The Police Are Considerably Richer Than You

The Police have topped the Forbes Magazine poll to find the highest-earning musicians of 2008. The British rockers beat the likes of Beyonce Knowles and Madonna to come first in the list. Only one other British act featured in the top ten, with Genesis making it to number nine.

The Police managed to rack up income of $115 million over the past year, mainly down to the incredibly successful reunion tour which drew sell out crowds around the world and raked in $84.9 million. That’s an incredible $28.3 million each earned by each member of the group for a year’s work.

The rest of the fortune will have come from album sales, and with no new material being released, this is all from old albums being bought by fans in preparation for seeing them live.

The Forbes Magazine ‘Highest Paid Music Stars’ top ten is as follows:-

1. The Police ($115 million)
2. Beyonce Knowles ($80 million)
3. Toby Keith ($48 million)
4. Justin Timberlake ($44 million)
5= Madonna ($40 million)
5= Celine Dion ($40 million)
5= Rascal Flatts ($40 million)
8. Van Halen ($35 million)
9. Genesis ($31 million)
10. Gwen Stefani ($27 million)

The Police eventually reunited for this world tour in 2007 after years of backstabbing and in-fighting. The tour lasted for over a year before finally coming to an end in New York this August. After the gig, they split up again, and that seems to be the end for the band.

However, do any of them need to work ever again after such an incredibly profitable year? Hopefully bands such as Blur and Led Zeppelin will see these kinds of figures and suddenly find the motivation to reunite for extended tours. I know money isn’t everything but it sure as hell must help.

[Photo Source: From Newscom with permission]