With a whopping $110 million in pretax earnings, Dr. Dre is this year’s top-earning musician—thanks largely to his Beats headphone line. He leads a pack of pop stars, rock icons, rap moguls and country crooners, many of whom bank the bulk of their bucks outside the recording studio. Totals are calculated from May 2011 through May 2012.
1. Dr. Dre ($110 million)
His long-awaited album, Detox, is still on the shelf, but Dre still rakes in cash from old albums, production and the occasional concert. And then there’s that headphone line. The superproducer collected $100 million pretax when handset maker HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in the company last year, at the beginning of our scoring period (earlier this year, he and his partners bought back half of what they sold).
2. Roger Waters ($88 million)
A founding member of Pink Floyd, Waters continues to rake in cash from his The Wall Live tour, in which he plays the aforementioned album straight through. According to Billboard Boxscore, he grossed $131 million from November 2011 to May 2012 alone.
3. Elton John ($80 million)
The Rocketman is still going strong with over 100 shows in our scoring period, including a lengthy Las Vegas stint. His animated film Gnomeo and Juliet brought in $200 million at the box office. He’s also got his 30th solo album on the way.
4. U2 ($78 million)
The legendary Irish rockers wrapped up their record-breaking 360 tour—which grossed $736 million over three year—in August of 2011, just late enough to count a summer of touring in our scoring period.
5. Take That ($69 million)
The British boy band’s reunion tour grossed a record $61 million for eight dates at London’s Wembley Stadium alone, the highest-grossing single-stadium stand recorded to that point, while dozens of dates around Europe provided even more.
6. Bon Jovi ($60 million)
The veteran New Jersey rock act wrapped a world tour last summer but still managed to out-earn relative whippersnappers Kim Kardashian, Lil Wayne and Kate Moss combined. Could a breakup be on the horizon? Frontman Jon Bon Jovi has been spotted duetting with Warren Buffett in the Forbes building.
7. Britney Spears ($58 million)
The pop diva returns to the ranks of music’s elite earners with millions from endorsements and a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden. Her latest album, Femme Fatale, earned platinum certification in the U.S.
8. Paul McCartney ($57 million, tie)
Sir Paul continues to rock, playing three dozen shows during our scoring period, including a rollicking Grammy performance that included a finale with Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen. Royalty checks from his Beatles days don’t hurt, either.
8. Taylor Swift ($57 million, tie)
Swift grossed over $1 million per night on the road this year, and also earns big as one of the faces of CoverGirl. Her latest album, Red, moved 1.2 million units its opening week this fall, the best debut since 2002.
10. Justin Bieber ($55 million, tie)
The 18-year-old is the youngest name on our list, thanks to sales of music and merchandise—and, more recently, stakes in startups including Tinychat, Stamped and Spotify.
10. Toby Keith ($55 million, tie)
With his Ford sponsorship entering its second decade and his I Love This Bar And Grill restaurant chain booming, Keith tops country earners for the second consecutive year. New album Clancy’s Tavern helped him sell out shows across the country.
12. Rihanna ($53 million)
The Barbados-born diva has parlayed the success of her music into lucrative sidelines: endorsements with the likes of Vita Coco and Nivea, a fragrance called Reb’l Fleur and a heavy touring schedule, to name a few.
13. Lady Gaga ($52 million)
The singer-songwriter still makes plenty of money off of music sales, padding her coffers with a new tour and new fragrance Fame.
14. Foo Fighters ($47 million)
Fifteen years after their debut smash The Colour and the Shape, the Foos are still rocking, most recently with last year’s Wasting Light and the ensuing tour.
15. Diddy ($45 million, tie)
The artist formerly known as Puff Daddy still continues to earn from a variety of non-musical deals—namely a share of profits from Diageo’s Ciroc vodka—as well as acting gigs, marketing firm Blue Flame and clothing line Sean John.
15. Katy Perry ($45 million, tie)
The only musician besides Michael Jackson to have five No. 1 singles from the same album, Perry continues to garner considerable airplay—and dollars. Her California Dreams Tour grossed nearly $60 million.
17. Kenny Chesney ($44 million)
Though he didn’t get paid for his Thanksgiving gig in Dallas, Chesney nearly doubled his touring take over last year, making 48 stops in the U.S. and Canada on his Corona- and Hooters-sponsored tour during our scoring period.
18. Beyoncé ($40 million)
After giving birth to baby Blue Ivy in January, Beyoncé took a break from her hectic touring schedule. But she still earns big from old hits, new album 4 and non-musical ventures like her House of Dereon clothing line and endorsement deals with companies like L’Oreal and DirecTV.
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers ($39 million)
Opening week sales of the group’s new album I’m with You were just half that of 2006’s Stadium Arcadium, but the Chili Peppers still managed a massive year financially on the strength of a big tour and continued interest in their extensive back catalogue.
20. Jay-Z ($38 million)
Though he doesn’t earn quite as much as his wife, Jay-Z continues to pull in proceeds from music (touring in support of his album with Kanye West) and business (deals with Duracell, Budweiser and others). For more on his financial dealings, check out Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office.
21. Coldplay ($37 million)
The British pop-rockers returned to the spotlight with last year’s Mylo Xyloto, cashing in from over 50 concerts on the tour that followed.
22. Adele ($35 million, tie)
The big-voiced Brit has sold over 23 million copies of her smash album 21, even more amazing in an era when selling 500,000 copies is a strong showing.
22. Kanye West ($35 million, tie)
The mercurial rapper-producer had a big hit with his Jay-Z collaboration Watch the Throne and the ensuing tour; he also designs shoes for Nike and a line of women’s clothing
24. Michael Bublé ($34 million)
The top-earning Canadian musician not named Bieber pulled in millions from a long but efficient tour, as well as a multiplatinum Christmas album titled—what else—Christmas.
25. Sade ($33 million)
The reclusive Nigerian-born, Britain-bred singer-songwriter squeaks onto our list thanks to a lucrative tour that included nearly 100 show dates in our scoring period.
{ Forbes }
Elie Chahine 