Bono and the boys are doing alright for themselves.
U2 have come in at number eight in a list of the 40 highest-paid musicians in the world in 2015, compiled by music publisher Billboard.
Using data compiled in the US in 2015, Billboard came up with a list based on earnings that artists and bands accumulated through sales, streaming, publishing and touring over the period of a year.
The figures are eye-watering to say the least.
As the data was compiled in the US, some acts who feature on the list may come as a bit of surprise – Kenny Chesney (2), Luke Bryan (8) and Jason Aldean (11), for example – but the usual suspects are there too, such as The Rolling Stones (3), U2 (8), One Direction (5) and number one, Taylor Swift.
The Billboard figures illustrate just how important touring is in terms of revenue for musical acts these days, particularly for long-established artists like U2 and the Rolling Stones.
U2, for example, had relatively paltry sales figures in 2015 but made $20.6 million from touring; The Rolling Stones topped that with $37.3 million but both of them were dwarfed by Taylor Swift, who reaped a whopping $61.7 million from touring in 2015 alone.
Adele, on the other hand, made no money from touring in 2015 (2016 will be A LOT different), but still comes in at number nine thanks to £16.3 million in sales last year.
Nice work if you can get it alright.
Billboard’s 10 highest-paid musicians of 2015
- Taylor Swift (Accumulated Earnings: $73.5 million)
- Kenny Chesney ($39.8 million)
- The Rolling Stones ($39.6 million)
- Billy Joel ($31.7 million)
- One Direction ($24.2 million)
- The Grateful Dead & Company ($23.8 million)
- Luke Bryan ($23.1 million)
- U2 ($21.8 million)
- Adele ($20.5 million)
- Maroon 5 ($19.2 million)
To see the top 40 in full, click here.
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