According to Billboard, DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE, GUNS N’ ROSES, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, IRON MAIDEN and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA were among the top-grossing touring artists of the 12-month period ending on October 31.

In the magazine’s just-published year-end Boxscore chart, which was topped by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, THE ROLLING STONES was the highest-ranked rock act (and sixth overall), with a combined gross of $179 million from 20 reported concerts. The band sold 950,000 tickets around the world during the 12-month time frame that determined the chart’s rankings.

DEF LEPPARD and MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s “The Stadium Tour” did brisk business, as the two bands’ summer run — which ranked No. 8 on the year-end chart — grossed $173 million from sales of more than 1.3 million tickets at 35 reported shows.

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA‘s annual holiday tour continued to be a major draw, as the Yuletide rockers — who ranked 36th on the chart — sold more than 767,000 tickets at 98 reported shows during their 2021 tour for a gross of $55 million.

The only other heavy metal group included on Billboard‘s chart — which ranked artists by gross income rather than the number of tickets sold — was IRON MAIDEN (No. 26), which grossed $76 million from sales of 985,000 tickets across 47 reported performances.

It should be noted these figures only include gross ticket sales and do not represent an artist’s actual earnings. Each artist usually incurs significant expenses — including management, booking agent, promoter, venue, travel, equipment (sound, lights and staging), hired musicians, crew, hotels and buses. On the other hand, these figures don’t include ancillary income streams such as merchandise sales, which can be substantial.

Billboard Top Tours 2022 chart:

06. THE ROLLING STONES – $179,349,815 (20 shows)
07. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – $176,998,650 (31 shows)
08. DEF LEPPARD + MÖTLEY CRÜE – $173,474,649 (35 shows)
17. GUNS N’ ROSES – $93,383,197 (27 shows)
20. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – $87,926,378 (55 shows)
26. IRON MAIDEN – $76,147,773 (47 shows)
36. TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA – $54,649,313 (98 shows)

It is not clear why German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN, who completed sold-out tours of stadiums on both sides of the Atlantic in 2022, are not included on the list.

To see the complete chart, visit Billboard.