Metallica Made More Money in 2019 Than Katy Perry, Paul McCartney and Ben Roethlisberger

Weren’t we just talking about how much money Metallica make? The band is regularly grossing north of $6 million in ticket sales alone on their current European tour. And while that doesn’t factor in any expenses (crew, travel, management, etc.) it also doesn’t include income from merch, music sales or any other channels. So it’s no surprise that…

… Forbes has just released its list of the highest-earning celebrities in the world for 2019 (measured from June 1st, 2018 through June 1st, 2019), and Metallica landed at #30 with $68.5 million in income. That’s nothing compared to Taylor Swift’s whopping $185 million or Kylie Jenner’s $170 million, but it’s still enough to beat out the likes of Katy Perry, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Paul McCartney, Ben Roethlisberger and plenty of other notables from the music, sports and entertainment spheres. Guns N’ Roses landed at #71 with a take of $44 million during that period thanks to their lucrative reunion tour, and The Rolling Stones landed at #83 with a $41 million draw. Dave Matthews is on their too, still holding his own, lol.

I’d love to know more about the methodology used to compile the list — where did these numbers come from? do they represent gross revenue or factor in any expenses? — but either way, the list does a decent job of illustrating the earning power of these celebrities relative to one another.

Something else to consider: there’s four members of Metallica and only one Taylor, Kim, Kanye, Ben, etc., which obviously diminishes each member’s own take. Still: so much money!!

You can browse the full list at Forbes.

[via The PRP]