Who Are The 25 Richest Musicians In 2012? [LIST]

We’ve shown you who the richest drummers are, the richest “EDM” DJs, and the richest hip-hop stars. Now, a new list has emerged detailing the top-paid musicians overall in 2012. While several of the names on the list may not come as a surprise, it’s worth noting that many of them also earn the bulk of their income outside of their music. But for all, it is in the leveraging of their own personal brands that causes them to rake in such huge sums of dough.

Forbes magazines ran estimates that are based on total earnings from May 2011 to May 2012. Factored in are the amount of money one makes from record sales, touring, endorsements, merchandise sales and other ventures before subtracting management fees, legal costs and taxes. Keep that in mind as you take in the numbers, as a great deal of money is subtracted from the fees, costs and taxes. Still though, these numbers are testament to how valuable a personal brand can be in today’s modern music business.

Topping Fobres’ list is none other than hip-hop legend and mega-producer Dr. Dre with $110 million, thanks largely to his Beats headphone line. Dre collected $100 million pretax when HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in the company last year, and Dre and his partners later bought back half of what they sold.

While many of “usual suspects” on a list like this – people like Jay-Z or Diddy – owe a large part of their income to outside business ventures like Dre’s, the majority of this year’s top 25 made the list due to their touring figures.

The Top-Paid Musicians in 2012

1. Dr. Dre @ $110 million
2. Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) @ $88 million
3. Elton John @ $80 million
4. U2 @ $78 million
5. Take That @ $69 million
6. Bon Jovi @ $60 million
7. Britney Spears @ $58 million
8. Paul McCartney @ $57 million (tie)
9. Taylor Swift @ $57 million (tie)
10. Justin Bieber @ $55 million (tie)
11. Toby Keith @ 55 million (tie)
12. Rihanna @ $53 million
13. Lady Gaga @ $52 million
14. Foo Fighters @ $47 million
15. Diddy @ $45 million (tie)
16. Katy Perry @ $45 million (tie)
17. Kenny Chesney @ $44 million
18. Beyoncé @ $40 million
19. Red Hot Chili Peppers @ $39 million
20. Jay-Z @ $38 million
21. Coldplay @ $37 million
22. Adele @ $35 million (tie)
23. Kayne West @ $35 million (tie)
24. Michael Bublé @ $34 million
25. Sade @ $33 million

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Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is a digital strategist for Fame House and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud