14 DAY TRIAL // When Dr. Dre announced that he was coming out with his own line of headphones, Beats by Dre, industry insiders and even fans snickered and whispered online that here was another celebrity that was selling out by endorsing a product they didn’t really believe in.
Dre sold Beats to Apple, and this way, just became the highest earning musician in the year 2014 – and ever, Forbes magazine reports.
He is followed by Beyonce, The Eagles, Bon Jovi, and Bruce Springsteen, but the margin between this year’s number 1 and number 2 is huge: this was definitely Dre’s biggest year of his life.
Forbes’ annual list is out
Comprising earnings between June 2013 and June 2014, Forbes’ annual list includes estimates for music sales but also earnings from other sources, such as separate business endeavors, endorsement deals, and other partnerships.
Had it considered music sales alone, there’s no doubt that Beyonce would have ranked first: after all, she had the biggest tour of her career so far, astounding sales with the surprise release of her “Beyonce” album, and various endorsement deals that made her many millions richer.
Dre, on the other hand, had the Beats deal with Apple, which helped him earn an impressive $620 million (€497.6 million) in a single year, the highest haul ever recorded by a musician in a one-year span.
The numbers released by Forbes also comprise data from Nielsen, RIAA, and Pollstar and information obtained through interviews with management, industry executives, and even the talent. These are figures before taxes and before associated salaries (management, staff, etc.).
Still, where Dre is concerned, “it’s safe to say headphones is a good business,” as DJ Khaled so wonderfully puts it.
The rest
Beyonce also had the best year of her career and she brought in the good bucks, but she was far behind Dre, with earnings of “just” $115 million (€92.3 million). The rest of top 5 is made up of legendary rock acts like The Eagles ($100 million / €80.2 million), Bon Jovi ($82 million / €65.8 million), and The Boss Bruce Springsteen ($81 million / €65 million).
The complete top 10 is included in the video below: as you can see, Justin Bieber still made a lot of money, as did One Direction, Sir Paul McCartney, and Toby Keith. The biggest surprise this year was Calvin Harris, who, with earnings of $66 million (€52.9 million), has become the world’s highest paid DJ of all times.
Other artists who made a killing this past year but did not make it in the top 10 include Taylor Swift ($64 million / €51.3 million), Katy Perry ($40 million / €32.1 million), Miley Cyrus ($36 million / €28.9 million), and Lady Gaga ($33 million / €26.4 million).
Asked how come they managed to make more money than some of the acts who get several times more media attention and airplay than they do, the rockers at Bon Jovi told Forbes that it’s all down to smart spending: they don’t travel around with a big entourage, don’t spend a fortune on celebrity perks, and don’t need an elaborate setup for their shows.
At the opposite pole are pop stars like Katy, Miley, and Gaga, whose concerts require an over-the-top budget for fashion / stage outfits, rigs and lights, backup dancers, and countless props. The bill for these is paid from ticket sales, which means less money actually ends up in their pockets.
