6,166,657
Attendance/Capacity: 49,778 / 49,778
Ticket Prices: $252, $41.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Cult
Venue: Orlando, FL – Camping World Stadium
Date: Jul. 29th, 2016
Gross Sales: $5,852,060
Attendance/Capacity: 40,702 / 40,702
Ticket Prices: $253.50, $63.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Struts
Venue: San Francisco, CA – AT&T Park
Date: Aug. 09th, 2016
Gross Sales: $5,597,843
Attendance/Capacity: 38,173 / 38,173
Ticket Prices: $275, $55
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Billy Talent
Venue: Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre
Date: Jul. 16th, 2016
Gross Sales: $5,370,460
Attendance/Capacity: 48,016 / 48,016
Ticket Prices: $195.72, $40.46
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Cult
Venue: San Diego, CA – Qualcomm Stadium
Date: Aug. 22nd, 2016
Gross Sales: $5,337,634
Attendance/Capacity: 49,458 / 49,458
Ticket Prices: $225, $45.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Alice In Chains
Venue: Seattle, WA – CenturyLink Field
Date: Aug. 12th, 2016
Gross Sales: $5,237,966
Attendance/Capacity: 42,697 / 42,697
Ticket Prices: $254, $49
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Wolfmother
Venue: Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field
Date: Jul. 14th, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,883,474
Attendance/Capacity: 49,328 / 49,328
Ticket Prices: $254, $49
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Cult
Venue: Arlington, TX – AT&T Stadium
Date: Aug. 03rd, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,786,948
Attendance/Capacity: 39,015 / 43,449
Ticket Prices: $250, $45.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Alice In Chains
Venue: Detroit, MI – Ford Field
Date: Jun. 23rd, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,776,767
Attendance/Capacity: 44,439 / 44,439
Ticket Prices: $253.50, $49.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Chris Stapleton
Venue: Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium
Date: Jul. 09th, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,765,878
Attendance/Capacity: 42,824 / 42,824
Ticket Prices: $253, $48
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Cult
Venue: Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome
Date: Jul. 27th, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,544,620
Attendance/Capacity: 41,508 / 41,508
Ticket Prices: $254, $49.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses, Zakk Wylde & Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
Venue: Glendale, AZ – University Of Phoenix Stadium
Date: Aug. 15th, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,257,189
Attendance/Capacity: 44,110 / 48,914
Ticket Prices: $256.75, $52.25
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Alice In Chains
Venue: Landover, MD – FedExField
Date: Jun. 26th, 2016
Gross Sales: $4,107,027
Attendance/Capacity: 41,208 / 48,186
Ticket Prices: $255, $50.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Wolfmother
Venue: Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field
Date: Jul. 12th, 2016
Gross Sales: $3,810,026
Attendance/Capacity: 39,109 / 42,109
Ticket Prices: $229, $53.50
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & The Cult
Venue: New Orleans, LA – Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Date: Jul. 31st, 2016
Gross Sales: $3,447,362
Attendance/Capacity: 32,894 / 40,215
Ticket Prices: $240, $55
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Alice In Chains
Venue: Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium
Date: Jun. 29th, 2016
Gross Sales: $3,285,043
Attendance/Capacity: 40,387 / 49,385
Ticket Prices: $254, $49
Artist: Guns N’ Roses & Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
Venue: Cincinnati, OH – Paul Brown Stadium
Date: Jul. 06th, 2016
Gross Sales: $2,857,336
Attendance/Capacity: 32,516 / 33,845
Ticket Prices: $253.50, $62.50
These numbers are absolutely bonkers. Making 11 million over two days in New Jersey is no joke. The lowest revenue was about $2 million! Jeeezus!
Now, this does not include revenue earned from merchandise, which I'm sure bumps each gross up another million or so. At the same time, it doesn't account for the massive production costs putting on an arena show like this takes. Recently, the GNR crew were profiled in a video by the band and production costs could easily cost about half a million a show. Then again, if you look at the Jersey show, they stayed their two days, which means there were minimal production costs the second day, which means A WHOLE LOTTA MONEY!
Wanna peak behind the scenes of the #NotInThisLifetime tour? pic.twitter.com/H8Qq6N3QPI
— Guns N' Roses (@gunsnroses) September 2, 2016
