The world’s best-paid musicians go on the road

Forbes has published a list of the 25 most lucrative music acts of this moment. According to Forbes U2 is the best paid music act of the past 12 months,  

Bon Jovi has been doing well too last year. The group earned $125 million over the past 12 months, enough to claim the No. 2 spot on FORBES’ annual list.
For most artists, touring was the largest source of income this past year. U2 thanks their incredible turnover to an international stadium tour that grossed some $700 million over two years, surpassing the Stones’ A Bigger Bang tour as the most lucrative of all time.

Sir Elton John ranks third with $100 million, fueled by a 102-show tour; Lady Gaga finishes 4th with $90 million and Canadian singer Michael Bublé rounds out the top five with $70 million, also on the strength of a lucrative tour.

The numbers encompass all pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, before subtracting agent and manager fees.
Not all tours were done equally economical. Lady Gaga grossed $168 million in touring, but the costs of her elaborate production (dozens of backup dancers, pyrotechnic undergarments, etc.) ate into her take significantly. Nonetheless, Gaga did grab plenty of additional cash from recorded music, publishing and endorsements.

The five other cash cows in the top 10 of music are: Paul McCartney, the Black Eyed Peas, The Eagles, Justin Bieber and Dave Matthews.

Sources:  Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter