Money Makers

40. Josh Groban
$12.1 MILLION

ON THE ROAD The operatic balladeer played seventy-five dates, performing before an average of 7,000 fans a night.
ON CD 3.7 million units sold.
ON THE SIDE He took in Hollywood cash for tunes featured in The Polar Express and Troy, and he sold 500,000 copies of his two concert DVDs.
Last year's rank: NA

41. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs
$11.7 MILLION

ON CD Combs' Bad Boy Records label had no breakout hit in 2004. But Combs is reportedly seeking a new distributor for the label (currently distributed by Universal), a deal that could be worth $30 million.
ON THE SIDE Combs' clothing label, Sean John, is growing fast -- it had wholesale revenues of about $225 million last year, with a likely profit margin of around ten percent.
Last year's rank: 38

42. R. Kelly
$11.5 MILLION

ON THE ROAD Kelly's tour with Jay-Z grossed $14 million before it was canceled amid feuding.
ON CD Child-porn charges haven't slowed Kelly down: His latest solo album, Happy People/U Saved Me, sold nearly 1 million copies -- not bad for a double CD.
ON THE SIDE Kelly continued his highly profitable career as a producer and songwriter, working with artists from Ruben Studdard to Twista.
Last year's rank: 36

43. Cher
$11.4 MILLION

ON THE ROAD After three years of what might be the longest-running farewell tour ever, Cher was still drawing in about 9,000 fans a night.
Last year's rank: 10

44. Dr. Dre
$11.4 MILLION

ON CD For artists connected to his Aftermath label, Dr. Dre charges a "friends and family" rate of $75,000 to produce a song. But that's just the beginning: Dre also earns a five percent production royalty as well as label profits. Dre had reason to be pleased by the sales of 50 Cent, G Unit, Lloyd Banks, D-12 and Obie Trice.
ON THE SIDE For outside projects such as the Gwen Stefani/Eve collaboration "Rich Girl," seeing the Doctor is expensive: Dre earns roughly $250,000 per track.
Last year's rank: 32

45. The Beatles
$11.4 MILLION

ON CD The Beatles saw big sales in 2004, boosted by Capitol's first-ever CD releases of the band's first four albums in their American formats. The total came to more than 2 milliON CDs sold, far more than any other act sold in catalog albums.
ON THE SIDE The writers' share of the Beatles' publishing royalties amounted to at least $10 million, and merchandising brought in additional profits.
Last year's rank: 19

46. Hilary Duff $10.7 MILLION

ON THE ROAD Duff made the transition from Disney Channel moppet to arena rocker in 2004, pulling in $19 million during her U.S. tour -- more than David Bowie, despite fewer shows.
ON CD Duff sold about 4 million albums.
ON THE SIDE She scored a $2 million salary for a role in the film A Perfect Man.
Last year's rank: NA

47. OutKast
$10.6 MILLION

ON CD OutKast continued to collect big royalties from 2003's 10-million-selling smash Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
ON THE SIDE Andre 3000 and Big Boi signed on to star in an HBO film, reportedly set to air in June.
Last year's rank: NA

48. John Mayer
$10.5 MILLION

ON THE ROAD Mayer's tour behind 2003's Heavier Things grossed $24 million in North America -- the bulk of his earnings for the year.
ON CD Heavier Things sold nearly 750,000 CDs, and his debut, Room for Squares, added 400,000 copies to the total.
Last year's rank: 33

49. Bob Dylan
$10.5 MILLION

ON THE ROAD The sixty-three-year-old legend played eighty-seven gigs, including twenty-two dates at minor-league baseball stadiums with Willie Nelson, and a three-night stand in Detroit that included a guest appearance by the White Stripes' Jack White.
ON CD Buoyed by Columbia's release of remastered versions of fifteen classic albums, Dylan sold 787,000 CDs from his catalog last year. He also earned $5.6 million in songwriting royalties.
ON THE SIDE Dylan's autobiographical book, Chronicles: Volume One, was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award and sold more than 312,000 copies, earning Dylan royalties of at least $1 million. Meanwhile, he took in $1.25 million for his, um, work on a Victoria's Secret commercial that showed him surrounded by lithe models as "Love Sick" played in the background.

Last year's rank: NA

50. Alicia Keys
$10 MILLION

ON THE ROAD Fans kept fallin' for Keys' Ladies First Tour with Missy Elliott and Beyonce: It grossed $19 million in North America.
ON CD Diary of Alicia Keys sold more than 2 million copies in the U.S. Keys earned additional royalties from her duet with Usher, "My Boo."
ON THE SIDE Keys' first book, Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, generated as much as $500,000.
Last year's rank: NA

HOW WE DID IT
Success Secret: The "Moneymakers" list was compiled from extensive interviews with record-company executives, managers, lawyers, agents and publicists, and uses figures derived from Nielsen SoundScan, Pollstar, the Recording Industry Association of America, Amusement Business/Billboard, The Yellow Pages of Rock and ArtistDirect. Net figures reflect what performers take home after recording expenses have been deducted and managers, agents and lawyers have taken their cuts. All figures should be considered estimates. Robert LaFranco, a former editor at Forbes, wrote the 2004 "Rich List" in RS 944.