Forbes list of the world's highest-paid musicians
The highest-paid musicians in the world have been reported annually by Forbes since 1987. For measurement, the magazine used pretax earnings—before deducting fees for agents, managers or lawyers. Most of the lists were estimated within a June-to-June scoring period, except for 1999–2000 and 2021 onwards when a calendar year period was used instead.
U2 became the annual highest-paid musician five times, more than any other act. They were also the highest-paid music group in a record eight different years. Michael Jackson became the first musician to earn over $100 million in a year, and has become the highest-paid male soloist a record seven times. Dr. Dre currently holds the record for the highest annual earnings for a musician, collecting $620 million in 2014, mainly through the sales of his headphone-manufacturing company, Beats Electronics.
Madonna is the first woman in music to earn $100 million for a year and has become the highest-paid female musician a record 11 times. Taylor Swift remains the female musician with the highest official annual earnings ever with $185 million in 2019, breaking the previous record set by herself in 2016 with $170 million.
Highest-paid musicians by year
| * | Indicates the year's highest-paid celebrity |
Highest-paid musicians by decade
2010s
| Rank | Musician | Nationality | Earnings | Adjusted earnings |
| 1 | Dr. Dre | United States | $950 million | $ million |
| 2 | Taylor Swift | United States | $825 million | $ million |
| 3 | Beyoncé | United States | $685 million | $ million |
| 4 | U2 | Ireland | $675 million | $ million |
| 5 | Diddy | United States | $605 million | $ million |
| 6 | Elton John | United Kingdom | $565 million | $ million |
| 7 | Jay-Z | United States | $560 million | $ million |
| 8 | Paul McCartney | United Kingdom | $535 million | $ million |
| 9 | Katy Perry | United States | $530 million | $ million |
| 10 | Lady Gaga | United States | $500 million | $ million |