The top-earning musicians

By Lou Hau

updated 12:47 p.m. ET Sept. 28, 2007

Pop music has long been a young person's game. But when it comes to pocketing the biggest returns, oldsters rule.

The Rolling Stones, Madonna and Elton John are no one's idea of fresh-faced talent. Yet they and other veterans account for most of the top-earning musicians as measured by Forbes.

From June 2006 to June 2007, the geriatric Stones earned an estimated $88 million. The Material-Girl-turned-middle-aged mom pocketed $72 million. And nearly 37 years since he first reached the American Top 10 with "Your Song," Mr. Crocodile Rock pulled down an impressive $53 million.

That's not to say that the occasional green upstart can't boast some serious earning power too. Relative youngsters 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake made our list as well, with "Fitty" earning $33 million and ex-'N Sync star Timberlake getting $20 million. Of course, smarts and business savvy help too, as in the case of hip-hop entrepreneur Jay-Z, who has enjoyed an exceptionally lucrative 12 months with earnings of around $83 million.

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But at the end of the day, most of the music industry's top earners are of older vintage. At a time when the recording industry is reeling from plunging music sales and rampant piracy, how do they accomplish such commercial success? Here are a few things to consider:

Tour, tour, tour
It goes without saying that recording artists establish their fame through sales of their music. And even with all the industry's problems, established favorites can still count on strong demand for their recorded product. Country star Tim McGraw, another member of our top earners list, released his new album "Let It Go" in March and has already sold 1.1 million units in the U.S., according to Nielsen/SoundScan.

But the really serious money comes from touring. And no one can pull in the big bucks like an older, established music act. The Stones had the highest-grossing tour in North America last year, pulling in a cool $139 million. Madonna's 2006 "Confessions" tour was the biggest ever for a female artist,  grossing $194 million worldwide.

Helping drive those big grosses are eye-popping ticket prices. Madonna charged an average of $183.76 during her 2006 North American tour, while tickets to the Stones' concerts here averaged $136.63 and seats to Celine Dion's "A New Day..." show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas averaged $135.33, according to Pollstar.

How do they — or, more specifically, their concert promoters — get away with such prices? Simple: because they can. These older artists' fans aren't cash-poor college kids waiting tables to earn beer money. They're Baby Boomers and Gen X'ers who have the means to pay up to see their favorite stars.

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