U2 Tops Money Makers List

It’s all about the Benjamins, baby! Billboard has compiled a list of music highest earners, factoring in CD and digital sales, publishing royalties, and touring. According to the site, this year’s list is “based on the artist's share of revenue as opposed to total dollars generated by each artist in the ranking.”

Billboard named the top 40, similar to how they rank songs at the end of each week. The top 10 is a definite mix of metal, pop, rock, and even country. U2 claims the top spot, with $108,601,283 earned, followed by Bruce Springsteen, with about half that-- $57,619,037.

Billboard looked at Billboard Boxscore archives, Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BDS, and Nielsen RingScan to determine the results. Check out the top ten below, and click here for the entire 40 biggest money makers.

1. U2 $108,601,283
2. Bruce Springsteen $57,619,037
3. Madonna $47,237,774
4. AC/DC $43,650,466
5. Britney Spears $38,885,267
6. Pink $36,347,658
7. Jonas Brothers $33,596,576
8. Coldplay $27,326,562
9. Kenny Chesney $26,581,141
10. Metallica $25,564,234