Top Money Makers of 2013 Named by Billboard

The recent release by Billboard of 2013’s top Money Makers in the music industry, listed Taylor Swift as #1 with total annual earnings of $39,699,575.60 based on album sales, concerts, merchandise, digital downloads and any other aspect of marketing that puts the country music/pop star in the limelight. With nearly ten million downloads of her music, Swift ranks sixth in digital income and fifth in streaming royalties, but the most lucrative aspect of Swift’s career in 2013 was her global Red Tour, six months of which was spent in the United States. She also raked the money in through her sponsorships by Keds, Diet Coke and Elizabeth Arden.

With earnings of $31,463,297.03 in 2013, Kenny Chesney took the #2 spot on Billboard‘s Money Makers list. Chesney toured extensively in 2013, and earned the second most #1s on the Billboard 200 for country music – Garth Brookes being in the top spot. He will reportedly be taking a break from touring in 2014, but not necessarily from producing music.

Justin Timberlake returned to the music scene in style in 2013, touring solo and with Jay Z. Between touring, releasing two new albums (The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2), digital downloads and royalties, the 33-year-old star raked in earnings of $31,463,297.03.

With a loyal fan-base, Bon Jovi is clearly still going strong. Their album What About Now was released in 2013 and their revenue from downloads and royalties is impressive, but what puts them at #4 is their crowd appeal for live performances. Their Because We Can Tour was the ranked as the top tour of 2013, with 90 sold-out shows attended by 2,178,170 fans and ticket and merchandise takings of $205,158,370. Their 2013 earnings was $29,436,801.04.

Celebrating their 50th year in the music industry, the Rolling Stones just keep on rocking, appearing at #5 on the Billboard Money Makers list with earnings of $26,225,121.71. Their 50-track greatest hits album Grrr!, featuring two new studio songs, sold close to 300,000 units plus 1.5 million downloaded tracks.

Beyoncé took the #6 spot, followed by Maroon 5, Luke Bryan, P!nk and Fleetwood Mac. Visit the Billboard.com website for all the stats and the methodology used in the selection of 2013’s top Money Makers.