‘Material Girl’ top of the earnings chart for 2013

The “Material Girl” still has it. And her accountant has the figures to prove it.

Madonna easily surpassed singer Lady Gaga and veteran rockers Bon Jovi as the highest-paid musician in 2013, according to Forbes magazine.

Madonna earned $125 million, most of which was from her hugely successful MDNA tour, which grossed $305 million, as well as merchandise sold at concerts and a clothing line and fragrance.

“Madonna is living up to her nickname: the Material Girl tops our list of the top-earning musicians by a wide margin,” Forbes said.

Second-place Lady Gaga (27), earned $80 million and Bon Jovi, came in third with $79 million.

Like Madonna (55), they all had hefty earnings from tours. Lady Gaga’s latest tour brought in $168 million before it was cut short due to her hip injury that required surgery. Bon Jovi ’s concerts gross more than $3 million per city.

Forbes compiled the list of the 25 highest-paid musicians by estimating income for the 12 months between June 2012 and June 2013 using data from the trade publication Pollstar, trade organisation RIAA, and information and sales tracking system Nielsen SoundScan. The magazine also consulted with industry lawyers, managers and some of the musicians.

Ticket sales, royalties, merchandise sales and business ventures were included in the estimated pre-tax income before deductions for agents, managers and lawyers.

Lady Gaga’s latest album, ARTPOP, was not taken into account because it was released after June 2013.

Country music star Toby Keith was fourth on the list with $65 million, and British rock group Coldplay slipped into the top five with $64 million.

Although touring was lucrative for the top earners on the list, not all musicians go on the road and some have other sources of income.

Justin Bieber was in sixth with $58m, followed by Taylor Swift on $55m, Elton John on $54m. Beyoncé and country star Kenny Chesney were tied in ninth place on $54m.

Rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, the top ranked hip-hop artist at number 11 with $50 million in income, earns the bulk of money from a deal with Ciroc vodka, Forbes said.

Jay-Z earned $42 million to place him at 19, while Dr Dre was in 20th place, having pulled in $40 million. Calvin Harris (at number 13, with, $46 million) and Tiësto (at number 25, with $32 million) were the world’s two highest-paid DJs.

Only living artists are eligible for the list. Which is bad news for Michael Jackson, , who pulled in $160 million.

Reuters