Posted on 12/11/2014 2:52:29 PM PST by a fool in paradise
Fifteen years ago Dr. Dre wondered aloud whether people had forgotten about him. If there was a question then, it has certainly dissipated throughout the next steps of a career filled with highlights—most recently the sale of Beats, the company he cofounded, to Apple for $3 billion.
Dr. Dre took home $620 million this year before taxes, thanks largely to that deal, making him the world’s top-earning musician of 2014. More remarkably, that number also marks the largest single-year haul of any musician, ever.
“It’s safe to say headphones is a good business,” said DJ Khaled, one of hip-hop’s top earners.
Dr. Dre’s payday gives him the widest margin in history between the first and second spots on our top-earning musicians list—half a billion dollars separate him from the No. 2 earner, Beyoncé, who pulled in $115 million. Her most lucrative year yet comes courtesy of her Mrs. Carter Show tour, a surprise album and endorsements with the likes of Pepsi and H&M .
Only one other act reached the nine-figure mark: The Eagles, who earned $100 million on the strength of their History Of The Eagles tour. Bon Jovi ranks fourth with $82 million and Bruce Springsteen rounds out the top five with $81 million; both Jersey-born rockers grossed millions per night on successful arena tours...
...Earnings were calculated from June 2013 to June 2014 and based on data from Pollstar, the RIAA and Nielsen, and on interviews with managers, lawyers, executives and some artists themselves...
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
1 - Dr. Dre $620,000,000
2 - Beyonce $115,000,000
3 - The Eagles $100,000,000
4 - Bon Jovi $82,000,000
5 - Bruce Springsteen $81,000,000
6 - Justin Bieber $80,000,000
7 - One Direction $75,000,000
8 - Paul McCartney: $71 million
9 - DJ Calvin Harris $66,000,000
10 - Toby Keith $65,000,000
11 - Taylor Swift $64,000,000
12 (3 way tie)
Bruno Mars $60,000,000
Jay Z $60,000,000
Diddy $60,000,000
So much for the “a black man cannot get ahead” meme.
It pays to be a Democrat.
“working class heroes” from New Jersey are also making good bread.
Frankly I don’t see how this is indicative that the music industry is having lean years.
Glad to see Toby Keith on the list.
I’m proud to say they didn’t get any of my money.
“Ain’t nuthin’ but a G thang baby/2 loc’ed out n-words goin’ crazy....”
I wonder how much they actually paid in taxes.
“Death Row is the label that pays me...
Un-fade-able so please don’t try to fade me...”
One of them got a lot of money from Apple. Some of the others got money from corporate sponsorships and advertising.
Almost all of Dre’s money is from Headphones/speakers and record label.
Between Dre and Ice Cube, those N.W.A. guys did pretty good.
Eazy-E......uh, not so much.
Holy Crap!
600 Million.....
At least Dre makes a huge contribution to civilization....
The Chronic. Probably the best record that year.
And Rap/HipHop took a nosedive after that.
Yeah, I hear dying from AIDS is not fun.
I have no clue if MC Ren and DJ Yella are still alive...
Some good money in "good old days" toe-tapping.
Beats by Dre is a product bought by millions of people worldwide. It also employs many people. What do you do?
Yep. After that we got stuck with P.Diddy and Mase...
Same on the way to 25 (Elton John, Roger Waters, The Rolling Stones)
Gave the world Snoop Dogg.
And now they have wireless ones.
Bieber made more than McCartney?
There is no justice.
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