2017: Top Earning Musicians
Forbes’ has released its list of the highest-paid musicians of 2017, and the top four are all urban music artists.
Top of the list is rapper, Sean “P Diddy” Combs, who pulled in a career-best of $130 million this year.
While Diddy didn’t release any new music, he made his cash through his Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, his Ciroc vodka deal and the sale of one-third of his Sean John clothing line.
Behind Diddy, Beyonce took second, Drake placed third, and The Weeknd clinched the fourth spot.
According to Forbes, going on tour plays a large role in the earnings for big-name musicians.
Taylor Swift at number 17 and Jay-Z at number 19 didn’t play many shows this year, which probably accounts for their lower rankings.
In terms of diversity, there are only five women in the top 25, but four of the five top acts are musicians of colour.
The youngest musician making the list is 23-year-old Justin Bieber who placed seventh, and the oldest is 75-year-old Paul McCartney, who placed thirteenth.
See the top 10 here:
1) Diddy ($130m)
2) Beyonce ($105m)
3) Drake ($94m)
4) The Weeknd ($92m)
5) Coldplay ($88m)
6) Guns N’ Roses ($84m)
7) Justin Bieber ($83.5m)
8) Bruce Springsteen ($75m)
9) Adele ($69m)
10) Metallica ($66.5m)
