Forbes have dropped their annual list of the world’s highest paying musicians, with rapper and beats electronics mogul Dr Dre and his $620 million topping the list, besting Beyonce by half a billion dollars. His 2014 earnings also mark the largest single-year haul of any musician, ever
Dre can thank Apple for his top placement, seeing as they forked over $3bn to acquire his Beats Electronics empire earlier this year, making him almost, but not quite, hip hop’s first billionaire.
According to Forbes, Coming in a distant second was Queen Bey, who earned a respectable $115 million, making this year her most lucrative yet, thanks to a surprise album, a tour and various endorsements.
In third place, The Eagles, were the only other act to make the nine figure mark with their $100m in earnings, while fellow relentless tourers Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen followed, having earned $82m and $81m respectively.
Recent Stereosonic act Calvin Harris claimed the highest single-year payday of any DJ ever, according to Forbes, pulling in $66 million this year. “The rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years,” he told the publication. “And I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Other artists to crack the high earners list include Taylor Swift ($64m), Jay Z ($60m), Bruno Mars ($60m), Rolling Stones ($47m) and Muse ($34m). In crunching the numbers, Forbes considered income from tours, music sales, publishing, merchandise, endorsements and other ventures made between the June 2013-June 2014 financial year.
See the top 10 earning musicians of 2014 as unveiled in the video below, followed by a list of the top 30.
Watch: The World’s Highest-Paid Musicians of 2014
http://youtu.be/FjB1TJw2IQI
Forbes World’s Highest-Paid Musicians 2014 list
1. Dr. Dre ($620 million)
2. Beyoncé ($115 million)
3. The Eagles ($100 million)
4. Bon Jovi ($82 million)
5. Bruce Springsteen ($81 million)
6. Justin Bieber ($80 million)
7. One Direction ($75 million)
8. Paul McCartney ($71 million)
9. Calvin Harris ($66 million)
10. Toby Keith ($65 million)
11. Taylor Swift ($64 million)
12. Jay Z ($60 million)(tie)
12. Diddy ($60 million)(tie)
12. Bruno Mars ($60 million)(tie)
15. Justin Timberlake ($57 million)
16. Pink ($52 million)
17. Michael Bublé ($51 million)
18. Rihanna ($48 million)
19. Rolling Stones ($47 million)
20. Roger Waters ($46 million)
21. Elton John ($45 million)
22. Kenny Chesney ($44 million)
23. Katy Perry ($40 million)
24. Jason Aldean ($37 million)(tie)
24. Jennifer Lopez ($37 million)(tie)
26. Miley Cyrus ($36 million)(tie)
26. Celine Dion ($36 million)(tie)
28. Muse ($34 million)(tie)
28. Luke Bryan ($34 million)(tie)
30. Lady Gaga ($33 million)(tie)
30. Drake ($33 million)(tie)
