Despite the music industry generating billions of dollars worth of money, the average artist doesn’t make that much money.
Spotify reportedly pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, depending on where they are played and the listener’s subscription type, and both distributors and record labels can take a cut from the profit. Many musicians supplement their streaming income through touring, brand deals and additional businesses. It’s no surprise then, that it’s incredibly rare for musicians to become billionaires – particularly off their music catalog alone.
Bruce Springsteen is the latest to join a rare group of artists who have reached the ultimate billionaire status, joining the likes of Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney.
But who else is part of the billionaire club? Here are the musicians who became billionaires – and how much they’re estimated to be worth.
© Getty ImagesBruce Springsteen
The Boss joins the small cohort of musicians that have made it to billionaire status, as Forbes have estimated his net worth as $1.1 billion. Bruce has been a musician for six decades, with 21 studio albums, seven live albums and five EPs, selling over 140 million albums globally.
He sold his masters and publishing rights to Sony Music in a deal worth around $500 million in 2021, and continues to generate income through new projects. Most recently, he embarked on a three-month European and UK tour. Bruce is one of the rare musicians to have made his billions through his own music, much of it coming through his tour.
© ShutterstockPaul McCartney
The Beatles star became the first UK musician to become a billionaire, as he is now worth $1.3 billion. The leap in his income certainly was helped when Beyoncé covered “BLACKBIRD”.
But his net worth increased by almost $65 million alone in the last year following his 2023 tour and an increase in value for his back catalog.
© Charles McQuillan/TAS24Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift joined Forbes’ billionaire list earlier in 2024 when she was estimated at $1.3 billion. She was the first musician to reach the milestone solely from songwriting and performance, as more than $500 million of her fortune comes from music royalties and touring.
The first leg of her record breaking Eras Tour made an estimated $190 million after taxes, and she reportedly made $35 million from the first two weeks of the screening of her Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film.
But Taylor also made another $500 million of her earnings from the increased value of her music catalog, as she re-recorded ‘Taylor’s Version’ of her first six albums. This comes after her masters were purchased in 2019 by Scooter Braun and sold to Shamrock Capital for $300 million in 2020.
© Axelle/Bauer-GriffinRihanna
Despite having not released an album since 2016, Rihanna is worth an impressive $1.4 billion – and much of that has come from her side hustles.
As well as being a chart-topping musician, Rihanna holds a 50 percent stake in her makeup brand Fenty Beauty, with French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH reportedly owning the other half.
Launched in 2017, the makeup range took the world by a storm with its 50 shade foundation range that accommodated women with darker skin tones.
The rest of her net worth lies in her stake in her lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, which is worth an estimated $270 million.
© InstagramJay Z
The rapper is the highest-earning musician in the world, worth a cool $2.5 billion. Jay Z may be one of the best selling hip hop artists of all time, but a lot of that income comes from his shrewd business acumen.
He has a diverse portfolio of assets, including his champagne empire Armand de Brignac, known as Ace of Spades, which LVMH bought a 50 percent stake in in 2021 and his D’ussé cognac brand which he sold his majority stake in back in 2023.
He owns a wide range of fine art, including works by Jean-Michel Basqiuat, and has shares in companies like Block and Uber. He also remains a key figure in Roc Nation, which he founded in 2008.
© GettyJimmy Buffett
The late Jimmy Buffett may not have been as well known as the likes of Jay-Z and Rihanna, but he died in 2023 with a net worth of $1 billion. Despite the surname, he’s of no relation to fellow billionaire Warren Buffett – but the singer-songwriter certainly had a knack for capitalizing off his island escapism brand.
Jimmy’s Margaritaville brand encompassed hotels, casinos, restaurants, beers, and even retirement communities. In 1992, he launched Margaritaville Records, distributed through MCA Records. When that deal ended in 1996, he started Mailboat Records in 1999 to release live albums.
