Hip Hop’s Top 20 Earners in 2011
It’s that time again when Forbes releases their annual Cash Kings of Hip Hop list. For the third year in a row, Jay-Z tops the list with an estimated revenue of $37 million in the last year. Jay-Z who unveiled his long-awaited collaboration with Kanye West – Watch the Throne this week, continues to reap the benefits of a 10-year $150 million Live Nation deal, as well as stakes in the New Jersey Nets, the 40/40 Club chain, ad firm Translation and others. This year marked the first time he out-earned wife Beyonce since their marriage in 2008. In last year’s list, his earnings were estimated at $63 million.
Touring was one of the many revenue streams they looked at to come up with the Cash Kings list, which charts pretax earnings for all living artists whose work is primarily classified as hip-hop or rap. The estimates also include income from record sales, digital downloads, films, merchandise sales, endorsements, books and other ventures; management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted. Earnings were calculated for the period from May 2010 to May 2011 and based on data from Pollstar, Nielsen SoundScan, the RIAA and individual record labels, as well as interviews with numerous lawyers, media buyers, managers and many of the artists themselves.
Check out who else made the list after the break. (more…)
AMARIE ADHIS 