Forbes list of the world's highest-paid musicians

The highest-paid musicians[1][2][3] in the world have been reported annually by Forbes since at least 1987.

For measurement, the magazine used pretax earnings—before deducting fees for agents, managers or lawyers.

Michael Jackson became the first musician to earn over $100 million in a year (1989),[8] and has become the highest-paid male soloist a record seven times.

Dr. Dre currently holds the record for the highest annual earnings for a musician, collecting $620 million in 2014, mainly through the sales of his headphone-manufacturing company, Beats Electronics.

[9] Madonna is the first woman in music to earn $100 million for a year (2009) and has become the highest-paid female musician a record 11 times.

Forbes logo
U2 became the annual highest-paid musician a record five times and the annual highest-paid music group a record eight times.
Michael Jackson became the annual highest-paid musician three times and the annual highest-paid male solo musician a record seven times.
Madonna became the annual highest-paid musician three times and the annual highest-paid female musician a record eleven times.
The Beatles became the annual highest-paid musician four times and the annual highest-paid music group four times.
The Rolling Stones became the annual highest-paid musician three times and the annual highest-paid music group five times.
Eagles became the annual highest-paid music group three times.
Bruce Springsteen became the annual highest-paid musician three times and the annual highest-paid male solo musician six times.
Elton John became the annual highest-paid male solo musician three times.
Garth Brooks became the annual highest-paid male solo musician three times.
Taylor Swift became the annual highest-paid musician twice and the annual highest-paid female musician four times.
Celine Dion became the annual highest-paid female musician four times.
Beyoncé became the annual highest-paid female musician four times.
Dr. Dre became the highest-paid musician of the 2010s decade.