Madonna beats Lady Gaga to become Forbes highest-paid musician

Madonna. Photo: Bangshowbiz

Madonna has beaten Lady Gaga to the title of highest-paid musician in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

The 55-year-old singer is still the queen of pop according to the magazine, earning $125 million from June 2012 to May 2013 thanks to her sell-out ‘MDMA Tour’, miles ahead of her nearest rival Lady Gaga, who raked in $80 million.

Rockers Bon Jovi and country singer Toby Keith were next, with Coldplay coming in fifth place.

Despite lacklustre sales of her latest album, Madonna made her fortune from fans paying $100 a ticket to see her tour – which grossed $305 million – as well as from merchandise sales, a clothing line, fragrance and investments in companies like Vita Coco.

 This comes as little surprise, since Madonna had already been crowned the world’s highest-earning celebrity by Forbes in August, with filmmaker Steven Spielberg , author E.L. James, radio personality Howard Stern and ‘X Factor’ boss Simon Cowell rounding out the top five. However, the magazine estimates Lady Gaga could easily top the highest-paid musicians list next year because her current earnings were affected by her hip injury, which forced her to cut her ‘Born This Way Ball’ tour short. Had she completed the tour, she could potentially have made $200 million.

Bon Jovi placed a comfortable third with $79 million thanks to their ‘Because We Can’ tour and sales from concert and online merchandise. Toby Keith and his constant touring earned him $65 million, with Coldplay just behind at $64 million.

The top ten was rounded out by Justin Bieber ($58 million), Taylor Swift ($55 million) and  Elton John (54 million), followed by Beyonce and Kenny Chesney, both of whom brought home $53 million.

Here is the full list below…

No. 1: Madonna ($125 million)

No. 2: Lady Gaga($80 million)

No. 3: Bon Jovi ($79 million)

No. 4:  Toby Keith ($65 million)

No. 5: Cold Play ($64 million)

No. 6: Justin Bieber($58 Million)

No. 7: Taylor Swift($55 million)

No. 8: Elton John($54 Million)

No. 9: Beyoncé($53 million, tie)

No. 9: Kenny Chesney($53 million, tie)

No. 10: Sean Diddy Combs($50 million )

No. 11: Paul McCartney($47 million)

No. 12: Calvin Harris($46 million)

No. 13: Jennifer Lopez($45 million )

No. 14: Roger Waters($44 million )

No. 15: Muse($43 million, tie )

No. 15: Rihanna($43 million, tie )

No. 17: Jay Z($42 million, tie )

No. 18: One Direction($42 million, tie )

No. 19: Dr. Dre($40 million, tie)

No. 19: Red Hot Chili Pepper($40 million, tie)

No. 20: Rolling Stones ($39 million, tie)

No. 21: Katy Perry($39 million, tie)

No. 22: Tim McGraw($33 million)

No. 23: Pink: ($32 million, tie)

No. 24: Tiesto($32 million, tie)