Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Rolling Stones Make List of 2015’s Highest-Paid Musicians

This past year was very lucrative for a number of classic rockers.

As is their annual custom, Forbes has crunched the numbers for the highest-paid performers in the music industry, and though no one came close to the record-shattering $620 million Dr. Dre earned in 2014 after selling Beats to Apple, there was still plenty of profit to go around — led by the $135 million taken home by pop star Katy Perry.

The classic-rock contingent on this year's list is headed up by the perennial top-grossing Eagles, who raked in $73.5 million — good for fifth place in the rankings, and a stone's throw from Taylor Swift ($80 million) and Garth Brooks ($90 million).

Also solidly in the black were the ninth-place Fleetwood Mac, whose latest tour brought in $59.5 million, and the Rolling Stones in 11th place, who reaped $57.5 million on the year. Further down the list are Elton John (No. 15, $53.5 million), Paul McCartney (No. 17, $51.5 million) and the Foo Fighters (No. 24, $38 million).

As Forbes' report points out, a fair number of 2015's top-earning artists didn't have new records out — and in some cases, haven't released anything new for quite awhile — which reinforces a bottom line musicians have understood for years: Touring is where the real money is. With that in mind, analysts are already expecting a huge 2016 for Adele, who's expected to tour behind a new album that's spent its first two weeks on the chart breaking sales records.

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