NEW YORK (AFP) — When it comes to picking up royalty checks, the oldies are still the goldies, according to a new list naming veteran rockers the Rolling Stones as the top earning musicians of the past year.
According the Forbes.com website, the Stones earned 88 million dollars from June 2006 till June this year, thanks largely to their "Bigger Bang" tour, which kicked off in 2005 and has grossed 437 million dollars to date.
And although 37-year-old rapper and head of Def Jam records Jay-Z came second in the list with total income of 83 million dollars, most of the top earners are better known to toe-tapping older generations.
Forty-nine-year-old Pop icon Madonna came third in the list with 72 million dollars, while US hard rockers Bon Jovi, who first hit the scene in 1983, took home 67 million dollars.
Elton John, who had his 60th birthday this year, earned 53 million dollars, ahead of Canadian pop singer Celine Dion with 45 million.
The lower end of the top 10 saw rapper 50 Cent lead Irish rockers U2 and rapper and record producer Diddy -- previously known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy and just plain Sean Combs. The three banked 33, 30 and 23 million respectively.
"Pop music has long been a young person's game. But when it comes to pocketing the biggest returns, oldsters rule," Forbes said of the list, adding that while record sales were crucial, touring was the real money spinner.
"The really serious money comes from touring. And no one can pull in the big bucks like an older, established music act," it said.
Helping to drive the big earnings were top-whack ticket prices, with Madonna charging an average of more than 180 dollars during her 2006 North American tour and the Stones taking an average of more than 135 dollars per head.
Most musicians in the list owed some of their income to alternative sources, not just relying on album sales and touring.
"They also exploit the power of their brand name to push other products. That can be as simple as selling ring tones and fan merchandise or locking up lucrative sponsorship deals," Forbes.com said.
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