Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 Make Forbes' Highest-Paid Musicians List

Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 Make Forbes’ Highest-Paid Musicians List

2012-11-30

Story by Cat Badra

Forbes’ list of the top-paid musicians of 2012 include Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and more

Music isn’t always the most lucrative career field, but it is when you make it big, and such is the case with Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2. All of those rockers made Forbes’ annual list of the World’s 25 Highest-Paid Musicians for 2012.

Foo Fighters took in a healthy $47 million last year to sit at No. 14 on the list, while the Red Hot Chili Peppers took the No. 19 spot, taking in $39 million from their 2012 tour to promote their latest album, “I’m With You,” on top of impressive revenue from their back catalog. Coldplay came in just behind their alternative rock counterparts, sitting at No. 21 on the list, garnering $37 million from their world tour in support of their latest studio release, “Mylo Xyloto.”

While the Foo, Peppers and Coldplay took in impressive revenue, the classic rockers really came out on top this year. Former Pink Floyd singer and bass player Roger Waters landed at the highest position of any rock act on the tally, scoring the No. 2 spot with roughly $88 million in revenue, due chiefly to his highly successful The Wall Live tour. U2 also topped the list, coming in at No. 4 and taking in $78 million from their 360 tour, which garnered $736 million over the past three years.

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.