The world's highest-paid musicians

Image: Getty Images

1. DR DRE, $620 MILLION
The super producer’s payout from Apple’s $3 billion purchase of Beats gave Dre the
biggest annual haul of any musician ever evaluated by Forbes

2. BEYONCÉ, $115 MILLION
Queen B’s most lucrative year came courtesy her Mrs Carter Show World Tour, a surprise album release and endorsements with Pepsi and H&M

3. THE EAGLES, $100 MILLION
The ageing rockers’ ongoing History of the Eagles tour helped them earn more than Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus—combined

4. BON JOVI, $82 MILLION
The tail end of their Because We Can Tour, which grossed a quarter of a billion dollars, pushed the New Jersey rockers into the top five

5. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, $81 MILLION
That other Garden State notable grossed more than $3 million per night during his 34-date High Hopes Tour with the E Street Band

6. JUSTIN BIEBER, $80 MILLION
More problems, more money: Despite his lousy behaviour, Bieber’s latest tour generated the biggest payday of his career

7. ONE DIRECTION, $75 MILLION
The British boy band’s earnings went in one direction—up—thanks to lucrative live dates, Pepsi ads and a No 1 album, Midnight Memories

8. PAUL McCARTNEY, $71 MILLION
The oldest artist on this list, the 72-year-old cute Beatle is still rocking his way around
the world—and grossing more than $3.5 million per city

9. CALVIN HARRIS, $66 MILLION
The former supermarket stockboy is now the world’s top-paid DJ, scoring six-figure nightly fees and millions more, producing hits for Rihanna, Katy Perry and others

10. TOBY KEITH, $65 MILLION
The country’s top earner is a diversified money machine whose commercial interests include his own record label, a mescal line and a restaurant chain

All figures represent changes in wealth between Nov 18 and Dec 2, 2014. Forbes estimates for pretax income from June 2013 to June 2014.

Source: Interactive data via factset research systems; Forbes.