"Billboard" has put out their annual 'Music Moneymakers' list, which ranks the 50 artists who raked in the most money last year. The estimates include stuff like music sales, streaming, ringtones, publishing royalties, and touring, which is where the big money comes from these days.
They only count U.S. sales and touring, so anyone who spent a lot of last year touring abroad won't have that income added. Merchandise sales and sponsorships weren't included either, because there wasn't enough information available to make it consistent across the board.
U2 is #1, with an estimated net income of $54.4 million. GARTH BROOKS was a close second at $52.2 million.
Here are the Top 20 Music Moneymakers:
1. U2, $54.4 million
2. Garth Brooks, $52.2 million
3. Metallica, $43.2 million
4. Bruno Mars, $40.7 million
5. Ed Sheeran, $31.3 million
6. Lady Gaga, $29.7 million
7. Billy Joel, $29.2 million
8. Guns N' Roses, $27.8 million
9. Roger Waters, $27.2 million
10. Coldplay, $26.5 million
11. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, $23.4 million
12. The Weeknd, $23.3 million
13. Kendrick Lamar, $21.7 million
14. Red Hot Chili Peppers, $21.6 million
15. Luke Bryan, $21 million
16. Florida Georgia Line, $20.9 million
17. Paul McCartney, $20.5 million
18. Jay-Z, $19.8 million
19. Eric Church, $19.4 million
20. Bruce Springsteen, $18.5 million.
(Hit up Billboard.com for the whole list, along with cool breakdowns of how each artist made their money.)