Music

Music's Top 40 Money Makers of 2011

by Aaron Zorgel

Billboard released their 6th annual Money Makers rankings last Friday, noting the success of Arena-sized touring acts, Adele (despite vocal difficulty), and country acts (who occupy 11 of the Top 40 acts).

The Beatles even made the middle of the list, thanks to their songs finally being available on iTunes in 2011. Even more surprising, a lot of acts that haven’t been active on the charts for years (Bob Seger, Rush, Mötley Crüe, Journey, Sade) scored big-time, thanks to their touring schedules.

Billboard’s findings are based on data from U.S. income sources, ranking artists based upon how much each of them earned in 2011 from a variety of income streams, including touring, recorded-music sales, publishing royalties and payments from an array of digital services.

View the Top 40 list below, and read the full article at Billboard.

40. Linkin Park ($5,190,655)
39. Kanye West ($5,363,661)
38. Mötley Crüe ($5,376,272)
37. Steely Dan ($5,389,509)
36. New Kids On The Block ($5,519,805)
35. Justin Bieber ($5,523,459)
34. Sugarland ($5,632,406)
33. Backstreet Boys ($5,712,050)
32. Rush ($5,819,304)
31. Foo Fighters ($6,013,257)
30. Usher ($6,292,586)
29. Rod Stewart ($6,388,756)
28. Zac Brown Band ($6,481,564)
27. Keith Urban ($6,579,695)
26. Lady Antebellum ($6,676,450)
25. Paul McCartney ($6,726,519)
24. The Beatles ($6,743,863)
23. Enrique Iglesias ($7,448,670)
22. Rihanna ($7,660,833)
21. Brad Paisley ($8,602,374)
20. Michael Bublé ($9,027,177)
19. Tim McGraw ($9,335,258)
18. Rascal Flats ($9,639,270)
17. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ($10,017,031)
16. Britney Spears ($10,090,973)
15. Toby Keith ($10,413,127)
14. Katy Perry ($11,969,426)
13. Elton John ($11,973,990)
12. Journey ($12,313,822)
11. “Glee” Cast ($12,587,771)
10. Adele ($13,081,909)
9. Jason Alden ($13,409,011)
8. Celine Dion ($14,261,515)
7. Bon Jovi ($15,835,856)
6. Sade ($16,382,809)
5. Lil Wayne ($23,178,722)
4. Lady Gaga ($25,353,039)
3. Kenny Chesney ($29,837,103)
2. U2 ($32,116,315)
1. Taylor Swift ($35,719,902)