Billboard Magazine has compiled a list of the musicians who earnt the most in the United States in 2011.
Due to the concert business rebounding strongly thanks to an improving economy artists who were touring faired the best and touring income was the biggest source of income for these top earners.
Billboard used a variety of sources to calculate artist earnings including touring, recorded-music sales, publishing royalties and payments from an array of digital services.
Their calculations were based on each artist’s net earnings in the United States, not gross revenue.
So sit back, and fantasise about the money you could be making if you were one of the top musicians in America.
40. Linkin Park
$5,190,655
39. Kanye West
$5,363,661
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38. Mötley Crüe
$5,376,272
37. Steely Dan
$5,389,509
36. New Kids On The Block
$5,519,805
35. Justin Bieber
$5,523,459
34. Sugarland
$5,632,406
33. Backstreet Boys
$5,712,050
32. Rush
$5,819,304
31. Foo Fighters
$6,013,257
30. Usher
$6,292,586
29. Rod Stewart
$6,388,756
28. Zac Brown Band
$6,481,564
27. Keith Urban
$6,579,695
26. Lady Antebellum
$6,676,450
25. Paul McCartney
$6,726,519
24. The Beatles
$6,743,863
23. Enrique Iglesias
$7,448,670
22. Rihanna
$7,660,833
21. Brad Paisley
$8,602,374
20. Michael Bublé
$9,027,177
19. Tim McGraw
$9,335,258
18. Rascal Flatts
$9,639,270
17. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
$10,017,031
16. Britney Spears
$10,090,973
15. Toby Keith
$10,413,127
14. Katy Perry
$11,969,426
13. Elton John
$11,973,990
12. Journey
$12,313,822
11. “Glee” Cast
$12,587,771
10. Adele
$13,081,909
9. Jason Aldean
$13,409,011
8. Celine Dion
$14,261,515
7. Bon Jovi
$15,835,856
6. Sade
$16,382,809
5. Lil Wayne
$23,178,722
4. Lady Gaga
$25,353,039
3. Kenny Chesney
$29,837,103
2. U2
$32,116,315
1. Taylor Swift
$35,719,902