Forbes Announces Highest Paid Musicians of 2012
By VVN Network, on 11 Nov 29, 2012
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| Roger Waters |
Forbes magazine has announced the 25 highest paid musicians for the year 2012 and number 1 comes as quite a surprise, not because of his musical prowess but because he got there with very little recording or touring.
Dr. Dre tops the 2012 list making $110 million during the year mainly from his dealings in the Beats By Dre headphones. Specifically, he sold his share of the company for $100 million, bringing in the rest of his money from catalog sales and his performance with Snoop Dogg at Coachella.
Last year's chart topper, U2, drop to fourth with $78 million with only a short section of their 360 Degree Tour having been in 2012. At second is Roger Waters on the strength of his The Wall tour and Elton John is third due to his touring, Las Vegas stint and the success of the movie Gnomeo and Juliet.
England's Take That is at number 5 with $69 million, $61 of which was from an eight-night stand at London's Wembley Stadium, proving just how important live dates are to musicians in this day and age.
Dropping out of the list are the Black Eyed Peas (#7), the Eagles (#8), Dave Matthews (#10), Usher (#12), Brad Paisley (#15), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (#16), AC/DC, Tim McGraw, Muse (all tied at #18), Rascal Flatts (#23)
The list (with last year's position and veteran artists highlighted):
- 01. (--) Dr. Dre - $110 million
- 02. (--) Roger Waters - $88 million
- 03. (03) Elton John - $80 million
- 04. (01) U2 - $78 million
- 05. (--) Take That - $69 million
- 06. (02) Bon Jovi - $60 million
- 07. (--) Britney Spears - $58 million
- 08. (06) Paul McCartney - $57 million (tie)
- 08. (13) Taylor Swift - $57 million (tie)
- 10. (09) Justin Bieber - $55 million (tie)
- 10. (11) Toby Keith - $55 million (tie)
- 12. (25) Rihanna - $53 million
- 13. (04) Lady GaGa - $52 million
- 14. (--) Foo Fighters - $47 million
- 15. (18) Diddy - $45 million (tie)
- 15. (14) Katy Perry - $45 million (tie)
- 17. (24) Kenny Chesney - $44 million
- 18. (18) Beyoncé - $40 million
- 19. (--) Red Hot Chili Peppers - $39 million
- 20. (17) Jay-Z - $38 million
- 21. (--) Coldplay - $37 million
- 22. (--) Adele - $35 million (tie)
- 22. (--) Kanye West - $35 million (tie)
- 24. (05) Michael Bublé - $34 million
- 25. (--) Sade - $33 million
