Saturday 23 November 2013

Madonna tops Forbes 25 highest-paid musicians list


Madonna and Lady Gaga
Madonna has beaten Lady Gaga to top a list of the world's 25 highest-paid musicians.
The 55-year-old singer made $125 million (£77m) from June 2012 to June this year, according to Forbes.
She made her money through her MDNA world tour, merchandise sales, a clothing line and a brand of perfume.
Lady Gaga earned $80 million (£49m) in the same period with Bon Jovi, Toby Keith and Coldplay in third, fourth and fifth spots.

Top 10 highest-paid musicians

  • Madonna - $125m (£77m)
  • Lady Gaga - $80m (£49.6m)
  • Bon Jovi - $79m (£49m)
  • Toby Keith - $65m (£40.3m)
  • Coldplay - $64m (£39.7m)
  • Justin Bieber - $58m (£36m)
  • Taylor Swift - $55m (£34.1m)
  • Elton John - $54m (£33.5m)
  • Beyonce - $53m (£32.9m)
  • Kenny Chesney - $53m (£32.9m)
Gaga, 27, made most of her money though her Born This Way Ball tour before she injured her hip and cancelled the remaining dates.
Hip-hop artist Sean "Diddy" Combs is 11th on the list because of his vodka business while rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z is in 18th spot.
DJs Calvin Harris and Tiesto are in 13th and 25th.
Hip-hop artist Dr Dre topped Forbes' highest-paid musicians list last year but is down to 20th place this time.
The top 25 is put together by using data from Pollstar, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan, managers, lawyers and artists.
Concert ticket sales, royalties for recorded music and publishing, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other business ventures are also taken into account.
Estimates reflect pre-tax income before fees for agents, managers and lawyers are deducted and ranges from 1 June 2012 to 1 June 2013.
Only living artists are eligible for the list.