Another day, another list from Forbes highlighting the ridiculous amount of money our favorite musicians are raking in. This time, it’s the World’s Highest Paid musicians, based on earnings between June 2013, and June 2014, taking into account tour receipts, record sales, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other income.
Who’s #1 on the list? Dr. Dre, who earned $620 million — the biggest single-year payday of any musician in history, according to Forbes — when Apple purchased Beats by Dr. Dre, the company he helped found, for $3 billion. Coming in a distant second is Beyonce, with income of $115 million, thanks to her tour, sales of her latest, self-titled album, and her endorsements.
Classic rockers The Eagles, meanwhile, are at #3 with earnings of a whopping $100 million, followed by Bon Jovi at #4, with $82 million. Surprisingly, Justin Bieber is #6 on the list, just behind Bruce Springsteen, with earnings of $80 million, but that’s because the time period covered the tail-end of his very successful world tour.
Other acts ranking high on the list include One Direction with $75 million, Calvin Harris with $66 million, and Taylor Swift with $64 million, though next year, she’s expected to move much, much higher on the list. This list doesn’t take into account the release of her new album, 1989, for example, and she’ll earn big bucks when her tour launches as well.
Others on the list: Bruno Mars, with $60 million — tied with Diddy and Jay-Z — plus Justin Timberlake, with $57 million; Pink, with $52 million; and Rihanna, with $48 million.