Billboard compiled a list of the "Top 50 Money Makers of 2016" in music and there was certainly some metal and hard rock representation for the biggest money makers of last year.
Most notably, Guns N' Roses are the second highest paid musicians of the year, behind pop star powerhouse Beyonce, bringing in a total of $42.3 million dollars on the year, most of it coming from their live tour (approximately $40 million) with the rest split over sales, streaming and publishing.
Most interestingly, while Metallica came in at #15 on the earners list, with $18.5 million total, the majority of their income came from actual record sales – a total of $11.5 million. In fact, if the list was just on record sales alone, Metallica would be #1, as even Beyonce's record sales only tally up to $4.5 million. Also, I'm assuming this was before Metallica announced their world tour, so surely they will be much higher in 2017.
Elsewhere, Trans-Siberian Orchestra made a whopping $16 million, mostly on live gigs coming in at #19.
AC/DC was at #21 with $15 million in earnings. Black Sabbath came in at #29 with $12.4 million in earnings. And, Def Leppard were at #38 with $10.81 million.
So, if you're ever feeling sorry for any of these bands, just know they have piles and piles of money to wipe their tears away. View the entire list here.
[via MetalSucks]
