“Billboard” has come out with their annual Moneymakers issue, analyzing numbers from 2015 to uncover who were the biggest earners of last year, and not surprising, sitting comfortably on top of the list is Taylor Swift.
Taylor earned a total of $73.5 million in total revenue in 2015, with the bulk coming from touring, at $61.7 mil, followed by sales ($7.2 mil), publishing ($4.1 mil) and streaming ($564K).
“Billboard’s” Top Money Makers List
- Taylor Swift
- Kenny Chesney ($39.8 mil)
- Rolling Stones ($39.6 mil)
- Billy Joel ($31.7 mil)
- One Direction ($24.2 mil)
- Grateful Dead ($23.8 mil)
- Luke Bryan ($23.1 mil)
- U2 ($21.8)
- Adele ($20.5)
- Maroon 5 ($19.2)
- When it comes to sales alone, Taylor did have to settle for number two, as she was beaten out by Adele who earned $16.3 million in sales thanks to her hit album “25.”
Paul McCartney brought his tour to Prince’s hometown of Minneapolis earlier this week so of course he had to pay tribute to the legend, who passed away last month. Sir Paul treated the crowd at the Target Center to a cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” while Prince’s iconic symbol was projected on the screen behind him. “Thank you Minneapolis, thank you Prince,” McCartney said, adding, “so many beautiful songs, so much beautiful music. And he’s your guy!”
The Beatles classic “Hey Jude” is set to appear in the Chinese coming-of-age film “Yesterday Once More,” the first time the legendary band’s publisher has licensed one of their songs for use in the country. The song is featured in a clip in which the two Chinese leads sing the classic in English. According to reports, the filmmakers paid a six-figure sum for use of the song, which is allegedly one of the highest fees ever paid in China. Here’s a video that’ll bring back memories
Britain’s Glastonbury Festival had previously announced they planned to honor David Bowie at this year’s event, and now they’ve revealed just what they are going to do. Plans are in the works to have a metal statue inspired by the Bowie’s “Aladdin Sane” album hang above the main Pyramid stage, where headliners Adele, Coldplay and Muse will play. In addition, on Saturday night, there will be a performance of Philip Glass’ “Heroes” Symphony on the Park Stage. The fest is also planning to honor Prince as well, although they are still working on what exactly will be done.
It’s going to be a great summer for Red Hot Chili Peppers fans. As promised, the band released a new single, “Dark Necessities,” and gave us the lowdown on their new album.”The Getaway” is due out June 17th and features 13 tracks produced by the likes of Danger Mouse and Radiohead producer Nigel Goodrich. Someone missing behind the scenes? Rick Rubin. This will be the first Chili Peppers album not produced by Rubin since 1989’s “Mother Milk.” Check out the first single, which has a classic Flea bass line, to the right. If you pre-order “The Getaway,” you’ll get an instant download of “Dark Necessities.”
Are the Talking Heads heading to the studio? That’s the rumor going around. What’s more, the band might be hitting the road late next year. Vintage Vinyl News claims there are more and more reports coming out that suggest David Byrne is going to get the band back together. Media Mass says the Talking Heads have eight new tracks recorded and security at the studio door so no one hears a word. A rep for the band claims to have no knowledge of an album or a tour. We’ll keep you posted.
Midnight Oil are making plans to tour next year in their native Australia and internationally. The band says on its website that details aren’t available yet, but it won’t be before January. In the meantime, singer Peter Garrett has left Australian politics and is returning to music with the release of his first solo record and a memoir. Garrett was a member of Australia’s House of Representatives and held two cabinet-level positions in Australia until he left office in 2013. The other four members of Midnight Oil have been pursuing musical projects.
Prince’s death has led to a lawsuit filed by a comedian who was a friend of the singer against a singer whose biggest hit was written by Prince. Arsenio Hall is suing Sinead O’Connor over a Facebook post — in which O’Connor accuses Hall of furnishing Prince with drugs. In the post, which went up Monday, O’Connor said investigators should look into Hall as a supplier of drugs to Prince. She also says the comedian drugged her. In his libel lawsuit, Hall calls O’Connor’s accusations fabricated lies. It also says that O’Connor barely knew Prince — and hated him. The suit seeks 5 million dollars in damages.
First Steven Tyler,now Cyndi Lauper has a country record out . It’s called “Detour.” Lauper covers such songs as “I Fall To Pieces” and “Funnel of Love,” and the fact that she’s doing country music is not that big of a stretch. Lauper says growing up in New York, the country acts were mixed with pop acts on the radio and she thought of Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline as pop stars.
