“Forbes 2015 Highest Country Music Earners”

Forbes Country Cash King List 2015

Forbes created this year’s Country Cash King list, They looked at income from June 2014 to June 2015. That includes concert tickets, merchandise sales, recorded music and publishing, endorsement deals and other business ventures. They used data from Pollstar, Nieslen, industry insiders and some of the artists themselves. They’e estimates reflect pretax income before deducting fees for agents, managers and lawyers.

Below is the list of top 5’s. We think Kenny Chesney should be #1. It is always interesting  to see where he ranks with other country artist based on income! Maybe his ticket prices are lower than the rest.

# 5  Kenny Chesney ($42 million)
This country crooner seemed to be predicting his own future with his fifteenth studio album, The Big Revival, released this past September. In addition to a wildly successful stadium tour of the same name, Chesney has endorsement deals with Corona beer and Costa sunglasses, adding to earnings from his own Blue Chair Bay rum.

# 4  Luke Bryan (42.5 million)

Another road warrior, this country crossover has been translating concerts to cash with the best of them. His music fuels his momentum: “I See You” and “Roller Coaster,”the two singles from album Crash My Party released during our scoring period, both reached No. 1 on the Country Airplay Charts. When he isn’t singing, Bryan increases his earnings through partnerships with Miller Lite and outdoors merchandise brand Cabela’s.

#3   Jason Aldean (43.5 million)

The 38-year-old singer edged elder established stars like Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw this year in something of an upset. Part of the reason: his rock-tinged brand of country translates overseas, as Aldean found during five shows in Sweden, Ireland and the U.K.this winter. He also became the only country act with an ownership stake in JayZ’s streaming service Tidal.

#2   Toby Keith (53 million)

Last year’s king of country cash played only 29 shows in our scoring period, but still out-earned most of his peers thanks to a wide range of brand extensions. With his own record label, a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with Ford, mescal line Wild Shot and more than 20 locations of his I Love This Bar And Grill, he’d rank high on our list even if he stopped touring.

#1    Garth Brooks (90 million)

Brooks’ payday gave him not only the topspot on this list, but the biggest single-year payday FORBES has ever recordedfor a country act. Brooks has been grossing well over $1 million at every stop, partly because he’s been playing back-to-back shows in the same arena on the same night. He’ll continue touring at least through the summer, lining him upfor a spot on next year’s list as well.

To see the entire list…