![\"gaga\"](\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/campus\/files\/2014\/01\/gaga.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt’s hard to top showing up to the Grammys in an egg, but Gaga did just that with the launch of new album ARTPOP, debuting a flying dress and announcing plans to perform in outer space in 2015. She had $80 million in earnings last year..As of November 2013, she had sold an estimated 24 million albums and 125 million singles worldwide and her singles are some of the best-selling worldwide. Her achievements include five Grammy Awardsand 13 MTV Video Music Awards. Gaga has consecutively appeared on Billboard<\/i> magazine’s Artists of the Year (scoring the definitive title in 2010), ranked fourth in VH1’s list of 100 Greatest Women in Music, is the fourth bestselling digital singles artist in US according to RIAA<\/p>\n
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Bruno Mars (28)<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/b>Avicii (24)<\/b><\/p>\n By the time the young Swede launched his first album, True, in September 2013, he was already a household name. His electronic crossover single “Wake Me Up” became a summer anthem, and he’s been earning six figures per DJ gig.Avicii is also one of the most chartable artistes. Since achieving widespread commercial success, Avicii began working with his manager and executive producer Ash Pournouri to start House for Hunger.<\/sup>in 2011, a charity dedicated to alleviating global hunger.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Justin Bieber (19)<\/b><\/p>\n After appearing on the cover of FORBES in 2012, the world’s most famous teenager launched a new album and a world tour. \u201cI\u2019m trying to make music that\u2019s a little bit more mature and that can appeal to all ages,” he said. Meanwhile, recent publicity gaffes haven’t stopped him from earning $113 million in the last two years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n J.Cole (28)<\/b><\/p>\n Jay Z’s first signing at Roc Nation is now a hip-hop force in his own right. His debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story<\/i>, was released on September 27, 2011. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard<\/i> 200, Top R&B Albums and Top Rap Albums chart, selling more than 218,000 in its first week.Sophomore album Born Sinner debuted at No. 2 on the charts with sales of 297,000, nearly matching Kanye West’s Yeezus. Now grossing six figures per night on his world tour, Cole is here to stay.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Miley Cyrus (21)<\/b><\/p>\n Don’t be fooled: the former Disney idol’s VMA twerk-fest wasn’t an impromptu lapse in judgment, but part of a concerted plan to destroy the last vestiges of Hannah Montana and introduce Cyrus as a grown pop star. New album Bangerz sold 270,000 copies its opening week.Cyrus is recognized as among the most successful artists to originate from The Walt Disney Company. She has five non-consecutive number-one albums on the U.S. Billboard<\/i> 200, two of which are soundtracks credited to her titular character Hannah Montana, and has earned numerous awards and nominations. In 2010, Cyrus ranked number thirteen on Forbes<\/i>‘ Celebrity 100, and was named the “Most Charted Teenager” in the 2011 Guinness World Records<\/i>with twenty-nine Billboard<\/i> Hot 100 entries as of November 2009.[4]<\/sup><\/a> In 2013, she was recognized as the “Artist of the Year” by MTV.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kendrick Lamar (26)<\/b><\/p>\n Dr. Dre\u2019s latest prot\u00e9g\u00e9 earned $9 million last year after releasing smash hit Good Kid, m.A.A.d City and playing over 100 live shows. Better yet: he earned seven Grammy nominations, more than any other artist besides Jay Z. His album spawned the Top 40 hits “Swimming Pools (Drank)”, “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe, and “Poetic Justice”. The album, which debuted at number two on the Billboard<\/i> 200, was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In early 2013, MTV crowned Lamar the No. 1 Hottest MC in the Game, on their annual list.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Donnie Dinch(29)<\/b><\/p>\n The founder of WillCall isn\u2019t stopping any time soon. This designer-turned-CEO has plans to take the $24 billion live music industry mobile. With more than $2.1 million in seed funding from billionaire Sean Parker, music mogul CoranCapshaw and Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, he’s well on his way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Drake (27)<\/b><\/p>\n The former Degrassi star has pulled in over $30 million in the past two years, boosted by live shows and endorsements with the likes of Sprite and Kodak.Drake has sold over 5 million albums worldwide. His work has earned him a Grammy Award, three Juno Awards, six BET Awards, and holds several significant Billboard<\/i> records. With twelve number-one singles, Drake has more than any other artist on Billboard’<\/i>s Hot Rap Songs chart. With ten number-one singles, he also has more than any other rapper on Billboard<\/i>‘s Hot R&B\/Hip-Hop Songs chart, passing Jay-Z in August 2012. He is one of two artists (the other being 50 Cent) that has simultaneously occupied the chart’s top three positions. Look for him to build on that with his latest arena tour in support of new album Nothing Was The Same.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ryan Lewis (25)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Derrick Fung (26)<\/b><\/p>\n The former banker launched social record label Tunezy, where fans can follow, promote and buy from their favorite musicians, in 2011. Electronic music promoter SFX bought it for a seven-figure sum in November 2013; Fung remains CEO.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Calvin Harris (29)<\/b><\/p>\n He world’s highest-paid DJ gets six-figure nightly fees plus additional cash producing for pop stars like Rihanna. \u201cThe rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years,\u201d he tells FORBES. \u201cI happened to be in the right place at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hunter Hayes (22)<\/b><\/p>\n The pop-country crossover crooner makes his 30 Under 30 debut after touring with Carrie Underwood and notching three Grammy nominations last year. He’s currently working on new material for his second studio album.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kim Kaupe (28)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lorde (17)<\/b><\/p>\n The youngest name in the music category, New Zealand’s biggest star has rocketed to mainstream acclaim with debut album Pure Heroine and unexpected hit “Royals.” She’s already cashing in with a $2.5 million publishing deal, and more is undoubtedly on the way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Miguel (28)<\/b><\/p>\n A relative late bloomer in the music world, the California native finally broke through with last year’s Kaleidoscope Dream, which debuted at No. 3 on the charts and earned him five Grammy nominations. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard<\/i> 200, selling 71,000 copies in its first week. As of December 2013, Kaleidoscope Dream<\/i> has sold 922,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In February 2013, he released a politically driven video for the song “Candles in the Sun,” the eleventh and last song on the album.]<\/sup><\/a> In August 2013, the new single “#Beautiful” with Mariah Carey became Miguel\u2019s third million-seller in the USA, following \u201cSure Thing\u201d and \u201cAdorn\u201d. He won Best R&B Song for “Adorn.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Janelle Monae (28)<\/b><\/p>\n The funky songstress earned rave reviews for sophomore album The Electric Lady in September 2013, featuring rare guest appearances by Prince and Erykah Badu. She continues to pad her coffers with low six-figure grosses on the road.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One Direction\u00a0 (19, 20, 20, 21, 22)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wilson Owens (28)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jordan Passman (27)<\/b><\/p>\n Musicians are too often without work–as was Passman in 2009. To solve both problems, he created ScoreAScore, which allows brands (Google, Pizza Hut, Verizon and more) to offer gigs composing music for ads, trailers and the like. Passman gets 40%–not bad, given total sales of about $800,000 this year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Katy Perry (29)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rihanna (25)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Peter Asbill, Elliot Breece (29,29)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n James \u201cJ\u201d Sider (29)<\/b><\/p>\n Sider’s musical invention BandPage allows some 500,000 musicians–including Rihanna and Jimi Hendrix–to maintain online presences across web platforms like Facebook. That model has brought the San Francisco-based company about $19 million in funding.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Allene Stone (26)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taylor Swift (24)<\/b><\/p>\n Still riding the success of her latest album, Red–which moved 1.2 million units its opening week, the best debut since 2002–Swift pulled in $55 million over the past year. The bulk of that comes from touring, but she also earns from endorsements with Diet Coke, Sony and Covergirl.She has sold over 26 million albums and 75 million digital single downloads worldwide. Forbes <\/i>estimates that she is worth over $220 million.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sam Tarantino, Josh Greenerg (27,26)<\/b><\/p>\n Despite record labels’ attempts to sue the duo’s Grooveshark out of existence, the streaming service is still rocking with more than 20 million monthly users. That’s enough to make the company a serious force in the music landscape, regardless of its considerable legal issues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alex White (27)<\/b><\/p>\n A former Universal Music Group intern, White founded Next Big Sound to put analytics at the fingertips of artists and managers–in other words, Moneyball for music. He’s raised $6.5 million from the likes of IA Ventures and Foundry Group.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wiz Khalifa (26)<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>Bruno Mars has been rising steadily over the years. Throughout a singing career spanning 3 years, he has sold 10 million albums and 58 million singles worldwide. Including not only his work as a singer but as a songwriter and producer as well, his total single download sales surpass 115 million worldwide. He has achieved a total of five number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and seven top ten singles, as a solo artist placing himself in the record books by being the second solo artist to do so after Richard Marx. He reached first place with “Just the Way You Are”, which sold 12.5 million copies and contributed to Mars becoming the best-selling digital artist in 2011.] In 2011, Mars was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. In 2014, he was ranked number one on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Along with rapper Macklemore, 30, Lewis is part of a duo that made hip-hop history with 2012’s The Heist. The album spawned marriage-equality anthem “Same Love” and smash single “Thrift Shop” en route to sales in excess of 1 million units.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Along with cofounder Brittany Hodak, 30, Kaupe launched the music merchandizing startup Zinepakin 2011. Since then, they’ve created custom memorabilia for artists from Toby Keith to Katy Perry; revenues have surged to $6 million, up from $2.6 million last year.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Teenage girls can\u2019t get enough of these guys. The world’s biggest boy band continues to cash in on the road, grossing over $1 million per city en route to $42 million in earnings over the past year. More good fortune is on the way with additional gigs all around the world and the band\u2019s third studio album, Midnight Memories.<\/p>\n<\/a>Since its launch last year, Wilson’s Royalty Exchange has auctioned over $1 million worth of copyrights, including songs performed by Whitney Houston, Travis Tritt and Snoop Dogg. The idea seems to be catching on: Royalty Exchange raised a $2.1 million Series A in July.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>After joining Michael Jackson as the only artist to have five No. 1 singles from the same album, Perry launched her follow-up, Prism, in October 2013. The record sold 286,000 copies in its opening week, the best debut of her career. Perry is also the third best selling digital singles artist in US according to RIAA. She has ventured into celebrity endorsement and released fragrances Purr, Meow, and Killer Queen. In late July 2011, she made her film debut voicing Smurfette in The Smurfs<\/i>. Billboard<\/i> ranked Perry at number fourteen on their 2011 list of top moneymakers, grossing more than $11 million. In early July 2012, she released her 3D autobiographical documentary film, Katy Perry: Part of Me<\/i>, which concentrated on her life as a touring artist and the breakdown of her one-year marriage to English actor\/comedian Russell Brand. As of November 2013, Perry had sold over 11 million albums and 81 million singles worldwide and her singles are some of the best-selling worldwide. Next up: a world tour in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/a>The Barbados-born diva has released a new album nearly every year since her 2005 debut. In 2013, she earned $43 million, boosted by nightly grosses around $1 million per night on her Diamonds tour and endorsements with Vita Coco, Nivea and her fragrance Reb’l Fleur.She has sold over 30 million albums and 120 million singles worldwide, which makes her one of the best-selling artists of all time. She has achieved thirteen number one singles on the Billboard<\/i> Hot 100 chart, becoming the youngest and fastest solo artist to achieve the feat. Billboard<\/i> named her the Digital Songs Artist of the 2000s decade and the top Hot 100 artist of the 2010s decade.<\/p>\n<\/a>Along with cofounders Elias Roman (second from right) and Eric Davich (far left), both 30, this team has raised $6.7 million from Amazon and others thanks to Songza’s novel, concierge-like approach to music streaming. The service boasts 5 million active monthly users and is challenging the likes of iHeartRadio despite having a fraction of the budget.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>With his librarian glasses and tangled blond locks, Stone doesn’t look like someone who’d ever be compared to Marvin Gaye. But he has, thanks to “Unaware,” which has garnered millions of YouTube views, propelling him to the late night talk show circuit and a record deal with Capitol.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n