Pollstar released a list of the top touring artists worldwide based on how many tickets they've sold over the years. They tracked all the way back to 1980. Only three country artists made this list and Garth Brooks isn't one of them. I tend to forget he retired for a long stretch there while his children were growing up. Anyway, here are the Top 20 overall:
1. U2
2. Dave Matthews Band
3. The Rolling Stones
4. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
5. Elton John
6. Metallica
7. Bon Jovi
8. Billy Joel
9. Kenny Chesney
10. Grateful Dead
11. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
12. Phish
13. Aerosmith
14. Jimmy Buffett
15. Rod Stewart
16. Neil Diamond
17. Coldplay
18. George Strait
19. Tim McGraw
20. Ed Sheeran
Interesting, because Kenny took a year or two off and still finished in the top 10! Also, you may question Trans-Siberian Orchestra's ranking since they basically only play Christmas shows, but there are two separate groups that perform under the official TSO name each season (east coast and west coast) so that makes more sense.
How many of these have you contributed to their ticket sales?