The Biggest Earners in Music in 2019, From Taylor Swift to Drake (Photos)

Being a music star has its perks: not only do you have millions of adoring fans and get to attend any event or restaurant you’d like, you can also make a ton of money while doing it.

That’s especially clear on Friday, after Forbes released its annual look at the highest-earning musicians in the world.

There are plenty of familiar faces on its list, including pop stars, aging rock icons, and one power couple who tied each other in the rankings (you can probably guess who those two people are).

Let’s take a quick look at the biggest earners in music in 2019, courtesy of Forbes’ calculations:

Taylor Swift, who released her latest album, “Lover,” in August, made $185 million this year and grabbed the top spot overall. This was the second time in five years Swift was named Forbes’ highest-earning musician.

Looks like Kanye West’s pivot towards religion — a la Bob Dylan in the late ’70s — didn’t hurt business. West brought in $150 million in 2019, according to Forbes. The veteran rapper, as usual, had several products in the works: a new album, his “Sunday Service” religious gatherings, and his shoe deal with Adidas, just to name a few.

The red-haired Englishman released his fourth studio album this year, which included his chart-topping single “I Don’t Care” featuring Justin Bieber. Sheeran also had a cameo in “Yesterday,” The Beatles-inspired film. He raked in $110 million overall.

So what if The Eagles haven’t put out a new album in more than a decade? They’re still able to draw huge crowds, which they did on tour in 2019 — helping push them to a cool $100 million in 2019 earnings.

Elton John made $84 million, and it’s easy to see why: Sir Elton is not only working on his seemingly-never-ending finale tour, and “Rocketman,” a biopic on his life, came out in May.

Beyonce had another massive year, earning $81 million in 2019. That tied her with someone she know’s pretty well as the sixth highest-paid artist of the year…

Who else could it be? Jay-Z just turned 50, but he’s not slowing down, apparently, matching his wife with a $81 million payday this year.

Like most years, 2019 went pretty well for Drake: He earned $75 million, Spotify said he was the most-streamed artist of the decade, and his Toronto Raptors won the NBA title.

Rapper-turned-media-mogul Diddy, who now runs Revolt, can afford to get his friends and family nice holiday gifts: he pulled in $70 million, per Forbes, this year.

“Fade to Black” was more like “Fade to Green” in 2019 for Metallica, with the longtime metal icons earning $68.5 million.

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