Covid-19 rules didn’t stop Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift from making bank in 2020 along with Kanye West and Ed Sheeran – are these the top 10 highest-paid music artists ever?

Dec 6 , 2020

The Rolling Stones, Kayne West or Elton John – who is the highest-paid musician in 2020? Photos: Bang Showbiz

Older artists Elton John and The Rolling Stones are right up there too, along with DJs The Chainsmokers and Marshmello – many of them making millions from merch as well as music

It’s almost impossible to choose our favourite music stars. There’s so many different genres and styles to choose from and then musicians, being the artists they are, want to evolve and experiment. Some have taken experimentation as far as starting new ventures that have earned them a huge payday beyond the world of music.

Luckily, while they say nothing about the relative merits of these performers, Forbes are here to at least help us sort out who are the world’s current top 10 highest-paid artists.

Marshmello

The masked DJ rose to fame by releasing remixes of hit songs before launching his own singles. He released his debut album Joytime in 2016, then in 2018 joined the Kaos Dayclub and Nightclub as part of a two-year residency deal worth US$60 million, meaning his earnings for the year 2020 reached US$56 million.

The Rolling Stones

The legendary rockers have been a big deal ever since they first formed in 1962. Since then, the band has sold over 240 million records worldwide and banked US$59 million this year alone. They managed to gross US$178 in 2019 with the first half of their “No Filter” tour.