Metallica is the World’s Biggest Touring Band Ever

According to stats from Pollstar, Metallica is the world’s biggest touring act.

Since 1982, Metallica have sold 22.1 million tickets and grossed $1.4 billion. Those numbers are significantly higher than AC/DC (14.3 million tickets) and Ozzy (10 million, 13.2 if you could Ozzy and Black Sabbath). The next closest band is Guns N’ Roses with nearly $800 million grossed.

Metallica’s drummer Lars Ulrich told Pollstar:

“I keep thinking and forcing myself to think all our best years are still ahead of us. We may even turn professional and do this full time one day,” jokes original Metallica drummer and oft-spokesman Lars Ulrich. “That’s the MO.  It’s always, ‘What’s your favorite record?’ It’s the next one, the one we haven’t recorded yet. it’s always about the possibilities, always about what can be, what’s coming. That, to me, is what this is all about and I think that attitude is a big part of the why Metallica still connects to so many people around the world.”