This year billionaire popstar Madonna tops the annual list of the top-earning musicians by a wide margin after raking in a whooping $125 million dollars for 2013, making her the highest-paid musician in the world. The bulk of Madge’s millions came from the tail end of her MDNA Tour, which grossed $305 million. She augments her income with heady merchandise sales at concerts, as well as her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare fragrance. Gaga ranks second with $80 million; she grossed over $160 million on her latest tour before succumbing to a hip injury. Had she been able to finish, she would have likely topped $200 million.
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Her ARTPOP album was released after the end of our scoring period, but should give her a boost on next year’s list. She could easily reach the No. 1 spot with a successful set of concerts, the main driver for most major artists’ earnings.
A look at the rest of the list underscores the importance of live performances in today’s music world. Bon Jovi ranks third with $79 million, most of it from the appropriately named Because We Can tour. Road warrior Toby Keith pulled in $65 million to land the No. 4 slot, while Coldplay parlayed seven-figure nightly grosses into a $64 million payday.
A few of the musicians on the list, however, generate nearly all their income to sources other than music sales, record labels and touring. Sean “Diddy” Combs, who ranks No. 11 with $50 million (making him hip-hop’s highest-paid act), earns the bulk of his bucks from his wildly successful Ciroc vodka deal. His Revolt TV network, launched in October, should provide a big boost to future earnings.
Diddy and fellow hip-hop moguls Jay Z (No. 18, $42 million) and Dr. Dre (No. 20, $40 million) are the genre’s lone representatives, while Keith is one of four country acts—Taylor Swift (No. 7, $55 million), Kenny Chesney (No. 9, $53 million) and Tim McGraw (No. 24, $33 million). The rest of the list is made up of pop divas and arena rockers, with the exceptions of Tiësto (No. 25, $32 million) and Calvin Harris (No. 13, $46 million), the world’s two highest-paid DJs.
In order to form the list, Forbes looked at income from June 1st, 2012 through June 1st, 2013, using data sources including Pollstar, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan, managers, lawyers and many of the artists themselves. Concert ticket sales, royalties for recorded music and publishing, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other business ventures were also taken into account.
However only living artists are eligible for the list.Were this criterion removed, the list would have a new champion: Michael Jackson, who pulled in $160 million.
See top 25 Below
1. Madonna - $125 million
2. Lady Gaga - $80 million
3. Bon Jovi - $79 million
4. Toby Keith - $65 million
5. Coldplay - $64 million.
6. Justin Bieber - $58 million
7. Taylor Swift - $55 million
8. Elton John - $54 million
9. Kenny Chesney - $53 million
9. Beyonce - $53 million (tie)
11. Sean "Diddy" Combs - $50 million
12. Sir Paul McCartney - $47 million
13. Calvin Harris - $46 million
14. Jennifer Lopez - $45 million
15. Roger Waters - $44 million
16. Muse - $43 million (tie)
16. Rihanna - $43 million (tie)
18. Jay Z - $42 million
18. One Direction - $42 million (tie)
20. Dr. Dre - $40 million
20. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($40 million, tie)
22. Rolling Stones - $39 million (tie)
22. Katy Perry - $39 million (tie)
24. Tim McGraw - $33 million (tie)
25. Pink - $32 million (tie)
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