The past 12 months saw some of the world’s biggest music stars—like Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and The Weeknd—raking in a combined total of a staggering $1.9 billion. In a remarkable year, one artist even reached the billionaire milestone.

As 2025 came to a close, Beyoncé joined the billionaire ranks, while pop megastar Taylor Swift not only enjoyed her personal life but also set music records with her The Life of a Showgirl album. Amid all this, it was The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye, who ended the year on the highest note financially.

In a groundbreaking deal that turned heads, The Weeknd announced last week that he was selling a stake in his catalog to Lyric Capital for a deal reportedly valued at $1 billion. However, this wasn’t a typical catalog sale. The Weeknd retained ownership of his existing master recordings, which include his six-album discography, while also maintaining creative control over how his music is used. This deal covers his past albums, but future music will remain separate from the agreement. Although the deal itself involves significant debt—potentially convertible to equity—Forbes estimates that the artist will personally pocket around $200 million after all fees.

The Weeknd also hinted that this landmark deal might signal a shift away from his iconic stage name. “It felt like I had nothing left to say. As The Weeknd, I’ve expressed everything I needed to, and now it’s time for me to evolve,” he said in an interview promoting Hurry Up Tomorrow, a film he co-wrote, stars in, and produced, which is also a companion piece to his January album.

This new chapter, including his creative ventures, album success, and top-grossing tour, propelled The Weeknd to the top of Forbes' 2025 list of highest-paid musicians. He is one of six artists to earn nine figures in 2025, with Beyoncé, Coldplay, Shakira, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift completing the list. Swift, notably, broke sales records with The Life of a Showgirl, which finished 2025 as the best-selling album, in addition to securing a lucrative documentary deal with Disney+.

Swift also made headlines for doing something that many artists shy away from—she bought the rights to her own music. After years of controversy over the ownership of her early albums, Swift finally regained control of her first six records in a $360 million deal with Shamrock Capital. This move may prove to be an incredibly wise one, as Swift’s catalog broke streaming records in 2025. Her combined music sales—physical, digital, and streaming—totaled 14.7 million album-equivalent units, far surpassing the nearest competitor, Drake, who sold 7.3 million units.

The music industry continues to be dominated by both men and women, with the 2025 list featuring 17 male artists and 8 female artists (including 15 alumni from Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list). Together, these 25 musicians generated a remarkable collective income of $1.9 billion, with a median earning of $52 million.

Here are the top 10 highest-paid musicians of 2025:

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1. The Weeknd

2025 Earnings: $298 Million
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, started the year with the release of his sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 490,500 album-equivalent units in its first week. He continued his success with the After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which grossed over $1 billion, making it one of the top-earning tours in history and the highest-earning solo male artist tour to date. The Weeknd earned an estimated $77 million from his 2025 shows alone, and his catalog sale pushed him into the highest-paid spot for the year.

2. Taylor Swift

2025 Earnings: $202 Million
How do you top the record-breaking Eras Tour of 2024? By releasing the No. 1 album of the following year. Swift's The Life of a Showgirl shattered first-week sales records, surpassing 5.5 million album-equivalent units and dethroning Adele’s 25. Beyond her album sales, Swift earned around $80 million from a documentary deal with Disney+, which included the Eras Tour finale and a behind-the-scenes series. With over 16 albums—including four re-recordings—Swift maintained her dominance in the streaming world, finishing as the No. 2 global artist on Spotify behind Bad Bunny.

3. Beyoncé

2025 Earnings: $148 Million
Queen Bey embarked on the 32-show Cowboy Carter Tour, which grossed $407.6 million, making it the highest-grossing country tour in history. Beyoncé’s innovative approach of playing in only nine cities set multiple records, including the highest single-venue gross for a female artist. This year, Beyoncé reached the billion-dollar mark, joining the ranks of fellow music billionaires like Swift, Rihanna, and Jay-Z.

4. Kendrick Lamar

2025 Earnings: $109 Million
Kendrick Lamar kicked off the year by headlining the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show, reaching 133.5 million viewers. His performance reignited interest in his album GNX, which became the first hip-hop album to sell over 1 million units in the U.S. Lamar’s Grand National Tour with SZA grossed $358.7 million, making it the highest-grossing co-headlined tour in history, surpassing Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s 2018 tour.

5. Coldplay

2025 Earnings: $105 Million
Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour played nearly 50 shows across Asia, Europe, and the UAE, grossing an estimated $375 million. With ticket sales and merchandise, the band’s tour now holds the record for the most tickets sold by any tour in history, and its revenue is quickly closing in on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to claim the top spot as the highest-grossing tour ever.

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Expanding Music's Financial Landscape

The 2025 rankings show a diverse and dynamic music industry, where veteran artists like Coldplay and Beyoncé continue to earn at the highest levels, while newer stars like Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish rapidly climb the charts. Music consumption is increasingly shaped by streaming, with Spotify and Disney+ deals providing new ways for artists to earn from their catalogs.

In particular, Beyoncé’s success reflects a new approach to tours and fan engagement, while The Weeknd’s catalog sale represents an important shift toward greater financial independence for artists. As more musicians explore direct ownership and creative control over their music, the industry will likely see further changes in how wealth is generated and distributed.

For fans and industry insiders alike, 2025 was a transformative year that continues to redefine the landscape of the music business. With such top-tier talent dominating the charts and making groundbreaking deals, it’s clear that the next few years in music will bring even more exciting developments.