The latest list by Forbes highlighting the World’s Highest-Paid Musicians has been released for 2015 and the results highly differ from 2014 (via Forbes). Katy Perry has jumped from 23rd position in 2014 to the top of the list with a total gathered earning of $135 million due to her 17-month “Prismatic World Tour” which contributed to a lot of her earnings. 4 female musicians have made it into the top 10 this year including Taylor Swift with $80 million, Fleetwood Mac with $59.5 million and Lady Gaga with $59 million. Beyoncé went down from second place in 2014 to 14th due to a step back to look after her child Blue Ivy.
The top British earner(s) position was taken by One Direction despite Zayn Maliks departure from the band to persue a solo career alongside the announcement of solo careers being taken on by all members at some point. The popular boy-band still managed to come in second place this year by earning $130 million in 2015 due to their November release of their fifth studio album “Made in the A.M” and their “On The Road Again” Tour. They are joined by fellow Brits Calvin Harris ($66m), Fleetwood Mac ($59.5m), The Rolling Stones($57.5m), Ed Sheeran ($57m), Elton John ($53.5m) and Paul McCartney ($51.5m) on the 2015 list of highest paid musicians.
Dr Dre makes the most significant change as he drops from the top of the list to the bottom; still in the highest-paid musicians though. In 2014, Dre’s $620 million figure broke records for the highest amount by a musician ever to make the Forbes list – due to the sale of headphone maker Beats (which was co-founded by Dre himself) to Apple for $3 billion. However this year his total earnings of $33 million has dropped him down to joint 28th.
Katy Perry and One Direction have proved that in this day and age, records are not what brings the money in but it is in fact the Live Performance sector which brings in the big dough. Katy played 126 shows this year in her touring period, more than any other artist in the top 10, nevertheless, all the musicians in the top 10 managed to perform in at least 20 concerts in the past 12 months.
2015 Earnings for Top Paid Musicians
1 Katy Perry $135 m
2 One Direction $130 m
3 Garth Brooks $90 m
4 Taylor Swift $80 m
5 The Eagles $73.5 m
6 Calvin Harris $66m
7 Justin Timberlake $63.5m
8 Diddy $60m
9 Fleetwood Mac $59.5m
10 Lady Gaga $59m
11 The Rolling Stones $57.5m
12 Ed Sheeran $57m
13 Jay Z $56m
14 Beyoncé $54.5m
15 Elton John $53.5m
16 Toby Keith $53m
17 Paul McCartney $51.5m
18 Michael Buble $45.5m
19 Jason Aldean $43.5m
20 Luke Bryan $42.5m
21 Kenny Chesney $42m
22 Bruno Mars $40m
23 Drake $39.5m
24* Foo Fighters $38m
24* Tim McGraw $38m
25 David Guetta $37m
26 Florida Georgia Line $36.5m
27* Jimmy Buffett $36m
27* Tiesto $36m
28* Maroon 5 $33m
28* Dr. Dre $33m
*Asterisks denote joint place with equal salaries
