The 15 highest paid musicians in the last year
15Beyoncé: 48 million euros in earnings
Beyoncé Knowles ranks 15th on our list with annual earnings of €48 million . The singer has been successful in the music business for a long time and can now see a considerable fortune of 450 million euros. Beyoncé has been married to rapper Jay-Z since 2008, and they have a daughter together. The singer doesn’t just earn her money through her music. A good portion of their revenue also comes from advertising money. She has already advertised for the greats Emporio Armani, Pepsi and L’Oréal. The musician was also able to earn quite a bit with her own perfume in cooperation with Tommy Hilfiger. But Beyoncé is also involved in charitable causes and uses her large fortune for charity.
14The Weeknd: 49 million euros Gage in 2016
The Weeknd is the stage name of Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, who was born in Toronto in 1990. The Canadian earned a whopping 49 million euros as an R’n’B musician last year . This puts him in 14th place among the best-paid musicians in 2016. He became known through his collaboration with the rapper Drake and his publications on YouTube.
14U2: Annual earnings 49 million euros
2016 was another good year for the band around Bono. U2 can look forward to a fee of 49 million euros last year. The Irish rock band was formed in Dublin in 1976 and can look back on many successes. These successes continue, after all, U2 is one of the most popular bands in the world. U2 landed countless number one hits and is also committed to social and political projects.
13 Kenny Chesney: 50 million euros income
Kenny Chesney shares 13th place among highest-paid musicians with Justin Bieber. The two can proudly look back on the past year with an annual income of 50 million euros . Chesney is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has had more than 30 top ten singles on the Billboard Country Charts.
13Justin Bieber: 50 million euros annual revenue
With a whopping annual fee of 50 million euros, Justin Bieber secured 13th place. The young singer was only born in 1994 and made it into the music business at the age of 13. In 2008 he got his first contract and in 2009 he released his single “One Time”. Since then his career has gone from strength to strength and he has had hit after hit in the charts. Justin Bieber can also look forward to a large fan base, especially young people adore him. So young he already manages a fortune of 275 million euros. This will certainly continue to grow, the musician lands one success after the other. The star also markets itself well online, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Co.
12Paul McCartney: 50.2 million euros annual fee
The Beatles singer is the 12th highest-paid musician of 2016. Paul McCartney had a good year with earnings of 50.2 million euros . Compared to his incredible fortune of 910 million euros, the annual income for 2016 looks rather small. He is not only very successful as a singer, but also as a songwriter. Paul penned most of the Beatles’ hits. McCartney was not only very successful with the Beatles but also as a solo artist. In addition, he is involved in charitable causes and also uses his vast fortune for charity.
11Bruce Springsteen: 54 million euros in earnings
His nickname “The Boss” came about in the 1970s when he paid his band members cash after performances. Born in 1949, Bruce Springsteen is one of the world’s greatest rock musicians. He has sold 130 million albums around the world, which speaks for itself. Last year he was able to bring in a fee of 54 million euros .
10Diddy: 55 million euros annual earnings
Diddy made it to the tenth place for the highest paid musicians. With a salary of 55 million euros, he had a successful year in 2016. The singer’s real name is Sean Combs, but he has changed his stage name several times. Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and now he just sticks with Diddy. Whatever he calls himself, his €770 million net worth is definitely worth mentioning. Not only does his income come from music alone, Diddy founded the successful fashion brand Sean John, which continues to grow his fortune.
9Calvin Harris: 56 million euros in revenue
Calvin Harris tops the list of the richest DJs and finds himself the ninth highest-paid musician of 2016. The DJ from Scotland’s real name is Adam Richard Wiles. He plays around 125 gigs a year, which brought him in 2016 revenues of 56 million euros . Calvin Harris also writes and produces hits for other stars. For example the successful song “We found love” for Rihanna.
8thRolling Stones: 59 million euros annual salary
Of course, our ranking would not be complete without the Stones. The English rock band was founded in 1962 and is still very successful today. They are one of the longest-lived and most commercially successful groups in rock history. This is also proven by the annual fee for 2016 of 59 million euros . This makes the Rolling Stones the eighth best-paid musician of the past year.
7AC/DC: 60 million euros in revenue
The hard rock band from Australia can also celebrate a long existence. The group was founded in 1973. The album “Highway to Hell” from 1979 is still played today. The album “Back in Black”, which followed only a little later, is the third best-selling album in the world with over 50 million records sold. A band that can be really proud of their musical achievements. Last year she was rewarded with income of 60 million euros .
6Garth Brooks: 62 million euros earnings
Garth Brooks is best known among country fans. The singer and songwriter from America is a very successful musician in modern country music. Since the 90s, the musician has gained great popularity, mainly in the USA. His songs are so popular because he mixes rock and pop elements with country sounds and his lyrics often tell of everyday situations in life. This brought him a fee of 62 million euros last year and secured him the sixth place among the highest-paid musicians.
5Rihanna: 67 million euros earnings
Rihanna was born on February 20, 1988 in Barbados. Her full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty. She discovered her love for music early on and founded a school band. Today she ranks 5th among the best-paid musicians of 2016. With income of 67 million euros last year, her fortune continues to grow. Rihanna now has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion . She was already able to celebrate great successes and this will certainly continue in the future. With over 100 million records sold, Rihanna can be described as a real superstar in the music business. Although the singer lives in Los Angeles, she also owns a villa in Barbados so that she can spend time with her family.
4Madonna: 68 million euros fee
Madonna can also look forward to a whopping income of 68 million euros last year. This puts Madonna in fourth place among the best-paid musicians of the previous year. With an impressive fortune of 725 million euros, the pop icon lacks for nothing. The singer has been on stage for more than 30 years and success is still assured. But Madonna has also tried her hand as an actress and landed quite a few hits. For example with the film Evita. The strip even made it to the most successful musical film of the 90s. Madonna is also still on tour, which, in addition to the music sales, creates the high fee for 2016.
3Adele: 71.5 million euros annual income in 2016
Now comes a woman who proves to the whole world that there is another way. Because while most musicians would not be as rich as they are now without touring around the world, Adele , for example, earned exactly 0 euros from touring in 2015. After all, the singer did not go on tour in 2015, preferring to stay at home with her husband and child. In 2016 she was on a European tour, which helped her to earn a large income. Of course, there are also album sales. Adele is now worth an estimated €175 million . This will surely continue to grow, the pop star has incredible talent.
2One Direction: 98 million euros annual fee
Boy band One Direction takes second place in our ranking of the highest paid musicians of 2016. The band consists of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson and has been making music history since 2010. Back then it all started with her appearance on the casting show The X-Factor. There they took third place and immediately signed a recording contract with Sony Music. Last year she was able to achieve income of 98 million euros. Earnings came mainly from album sales and tours.
1Taylor Swift: 151 million euros annual earnings
Taylor Swift has already shown all her colleagues in the music biz how it’s done. While she has made some money selling her albums, her touring earnings are astronomical. This resulted in an impressive fee of 151 million euros in 2016. There is hardly an artist from our ranking of the best-paid musicians 2016 who can keep up with Taylor. The total net worth of Taylor Swift, which is 340 million eurosamounts to, has increased noticeably in the past year. Taylor Swift is a real superstar, she has had a sensational career. Her singing career began at the age of 14, when she signed her first record deal. The singer has already been honored with Grammys and other awards and we can already look forward to her next albums. With number 1 of the highest paid musicians, she is far ahead of other singers and we can be curious how much money she will earn in 2017.