The top 10 performers in the world, who earned a combined $1.3 billion in 2017, were listed by Forbes this week. Genesis and Sting are at the top of the list, with earnings from the sale of their music totaling $230 million and $210 million, respectively. 

Sting also received $300 million before fees by selling his entire musical repertoire, both solo and with The Police, to Universal Music Group in February. Genesis topped 2022 with a $300 million music rights sale to Concord Music Group in September.

​​Taylor Swift, who placed ninth on the list with $92 million, was one of the other well-known performers. The superstar’s main sources of income last year, according to Forbes, came from physical album sales, streaming, digital downloads, licensing, and sync.

With $88 million, Bad Bunny came in at number ten. The Puerto Rican rapper can thank his enormous ltimo Tour Del Mundo and The World’s Hottest Tour, as well as endorsements from Corona, Cheetos, and Adidas, for most of his financial success.

Swift was listed as No. 79 on Forbes’ list of the top 100 most powerful women in the world in December 2022. Her re-recorded albums Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version), the popularity of Midnights, her political impact, and the disastrous Eras Tour ticket sales in November were all emphasized.

In addition, Swift topped the global list of Billboard’s Money Makers ranking of music’s top royalties and box office earners in 2021. You can view the full list here.

See the full list of the world’s highest-paid entertainers here.