Forbes Names Highest-Paid Musicians in 2013

Forbes has published their annual list of the biggest cash cows in the music industry. As it has already shown throughout previous years, the main source of wealth for musicians can be found on the concert stage.
According to the business publication, Madonna ranks on top because of $125 million. This amount stems from her ‘MDNA Tour,’ which grossed $305 million. In addition, the pop icon augments her income with merchandise sales at concerts as well as her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare fragrance. Lady Gaga lands at spot number 2 with $80 million. The eccentric artist also made the bulk of her money on the road before succumbing to a hip injury earlier this year. The tour still grossed $168 million; had she been able to finish, she would have likely topped $200 million. Number three on the line is Bon Jovi with $79 million. The New Jersey group grossed over $3 million per city on her ‘Because We Can’ stadium tour, out-earning the likes of Kanye West, Skrillex and Carrie Underwood.

Further notables include Beyoncé at number nine with $53 million. Queen Bey earned this amount due to her immensely-successful ‘Mrs. Carter World Tour,’ as well as inking deals with Pepsi, H&M and collecting cash from old hits. Diddy comes in at number 12 with $50 million, coming from his successful Ciroc vodka deal. Other ingredients in his cash cocktail: record label Bad Boy, clothing line Sean John and marketing firm Blue Flame. His Revolt TV network, launched in October with 25 million subscribers, should provide a big boost to future earnings. The world’s highest-paid DJ, Calvin Harris earned $48 million, which boosted him on rank number 14. He signed on to play more than 70 shows over a two-year period in Las Vegas. While the majority of his money comes from performing, he also earns from writing and producing songs like “We Found Love” for Rihanna. RiRi’s $43 million (tie 16) surpassed her mentor Jay Z with $42 million (tie at 18th), and Dr. Dre broke into the top 20 with $40 million.

You can see the full list below and all details here:

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. Beyonce – $53 million
9. Kenny Chesney – $53 million
11. Diddy – $50 million
12. Paul McCartney – $47 million
13. Calvin Harris – $46 million
14. Jennifer Lopez – $45 million
15. Roger Waters – $44 million
16. Muse – $43 million
16. Rihanna – $43 million
18. Jay Z – $42 million
18. One Direction – $42 million
20. Dr. Dre – $40 million
20. Red Hot Chili Peppers – $40 million
22. The Rolling Stones – $39 million
22. Katy Perry – $39 million
24. Tim McGraw – $33 million
25. Pink – $32 million