Madonna Beats Lady Gaga as 2013's Highest-Paid Musician
The rivalry between Madonna and Gaga continues, this time to their bank accounts. Her Madgesty trumped Mother Monster to nab the title of 2013's highest-paid musician.
Madonna earned $125 million from her Material Girl clothing line, Truth or Dare fragrance and MDNA tour. Gaga fell in behind at No. 2, raking in a cool $80 million, a triumph considering a hip injury sidelined the remainder of her Born This Way Ball tour. Would Gaga have beat Madonna if the tour continued without injury? Good question. Let's do a little math: Before the hip injury, Gaga's tour grossed $160 million and, according to Forbes, would have broken $200 mill had it continued. Meanwhile, the MDNA tour grossed $305 million. It's hard to say, but the financial arms race between Madonna and Gaga certainly would've been much tighter.
The other artists rounding out the list's Top 10 all have one thing in common: touring. Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and more all launched massively successful treks—cha-ching!
Check out the Top 10 below and read the full list of the 26 highest-paid musicians at Forbes.
1. Madonna - $125 million
2. Lady Gaga - $80 million
3. Bon Jovi - $79 million
4. Toby Keith - $65 million
5. Coldplay - $64 million
6. Bruce Springsteen - $62 million
7. Justin Bieber - $58 million
8. Taylor Swift - $55 million
9. Elton John - $54 million
10. Kenny Chesney - $53 million
-Tie- Beyonce - $53 million
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