Top of the Charts in Music

What is life without a little music? Over the decades, music has made its way from vinyl records to CD's and now digital. Music is continuously changing and the artists in the industry have made a name for themselves that now the public recognizes everyday. Everyone has their own taste in music and by looking at the line graph with data provided from Billboard, the majority of genres listened to was Pop music, that stayed on the Hot 100 list from 2006-2013. A change of pace happened when R&B music beat the Pop genre in 2008 with 4 top songs in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 list. Pop music has generally been praised by the public and is an all around favorite for a lot of people.

The public is fascinated by celebrities and love to know how much money celebrities make by what they do. The pie graph shows which artists were music's top money makers of 2013. Surprisingly, Madonna was music's top money maker in 2013, according to Billboard. Madonna did not have a new album out, so it was odd of her to be number 1 on the list. The reason for her success was through her MDNA tour, which grossed $32 million. Close behind was Bruce Springsteen, whose revenue is primarily driven by touring, making $33 million. While Roger Waters, Van Halen, and Kenny Chesney come in not too far behind, the thought of no 'young' and 'now' artists in the top was interesting since they seem to always be in the spotlight and known about from publicity. 

Women in the industry have made big moves, making an even bigger name for themselves since last year. As seen in the bar graph with data according to Billboard, it gives a closer look on the highest paid women artist in 2012 vs. the revenue they made in 2013. Madonna still leads the pack making just under $100 million in 2012, and in 2013 skyrocketed to a revenue total of around $125 million. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, all made more in 2013 than their total revenue in 2012, except for Jennifer Lopez. Lopez made less revenue in 2013 than in 2012, possibly due to the fact that she is took a step away from music to be on American Idol. 

Keeping up on the latest music whether it be from Pandora Radio or iTunes, no matter what platform the public listens to music, artists make profit off of it. By looking at the statistics, artists can tell what they are doing right and wrong to increase their revenue. When new singles come out, don't be the only one who didn't hear the newest top smash hit of the year.

Sources:

http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end

http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/5930326/music-s-top-40-money-makers-2014-the-rich-list

http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/1549704/musics-top-40-money-makers-2013