They sing of the simple life — love for family, god, and country. But the success of this year’s Top-Earning Country Music Stars proves they’re just as familiar with the color of money as they are with John Deere green.
Toby Keith nabs the top spot on our list, raking in $48 million over the last year. Thanks to a bulletproof persona and patriotic anthems like “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” and “American Soldier,” he’s created a strong personal brand that pays. Beyond music earnings, Keith’s got a lucrative endorsement deal with Ford Motor and a chain of successful restaurants bearing his name. He also has a boot in the business side of Nashville, as owner of Show Dog Records.
Aside from Keith, most of the musicians on our list earned the majority of their income from successful tours. Rascal Flatts’ top 10 2007 tour helped put the trio at No. 2, with $40 million in earnings. Rascal Flatts has a younger fan base than most country music stars, partly due to their significant crossover appeal.
Tim McGraw’s $23 million lands him the No. 3 spot on our list. His Soul2Soul II tour with his real-life leading lady, Faith Hill, was the second highest-grossing country tour of 2007. He’s hitting the road alone this year, which shouldn’t be a risk, considering he sold 2.4 million copies of his latest record, Let It Go.
Kenny Chesney comes in at No. 4 with $22 million in earnings. His Flip Flop Summer tour was one of the highest-grossing concert series of 2007, second only to the Police. He’s also an established songwriter–his tune “Never Wanted Nothing More” stayed on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for 23 weeks.
At No. 5 are Brooks & Dunn, with $20 million. Country music’s most powerful duo spent most of last year on the road. Their tour with Alan Jackson grossed over $14 million. While both were moderately successful singer-songwriters before joining up in 1990, the combination of their talents has led to 20 No. 1 hits and 13 albums.
For the list, Forbes considered concert grosses, merchandise revenue, album sales and income from endorsement and licensing deals. The figures represent estimates of gross earnings in the last 12 months.
The bottom line for country stars has increased in the last few years, as touring replaced album sales as the primary revenue stream. Country acts, which have always toured extensively, can realize significant income without changing their business patterns.
Also helping: Country music hasn’t suffered as much as other genres with the transition into digital distribution. Core country music fans remain willing to shell out for CDs rather than MP3s. Relatively newer country music acts, who attract a younger, wider and more technologically savvy audience, are more vulnerable to digital piracy.
The humility of many country stars translates into very loyal and trusting fans. Along with the long-lived careers of the genre’s biggest stars, this makes them attractive to marketers. Country stars endorse an wide range of products, from pickup trucks to jeans to spicy snacks and toothpaste.
“You don’t find boastful people [in Nashville],” say Dan Daley, journalist and author of The Nashville Music Machine: The Unwritten Rules of the Country Music Business. “There is implicit humility that comes along with performers of this genre.”
