$115 million
The main songwriter for the Who, Pete Townshend, has written over 100 songs for The Who’s 11 albums, including the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia. He also penned popular rock radio staples like Who’s Next, and so many more, that appeared as stand alone singles, compilations and bonus tracks.
Also, Pete has written more than 100 songs for his own solo albums, as well as commercial jingles and T.V. theme songs. Although he was known mainly as a guitarist, he also plays many other instruments, such as keyboards, banjo, accordion, ukulele, mandolin, violin, and drums. He plays these on his own albums, Who albums, and also as a guest contributor to other artists’ recordings. He has no formal training and is said to be self-taught on all of the instruments he plays!
$135 Million
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. is best known by his stage name,Snoop Dogg. At a child he would sing and play piano at his church in Long Island, and later began writing rap lyrics as a teenager. After Snoop decided to focus on his music career, he caught the attention of the iconic record producer, Dr. Dre, in 1992, and even featured on Dre's solo debut single, "Deep Cover", and later his solo debut album, The Chronic, which would become a hip hop classic. A year later, in 1993 Snoop released his own debut album, Doggystyle, produced by Dr. De. A project that had high expectations after the public heard his features on Dre's work. Snoop did not disappoint, and the album topped both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. After selling almost a million copies in the first week, Doggystyle became quadruple platinum. And that was only the beginning.
Since 1992, Snoop Dogg has sold over 37 million albums worldwide and has collaborated with some of the best artists in the industry. In November 2018, Snoop Dogg was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Besides songwriting, Snoop Dogg has starred in films, hosted television shows, and also coaches a youth football league and high school football team.
$40 million
The multi-talented Travis Scott is a rapper, singer, songwriter and producer. His successful career has made him around $40 million dollars, making him one of the highest-paid rappers in the industry. Needless to say, he's been getting tons of praise, most notably from a certain Kardashian member, Kyle Jenner. The two have been in an on-and-off relationship since 2017. Love life aside, Scott caught the attention of listeners in May 2013, when he released a mix-tape titled "Owl Pharaoh" on iTunes.
Things started getting a little serious when he performed at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas in 2014, and soon, his second mix-tape, "Days Before Rodeo", blew up. In 2015, Grand Hustle and Epic Records produced his first studio album "Rodeo." Artists such as Quavo, Juicy J, Kanye West, The Weeknd, Swae Lee, and Justin Bieber all jumped on to collaborate, sending him to number 3 on the US Billboard 200 chart. By 2016, his second studio album "Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight", was number one on the US Billboard 200.
$40 million
March 30th, 2020 was a sad date for the world, and will forever be remembered as the day we lost Bill Withers, an inimitable music icon. This singer/songwriter inspired countless musicians, writing timeless songs like 'Lean On Me', 'Lovely Day', 'Ain't No Sunshine', and many others. With a long career that started back in the '70s, Withers became one of the fathers of Soul, R&B and funk music, spreading happiness with his cheerful, upbeat songs.
After an incredibly successful career, during which he earned an impressive $40 million, Withers received many accolades. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, and won three Grammys during his career. His music will forever be remembered, and his beautiful songs are still being heard until this day.
$10 million
John Prine was an American music legend, with a career spanning four decades. Worth $10 million at the time of his tragic death, in April 2020, John Prine certainly had a succesful and lucrative music career that inspired countless artists. Early in life, Prine worked as a mailman, and wrote many of his future classics while delivering mail in Chicago. He was drafted in late 1960 and served in Vietnam and Germany, an experience that inspired him to write one of his best songs, 'Sam Stone'.
After Paul Anka and Kris Kristofferson saw him perform in 1971, Kris helped him close a recording deal with Atlantic Records, and Anka became his manager. Prine played progressive bluegrass, country folk, and Americana, and was admired by many prominent musicians, among them Bob Dylan. John Prine released over 20 albums during his career and received numerous accolades, including two Grammys, two AMAs and a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 2020.