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Madonna tops Forbes' highest-paid living musicians list

The 'Material Girl' singer made £77m this year in ticket and merchandise sales

Jess Denham
Wednesday 20 November 2013 16:21 GMT
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Madonna has beaten Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber to top Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid living musicians.

Click here or on 'view gallery' to see the highest-paid living musicians

The 55-year-old made £77 million between June 2012 and June this year, thanks to her MDNA world tour, 'Material Girl' clothing line, perfume brand and merchandise sales.

Lady Gaga, 27, was named second in the list, earning £49.6 million in the same time frame.

Her earnings came primarily from her Born This Way Ball world tour, which was cut short in February due to a muscular tear to her hip.

The figures did not take into account her new album ARTPOP, which was released in November 2013.

Bon Jovi were named third, lagging just behind Lady Gaga with £49 million in earnings.

Toby Keith and Coldplay took the fourth and fifth spots with £40.3 million and £39.7 million respectively, while Justin Bieber was named sixth with £36 million in earnings.

Other musicians to feature on Forbes' list included hip-hop artist Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was named number 11 thanks to his lucrative vodka business, DJ Calvin Harris (13th) and entrepreneurial rapper Jay Z (18th).

Last year's top earner, Dr Dre, dropped to 20th place.

The late Michael Jackson remains the highest-earning musician, earning £99 million a year posthumously due to ticket and merchandise sales.

To create the list, Forbes took concert ticket sales, recorded music royalties, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and various business ventures into account.

Click here to see the top ten highest-paid musicians

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