1. Prince
$56.5 MILLION
ON THE ROAD It rained green, not purple, for Prince in 2004. With $90.3 million in ticket sales, he returned to center stage after a decade in the commercial wilderness, scoring the year's second-highest-grossing tour. And thanks to low production costs, his net take was larger than top grosser Madonna's. (It took twenty-four trucks to haul around Madonna's mammoth tour, while Prince's bare-bones show needed only twelve.) Prince took a reported eighty-five percent of the profits from the concerts, which earned an average $910,000 a night -- and he'll command a higher percentage next time.
ON CD Prince sold 1.9 million copies of 2004's Musicology, but that figure is misleading: In a unique scheme, a ten-dollar CD surcharge built into his ticket prices meant that every concertgoer got a copy of the album, whether they wanted it or not. Nonetheless, free agent Prince strikes only one-album distribution deals with record companies (Columbia, in the case of Musicology), which means he earns more than two dollars per CD.
Last year's rank: NA
2. Madonna
$54.9 MILLION
ON THE ROAD High ticket prices may be agony for fans, but they put Madonna in second place on the list of top-earning musicians. Despite playing only fifty-six concerts in 2004, Madonna hauled in more money on the road than any other artist, charging as much as $300 a seat. She also demanded -- and got -- ninety-five percent of her shows' profits. The hefty prices helped her Re-Invention Tour draw in more than $2 million a night in North America, a profitable figure despite monumental production costs and weak sales in some cities.
ON CD Touring provided nearly all of Madonna's music-related revenue in 2004: Her most recent album, American Life, sold only 650,000 copies, and she has yet to earn back a $20 million advance on future CD sales from 2002.
ON THE SIDE Madonna's remarkably successful sideline as an author of children's books is helping her keep that pricey kabbalah water flowing: In total, her four tomes (Yakov and the Seven Thieves and The Adventures of Abdi were published last year) have sold more than 1.5 million copies.
Last year's rank: NA
3. Metallica
$43.1 MILLION
ON THE ROAD The band's Madly in Anger With the World Tour was the fourth-biggest in North America last year.
ON CD The members of Metallica don't need to lift a finger, or bang a head, to earn million-dollar-plus salaries. Credit goes to a shrewd mid-1990s renegotiation with Elektra Records by the band's management company and consistent sales for catalog albums. Metallica perennials the Black Album and Master of Puppets helped the band sell 1.4 million units from catalog alone in 2004. They earn close to three dollars for each CD -- which might help explain their aversion to file-trading.
ON THE SIDE Metallica haven't yet eked out a profit from the theatrical and DVD release of their soul-baring documentary, Some Kind of Monster, which they co-own with its directors. But it can't hurt their financial picture that they finally canned the $40,000-a-month therapist seen in the film.
Last year's rank: 5
4. Elton John
$42.9 MILLION
ON THE ROAD John made his debut as a Vegas entertainer in 2004, earning $18 million with an extravagant, David LaChapelle-designed show. He grossed another $91 million outside Vegas.
ON CD John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin picked up substantial publishing revenue from airplay and cover songs, including Ray Charles' version of "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," from 2004's Genius Loves Company.
Last year's rank: 22
5. Jimmy Buffett
$36.5 MILLION
ON THE ROAD Loyal Parrot Heads helped canny businessman Buffett gross almost $29 million in his latest lap around the nation's amphitheaters.
ON CD His first-ever country album, License to Chill, debuted at Number One (a first for Buffett) and sold an astounding 1.3 million copies. Buffett releases his CDs on his own label, keeping far more profits than most artists do.
ON THE SIDE His Margaritaville chain of retail stores, nightclubs and restaurants generates an eight-figure income.
Last year's rank: 17
6. Rod Stewart
$34.6 MILLION
ON THE ROAD The Great American Songbook is earning Stewart great American dollars: The rocker turned crooner grossed $37 million with his classics tour, plus $10 million for private gigs.
ON CD Publishing revenue from past hits amounts to more than $3 million a year, and his third standards album, Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3, has sold 1.2 million copies.
Last year's rank: NA
7. Shania Twain
$33.2 MILLION
ON THE ROAD Man, she feels like an ATM machine! Raking in $63 million, Twain had the year's biggest county tour and the third-highest-grossing overall.
ON CD Twain sold more than 4 million discs, led by her greatest-hits collection.
Last year's rank: 8
8. Phil Collins
$33.2 MILLION
ON THE ROAD The solid success of Collins' farewell outing wasn't exactly against all odds: Charging close to eighty dollars a ticket, he played to more than 300,000 people in North America.
Last year's rank: NA
9. Linkin Park
$33.1 MILLION
ON THE ROAD The tireless sextet embarked on three separate tours in 2004 -- the Projekt Revolution package with Korn and Snoop Dogg, a U.S. solo outing and an overseas jaunt. The total haul: $35 million.
ON CD Meteora (2003) and last year's Collision Course -- the CD/DVD document of their MTV mash-up collaboration with Jay-Z -- each sold more than 1 million copies. Another CD, Live in Texas, sold another 440,000.
Last year's rank: NA
10. Simon and Garfunkel
$31.3 MILLION
ON THE ROAD Last year the reunited duo split a $1 million-per-night guarantee in the U.S. -- but distressed promoters by earning little more than that at most venues. The two had some impressive sellouts overseas, however, including a $4.5 million night in Hyde Park, London.
ON CD Catalog sales amounted to 500,000 copies last year, and Simon nabbed $4 million in songwriting income.
Last year's rank: 9
The Rest of The List
