Michael Jackson Best-Selling Among Living and Dead After Four Years
Michael Jackson remains the world's best-selling artist among the living and the dead, four years on.
Madonna recently topped the list of the world's best-selling living artists. She earned $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013, yet still could not pose a serious challenge to Michael Jackson. The King of Pop leads once again this year in sales and earnings among both the living and the dead, adding $160 million to his wealth between 2012 and 2013. Forbes magazine notes that this is the third time in five consecutive years that the world's best-selling artist has risen from the afterlife.
In the four years since his passing, Michael has been the world's top-selling artist for three of them. He ceded the top spot only once — to his dear old friend Elizabeth Taylor. That year, the sale of Taylor's jewelry collection caused a sensation.
The majority of Michael Jackson's earnings come from two Cirque du Soleil shows — Immortal and ONE. Immortal has sold more than $300 million in tickets, and the ONE theater in Las Vegas fills to capacity every night.
Another portion of Michael's income comes from his music catalog. He not only holds ownership and publishing rights to all of his own songs, but also owns the songs of other artists — from Elvis Presley and the Beatles to contemporary figures like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.
Elizabeth Taylor, owing to the sale of her exquisite jewelry in 2011, had earned $210 million, but that figure dropped to just $25 million this year, placing her in fourth position. Second on the Forbes list is the late Elvis Presley, with $55 million earned over the past year. Forbes attributes Elvis's posthumous commercial success to his enduring popularity among Americans and to Graceland, which has become a tourist destination. Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip — still very popular in the media — claimed third place with $37 million, while Bob Marley, who this year saw the release of products bearing his name such as speakers, bags, and beverages, took fifth among Forbes's top-earning deceased with $18 million. The magazine notes that this commercial success would likely have surprised even the Jamaican icon himself.
The list is ranked by money received by the estates of deceased artists between October 2012 and 2013. Forbes obtains this information through conversations with estate managers, their attorneys, licensors, and those involved in running the business affairs of these late artists.
Source: eMJey.com / Forbes
Michael Jackson remains the world's best-selling artist among the living and the dead, four years on.
Madonna recently topped the list of the world's best-selling living artists. She earned $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013, yet still could not pose a serious challenge to Michael Jackson. The King of Pop leads once again this year in sales and earnings among both the living and the dead, adding $160 million to his wealth between 2012 and 2013. Forbes magazine notes that this is the third time in five consecutive years that the world's best-selling artist has risen from the afterlife.
In the four years since his passing, Michael has been the world's top-selling artist for three of them. He ceded the top spot only once — to his dear old friend Elizabeth Taylor. That year, the sale of Taylor's jewelry collection caused a sensation.
The majority of Michael Jackson's earnings come from two Cirque du Soleil shows — Immortal and ONE. Immortal has sold more than $300 million in tickets, and the ONE theater in Las Vegas fills to capacity every night.
Another portion of Michael's income comes from his music catalog. He not only holds ownership and publishing rights to all of his own songs, but also owns the songs of other artists — from Elvis Presley and the Beatles to contemporary figures like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.
Elizabeth Taylor, owing to the sale of her exquisite jewelry in 2011, had earned $210 million, but that figure dropped to just $25 million this year, placing her in fourth position. Second on the Forbes list is the late Elvis Presley, with $55 million earned over the past year. Forbes attributes Elvis's posthumous commercial success to his enduring popularity among Americans and to Graceland, which has become a tourist destination. Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip — still very popular in the media — claimed third place with $37 million, while Bob Marley, who this year saw the release of products bearing his name such as speakers, bags, and beverages, took fifth among Forbes's top-earning deceased with $18 million. The magazine notes that this commercial success would likely have surprised even the Jamaican icon himself.
The list is ranked by money received by the estates of deceased artists between October 2012 and 2013. Forbes obtains this information through conversations with estate managers, their attorneys, licensors, and those involved in running the business affairs of these late artists.
Source: eMJey.com / Forbes