Madonna Tops Forbes List Of Top 20 Earning Musicians

Earned $125 Million Last Year

If you're at all concerned that music superstars might have to look through their couches for coins to help buy CHRISTMAS presents -- you can relax. FORBES has released a list of the highest paid performers, and MADONNA, who pulled in $125 million over the past year, is 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," notes FORBES.

LADY GAGA ranked second with $80 million -- grossing "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. 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 #1 spot with a successful set of concerts, the main driver for most major artists’ earnings," FORBES notes.

“With touring being the biggest revenue stream, if there’s an opportunity for an artist to go out, if there’s an opportunity for a promoter to curate a festival, people are doing it, said KWL ENTERPRISES founder and manager of artists including BIG SEAN, TREY SONGZ and YOUNG JEEZY KEVIN LILES.

The rest of the list:

#3 BON JOVI with $79 million
#4 TOBY KEITH with $65 million
#5 COLDPLAY with $64 million
#6 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN with $62 million
#7 JUSTIN BIEBER with $58 million
#8 TAYLOR SWIFT with $55 million
#9 ELTON JOHN with $54 million
#10 (Tie) BEYONCÉ and KENNY CHESNEY with $53 million each
#12 DIDDY with $50 million
#13 PAUL MCCARTNEY witht $47 million
#14 CALVIN HARRIS with $46 million
#15 JENNIFER LOPEZ with $45 million
#16 ROGER WATERS with $44 million
#17 (Tie) MUSE and RIHANNA with $43 million
#19 JAY Z with $42 million
#20 ONE DIRECTION with $42 million

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