The Rolling Stones have landed at No. 5 on Billboard’s 2014 Top 40 Money Makers list.
Billboard reports the band made just over $26 million in revenue in the U.S. over the past twelve months, based on calculated earnings from touring, recorded- music sales, publishing royalties and revenue from digital music and video streaming; due to a lack of data, revenue from sponsorship, merchandising and synchronization isn’t included.
The band’s 50th anniversary run included a guarantee believed to be in the $80 million range for 15 shows. The Stones reportedly sold-out every show, averaging a $4.7 million gross and 14,000 in attendance at U.S. arenas.
The Stones also added two new studio songs to their last greatest-hits package, the 50-track "Grrr!" The band’s catalog sold nearly 300,000 units and 1.5 million track downloads in 2013.
A five-show mini-tour of 2012 grossed the band an estimated $15 million in merchandise sales at the concerts, and that’s not counting massive sales from online and retail outlets. A multifaceted tour partnership with Citi was worth another $5 million to the band, according to sources.
Taylor Swift topped the Billboard list with $39 million in revenue; Kenny Chesney ($32 mil), Justin Timberlake ($31 ml) and Bon Jovi ($29 mil) rounded out the Top 5.
The Stones bring their 14 On Fire tour to Shanghai, China on Wednesday before playing dates in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
See also:
VIDEO: Rolling Stones joined by Tomoyasu Hotei in Tokyo
VIDEO: Rolling Stones play first of three shows in Japan
VIDEO: The Rolling Stones arrive in Japan for 14 On Fire shows
The Rolling Stones top the hennemusic Hot 10
Search Rolling Stones at hennemusic