As 2013 draws to a close we are sure to see an onslaught of “year-end” lists hit the net.
And, while such lists are always debate-spurring, it seems those based on factual data are the ones that really get tongues wagging. The latest to affirm this notion would be Forbes’ yearly ‘Highest Paid Musicians’ tally which sees ‘Queen of Pop’ Madonna reign yet again.
Trouncing the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, and more, the Material Girl’s year was billed with the likes of a top-selling ‘MDNA’ tour, merchandise sales, and more. But, even her reign was granted on a technicality.
Find out what we mean below:
Via Forbes:
Top 10 highest-paid musicians
1 – Madonna – $125m
2 – Lady Gaga – $80m
3 – Bon Jovi – $79m
4 – Toby Keith – $65m
5 – Coldplay – $64m
6 – Justin Bieber – $58m
7 – Taylor Swift – $55m
8 – Elton John – $54m
9 – Beyonce – $53m
10 – Kenny Chesney – $53m
The Mother Monster’s fans argue that had she been able to finish her ‘Born This Way Ball Tour’ that she would have trumped Madge for the top spot. While predictions cannot say that for certain, one thing is certain – Madonna is actually the year’s second highest paid musician.
With a whopping $160 million in revenue, Forbes’ announced that Michael Jackson is actually the year’s top earner. However, the list only included artists who were living.
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Queen B still slaying in the top 10 even with no album out. getting them coins from her tour alone, once her album is out and the tour ends and we get to see the final numbers, she’s gonna rule #1 🙂 #beyhive
And how much of that money is coming into my pocket? ZERO? OK. *Clicks on new tab*
hahahhaha where is Hoeanna though???? she didn’t make the top 10? hahahahahah bow down b******
No flophanna lmao and Beyonce struggling at the bottom… Lol two so called biggest stars yet there always behind the real competition lol congrats old h** love you.
and where is ciara’s saggy ass? hahahaha she never accomplish anything so ur commentary is not valid
@Gilbert Ciara not the one who’s supposed to be the “Black Madonna” or the “The Female Mj” yet struggling keep up with Justine beiber lmao Ciara is an r&b Queen they don’t get recognition like the sellouts bey and rih get.
WHERE IS CIARA ON THE CHARTS?????
WHERE IS CIARA ON THE CHART????????
yeassssss we all know our motha is a Bona fide of the forbes list new music or not hahahahah b****** will deal where’s the navy at???#LIFEISBUTASLAY
Not my money, but congrats to all, especially Beyonce, who happens to be the only black musician in the top 10!#BlackGirlsRocks
they should make ghetto forbes list for the lessors such as Cedric, Keshia cold slaw, and hater hilson
Wheres Beyonce new single? Or is she still struggling to decide on who she’s gonna rip off this new era?
But Ciara is no where to be found on any chart .. EVER !
KINGYONCE is making money with or without new music WHERE IS CIARA ON THE CHART?????
please beyhive stop Don’t start with that question again u gonna have me die hahahahahahahahahaha
Yall mad I clocked bey and rih oh well I dont deal with b****** in packs
#ImOut
answer the question tho? WHERE IS CIARA ON THE CHART????
not really a technicality as Michael didn’t “earn” the money, his estate did. If he was alive he wouldn’t have earned that money.
and no Gaga would not have been the top earner. She was giving away tons of tickets and desperately trying to sell tickets for 23$ of her flop ass tour.
ci..ciaraa… r&b queen? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA SHE’S THE QUEEN OF FLOP!!! Until your fav gets the same recognition as the female MJ or referred to as the QUEEN by the world and the music industry, ciara remains ancient history along with her unknown music #oops
Beyonce is making them coins! And she ain’t even done yet!!! Her album is going to sell like crazy!!! This next era is going to be great if she plays it right…. Beyonce knows what she’s doing! No shade but Navy…. how are those stadiums looking right about now? Beyonce still local? Arenas aren’t looking so bad after all huh!?
Navy Lesson 101: Quality over Quantity!!
Lesson Learned
Number don’t lie check the score board!!!
When it Comes to bussiness Rihanna don’t stand a chance against Beyonce but on the other hand she still young and she making a lot of money too
30 years after her debut and Madonna still reigns. The Queen!
King Mike <3 slaying! YESSS.
Where is Ciara?
Welp I see Samantha’s comment section is still messed up.
Still better than that struggle mobile site you all tried out yesterday.
Where is Lana??? @TrailerTrashRosie
I want to dedicate this to all the stupid ass dumbass thirsty Rihanna fans who swore up and down that she is the queen this and queen that lmao I bet your asses feel stupid dontcha!!!!! sit the f*** down somewhere and realize that Beyonce is still the King B with or without an album!!!!
damn gaga didnt do s*** for almost this whole year and still making more than her peers!! go GAGA!
I can’t see Flop del rey or Cunty Perry..
But I do see SLAYdy GODga at #2… Aint that the reason these trolls is madt?? 😀 😀
No Rihanna as usual, the struggle s****! LOL!
Beyonce the only BLACK female and black person up there! Queen.
And not the same people who sit on this blog 24/7 arguing about these people lives, looks, sales and achievments WHICH ARE NOT YOURS now saying they’re not bothered (because their fav is ghost) lol. #NotHereForIt
Beyonce is a boss b****, this shows who the true HBICs are while others tweet about others being broke and NET worth yet can’t make the top 10 doing the most.
and you stole my name! lol but its cool
2 – Lady Gaga – $80m
9 – Beyonce – $53m
BOSS B******.
This list is old forbes repeat the same income everytime and beyonce got 50 million from pepsi im sure she would not be in top ten im starting to feel rihanna work too damn hard to fall short I hope its not a tlc situation where that jay z taking all her money she needs to pay attention she does this many shows
Don’t try it dumb b****. How much of that money is going to be cut off to any of us? At the end of the day,they make more cash than we ever will,so shut it. And I can’t at you shading rihanna and beyonce. Rihanna is undoubtedly in the top 20 and beyonce is still in the top 10. Will Cierror ever make it to a forbes list?
FORBES LIAT OF THE WORLD 25 HIGHEST PAID MUSICIANS! RIHANNA 43M,CAME IN AT NUMBER 16, DIDDY 50M, KATY PERRY 39M,DR DRE 40M,PINK 32 MILLION AND A COUPLE OF OTHERS…..GRAPEJUICE U TRIED IT!
FORBES LIST*
Once next year comes Beyoncé will most likely hit 100million and be the top spot earner after her tour numbers rank. Thids is quite hilarious I must say.Madonna a 55 year old woman outselling her imposter! And she was only on tour for a fraction of the time Gaga was lol also when it comes to Rihanna, new album, tour etc still not making more coinage than Beyoncé? This is the real winners list if you ask me. All the 99¢ singles in the world can’t beat this.
FORBES LIST OF THE WORLD 25 HIGHEST PAID MUSICIANS! RIHANNA 43M,CAME IN AT NUMBER 16, DIDDY 50M, KATY PERRY 39M,DR DRE 40M,PINK 32 MILLION AND A COUPLE OF OTHERS…..GRAPEJUICE U TRIED IT! EVERY BODY IS A WINNER ON THAT LIST HUNTY! HOW MUCH DID U MAKE THIS YEAR? SIT THE F*** DOWN!
I told yall Rihanna works for Mrs Carter. Now yall see
Aww navy… poor dat. I can’t do anything but laugh at basicara stans coming for rih ir bey, I don’t like ri but ciara will never see her numbers you ciara stans need to stop riding off body party that single hell that album has come and gone.
LMAOO! Cut it out because Ciara is not even on the list.
Lmfao at u dumb h*** idolizing these artists,I pray for yall
Who’s dusty and why is it’s email appearing on my device? Anyways had this list been top 30 Nicki Minaj would’ve made the list
I never cared for artists net worths. I wouldn’t give a s*** if Rihanna were #1 with $1,000,000,000 made this year. I will never see a penny of it, so it doesn’t concern me at all.
LOL FRAUDONNA GAVE AWAY TICKETS & CD’s AS FREEBIES. SHE CAN’T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT CHEATING OR STEALING LOL.
LMAO FLOPONCE WILL ALWAYS BE BENEATH GAGA LMAO
Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP Album Flop Expected To Lose Label $25M In Marketing Costs
TODD CUNNINGHAM, THE WRAP
NOV. 18, 2013, 12:53 PM 15,749 19
Larry Busacca/Getty
“ARTPOP” sales are expected to fall short of Lady Gaga’s last album, “Born This Way.”
Lady Gaga’s new album “ARTPOP” has had plenty of promotion behind it, but sales are expected to fall well short of her previous offering, “Born This Way.”
First-week sales of roughly 260,000 copies are projected for the pop diva’s new release, according to Billboard. That would be a more-than 75 percent drop-off from her prior album, which bowed with 1.1 million units moved.
That impressive prior number was undoubtedly bolstered by an Amazon.com promotion that sold “Born This Way” for 99 cents during two days of its initial week. Billboard estimates that the M** marketing play accounted for 440,000 of the platinum-plus open. So crunching numbers, that means “ARTPOP” is still only paced to sell 40 percent of the Week 1 copies that “Born This Way” did at full cost.
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That flop may not just end with bad press.
The underwhelming sales may lose Interscope Records $25 million in promo campaign costs, according to a story published at Examiner.com on Saturday.
TheWrap‘s calls to the singer’s reps and Interscope on Sunday and Monday weren’t immediately returned.
“ARTPOP” is still expected to debut at No. 1, unseating Eminem’s “Marshall Mathers LP II” — which by comparison sold 792,000 albums in its debut. That mark was good enough to place “MMLP2″ second in 2013 openings, behind Justin Timberlake and above Drake. Miley Cyrus’ “Bangerz” launched with first-week sales of 270,000 last month. Two weeks later, Katy Perry’s “Prism” debuted with 286,000 first-week sales. But neither of those are considered breakout hits.
Also read: Lady Gaga on ‘SNL’: Madonna Bad Covers Sketch, ‘Cheap’ Applause and Self-Deprecating Jokes (Video)
The soft sales for Gaga’s latest, coupled with the massive promo spend, could cause layoffs of Interscope employees, most likely around Christmas, according to the Examiner report.
The singer’s new album may get a boost from her guest hosting stint on “Saturday Night Live,” but her last tour failed to sell out, reviews of “ARTPOP” have been mixed and its first single, ‘Applause,” peaked at No. 5 on the charts.
Interscope Records, based in Santa Monica, Calif., was founded by Jimmy Iovine in 1989 and is a part of the Universal Music Group. The label is home to more more than 100 artists, including Eminem, the Rolling Stones and Madonna.
This post originally appeared at The Wrap. Copyright 2013. Follow The Wrap on Twitter.
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LMAO AND GAGA STILL MAKES MORE MONEY THAN FLOPONCE. WHO’S #2 AND WHO’S #9? LMAO
DEAD @ TAYLOR SWIFT EARNING MORE THAN FLOPONCE. WHAT HAPPENED, BEYH.I.V+, I THOUGHT SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE KING B, GETTING OUTEARNED BY A COUNTRY SINGER LMAO
You mean to only black one that frauds others artist. SHAME.
You mad whoreannas her s****?
LMAO AND GAGA STILL MAKES MORE MONEY THAN FLOPONCE. WHO’S #2 AND WHO’S #9? LMAO
LOL BORN THIS WAY BALL WAS ALREADY SOLD OUT & ON TRACK TO BEAT MADONNASAUR’S MDOA LIPSYNC SHOW WHEN SHE HAD HER INJURY. TRANNYDONNA HAD TO GIVE AWAY TICKETS & CD FREEBIES JUST TO KEEP UP LMAO. CORPSEDONNA CAN’T COMPETE WITH GAGA WITHOUT CHEATING & STEALING LMAO
Aw gaga wont see that money in a few years she will be irrelevant. Its the only the thing monsters can boast about now.
Beyonces the only black person in the top 10. Damn thats sad but great for her I guess.
Michael Jackson Estate is milking that legacy like no F****** other. Since Michaels death they have made over 1+ Billion Bucks off of Michaels name…
The public don’t give a s*** about blacks so shut the f*** up!
Sam please fix your website THANKS
Why are ciara fans so bitter towards other artists, the nerve of them to come for Beyonce, Rihanna, Gaga, Katy P, Christina Aguilera, Britney…. The list goes on. Its not their fault ci-erro\whisper(iara) doesn’t chart or even get recognised anymore, maybe stop downloading her music illegally and pay money for the real HQ stuff. Then just maybe she’ll make it into top 200
ARTISTS dont make money from their albums unless they write and produce them and since Bee buys writing credits she stays in the MINUS!!!! #ijs
Bragging on who’s fave made the most money is for the lame. Not a dollar is going towards your non existing bank account nor your EBT card. I agree with @Lovebird, next tab.
Clearly not. Mad because Rihanna works like a dog and still still cannot make top 10.
I find it ironic the one tweeting about her net worth and doing the most out of everyone can’t get in the top while others do barely anything and make it there effortlessly.
Yet she made $43m while you’re trying to clock overtime at your Burger King shifts to buy Christmas presents. #GirlBYE
@LOLZ
@The Boy Toy Mkay. Still find it ironic babes.
Idiot. If Beyoncé “buys album writing credits,” then that mean she stays in the plus. Publishing is the gift that keeps on giving. You see that she’s on the list. Not that I believe that she buys album writing credits, I’m simply using what you said to expose what a dumbass you are. You just clowned yourself in the worse way. Be quiet.
B**** shut up! You just mad your flop favs aren’t up there and the two people you hate most are up there. You expose your bitterness and hatred every time, but you and your favs still fall short. Go have a seat on another planet because you are the epitome of hatred and where it comes from. Bye H**!
Congrats to everyone who made the list! This is really impressive, especially given how little money artists can actually make from selling album’s nowadays. Good thing they’re adapting to the new music landscape. Touring is where it’s at, along with endorsements. Bey is a remarkable businesswoman, and I am floored that Gaga is always so high. It’ll be interesting to see where she stacks up next year. Madonna as always, is queen. And Rihanna is doing her thang! At only 25, she’s hanging with the big dogs. Her brand is only going to grow along with her net worth, so good for her!
I mean Adele only made like $25-$30 million the year 21 was released, which is one of the biggest selling albums of all time. That should tell you something.
^This
I SEE QUEEN RIHANNA STAYS ON YOU HOODRAT’S MIND THOUGH AND DID THE T***** YOU STAN FOR MAKE IT TO THE TOP 100 LIST.BROKE ASS FLOP HO
Girl! Sade is the TRUTH. I love her. Nice avi <3
Dat 360 reign just won’t let up!
How many of these list do they cook every month???
How should we care about what other earn? Music and a few taimes sales (to measure the impact) should be the important thing to us.
Also, surprised Gaga is #2. Too much for a flop, ain´t it? 🙂
You argue over these peoples achievements which is just as much yours as their money (not at all) @Mark111 @Lovebird. Have a seat.
No. 17: Rihanna ($43 million, tie)
The Barbados-born diva continues to rake in the dough, playing over 40 shows during our scoring period and releasing new album Unapologetic, her seventh in seven years. Even if you’re not one of her 30 million-plus Twitter followers, it’s hard not miss her recent singles “Diamonds” and “Stay” and her ubiquitous Vita Coco ads. And that’s a formula that should keep the cash coming for years.