Van Halen was listed as the fourth-highest-paid musical act in 2012 by trade publication Billboard for their phenomenal concert ticket, album, and merchandise sales.
Its tour may have ended sooner than expected, with 32 of its shows ultimately canceled due to “exhaustion,” but Van Halen nevertheless kicked a little tail on the road in 2012. Van Halen toured in support of A Different Kind of Truth, its first album with David Lee Roth since 1984. More than a half-million fans turned out, and the tour grossed $54 million from just 46 shows, with accompanying merch sales said to be huge. Driven by the album’s reception, Van Halen moved 621,614 physical units and 213,524 digital albums in the United States, spiking non-touring earnings of an estimated $1.2 million for the band. The popularity of Van Halen’s classic catalog–and the group’s willingness to tap into its older musical legacy–is evidenced by an estimated $2.2 million in synch royalties.
The following tally draws on Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen BDS, YouTube and Billboard Boxscore data. Artists are ranked by U.S. earnings, as well as variety of income streams, including touring, recorded-music sales, publishing royalties and revenue from an assortment of digital music and video services for downloads, as well as on-demand and non-interactive streaming.
Due to a lack of sufficient data, Billboard’s figures do not include revenue from sponsorships, merchandise sales or synchronization data.
Billboard Music’s Top 40 Money Makers 2013
- Madonna $34,577,308.62)
- Bruce Springsteen $33,443,606.64
- Roger Waters $21,160,131.06
- Van Halen $20,184,709.91
- Kenny Chesney $19,148,525.24
- Dave Matthews Band $18,903,334.14
- Tim McGraw $18,329,167.89
- Jason Aldean $17,578,651.96
- Coldplay $17,300,144.34
- Justin Bieber $15,944,293.10
- Adele $13,906,635.76
- Lady Antebellum $12,968,992.17
- Celine Dion $12,927,494.01
- Brad Paisley $12,848,724.84
- Taylor Swift $12,695,783.32
- Carrie Underwood $11,942,956.65
- Nickelback $11,121,419.71
- Eric Church $11,015,773.11
- Rascal Flatts $10,777,282.68
- Barbra Streisand $10,611,419.16
- Neil Diamond $10,498,985.38
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra $9,959,362.28
- Toby Keith $9,805,764.04
- Drake $9,504,992.38
- Red Hot Chili Peppers $9,477,807.56
- The Rolling Stones $9,276,084.10
- Miranda Lambert $8,818,536.04
- Rush $8,719,834.30
- Elton John $8,575,518.13
- One Direction $7,955,840.71
- Phish $7,382,514.39
- The Black Keys $7,358,679.41
- Maroon 5 $7,159,923.53
- Jay-Z $7,011,905.17
- Journey $6,983,106.58
- Andrea Bocelli $6,732,442.76
- Zac Brown Band $6,682,797.58
- Rod Stewart $6,459,568.26
- Mumford & Sons $6,168,737.62
- Blake Shelton $5,914,591.11