It’s not just your imagination, country music is really exploding in mainstream media, which has had a conflicting effect for the genre. Country fans are of course ecstatic to see their favorite stars doing well, but some also feel that the music is changing too much to attract a wider, more pop based audience. Regardless, country’s biggest stars are reaping the awards and that is evident from a ranking done by Billboard which lists the 40 highest paid musicians of the past year. In 2015 are record number eight country music artists are listed right in there with the likes of Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, and One Direction. Check out who the eight highest paid country music stars of 2015 were, and just how much they pulled in.
8. Toby Keith
2015 Earnings: $6.5 Million. Country star Toby Keith landed 38th on Billboard’s list just ahead of Nicki Minaj, with a very impressive revenue of $6.5 million for last year. Keith’s Good Times and Pick Up Lines Tour is to thank for the majority of that number as he reportedly pulled in $5.5 million for the tour alone. He lucked out with his tour because his 18th studio album 35 MPH Town didn’t experience impressive sales, pulling in only $544.5 thousand and selling only 189,000 copies, but Keith still has nothing to complain about.
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