According to Forbes Magazine Hip-hop producer Dr. Dre is the highest earning musician for 2012, leading the way with $110 million.
The super producer’s earnings are thanks largely to his Beats headphone line.
He collected $100 million pretax when handset maker HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake in the company last year, at the beginning of our scoring period; he and his partners later bought back half of what they sold.
Dr. Dre leads a pack of pop stars, rock icons, rap moguls and country crooners, many of whom bank the bulk of their bucks outside the recording studio.
Though some artists—Jay-Z and Diddy, for example—owe their success partly to business ventures like Dre's, most of this year's top 25 are on the list because of touring. This is how the top ten earners rounded out.
1. Dr Dre $110 million
2. Roger Waters $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(tie) $57 million
Taylor Swift (tie) $57 million
10.Justin Bieber (tie) $55 million
Toby Keith (tie) $55 million