Top 10 Musicians Made $1.25bn In 2025 As Tours, Streaming Boom — Forbes

The world’s 10 highest-paid musicians earned a combined $1.255 billion in pre-tax income in 2025, driven largely by blockbuster global tours, strong streaming performance and lucrative catalogue deals, according to Forbes.

Live concerts were the biggest revenue driver, with artists adopting stadium tours, residencies and hybrid models to maximise earnings, while streaming and catalogue ownership continued to deliver steady long-term income.

The list reflected broad genre diversity — spanning pop, hip-hop, R&B, country, Latin and rock — and was dominated by female artists, highlighting shifting industry dynamics and growing global demand for live and digital music.

The Weeknd Tops the List

Canadian star The Weeknd ranked first with $298 million, powered by his After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which grossed over $1 billion, alongside strong sales and streaming of Hurry Up Tomorrow and a $200 million catalogue deal.

Swift and Beyoncé Follow

Taylor Swift placed second with $202 million, boosted by album sales, streaming and film-related projects.
Beyoncé ranked third with $148 million, largely from her Cowboy Carter Tour, which became the highest-grossing country tour in history and helped push her into billionaire status.

Mid-Table Earners

• Kendrick Lamar — $109m (Super Bowl appearance, album success and tour with SZA)
• Coldplay — $105m (extended Music of the Spheres stadium tour)
• Shakira — $105m (Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran world tour)
• Drake — $78m (streaming dominance and touring)

Rounding Out the Top 10

• Chris Brown — $74m
• Zach Bryan — $70m
• Bad Bunny — $66m

Top 10 Highest-Paid Musicians of 2025 (Forbes)

1. The Weeknd — $298m
2. Taylor Swift — $202m
3. Beyoncé — $148m
4. Kendrick Lamar — $109m
5. Coldplay — $105m
6. Shakira — $105m
7. Drake — $78m
8. Chris Brown — $74m
9. Zach Bryan — $70m
10. Bad Bunny — $66m