Who are the highest-paid country stars?

Recently, Forbes magazine featured its annual list of the Top 100 Highest-Paid Celebrities. Seven of our favorite country stars are on the list. Drum rolls please! They are:

No. 26: Garth Brooks, $60 million

No. 53: Kenny Chesney, $42.5 million

No. 55: Luke Bryan, $42 million

No. 71: Dolly Parton, $37 million

No. 83: Toby Keith, $34.5 million

No. 83: Florida Georgia Line, $34.5 million

No. 98: Jason Aldean, $32.5 million

Woah! With that much money, I would definitely advise you to follow your dream of becoming a country singer. Parents: don’t talk your children out of it.

Garth Brooks takes the top spot with $60 million which he mostly got from his World Tour. Kenny Chesney, however, collected his from his stadium tours, endorsements with Corona and Apple and his own Blue Chair Rum.

Luke Bryan gathered his millions from his Kill the Lights Tour, his Outdoor Channel reality show Buck Commander and endorsement deals with Miller Lite and Cabela’s.

For the first time in her career, Dolly Parton made the list. Thanks to more than 60 date tours and income from her Dollywood theme park.

Florida Georgia Line hit it big time with their Dig Your Roots Tour. Don’t forget about the endorsement deals with Advance Auto Parts and Nitto Tires.

Businessman Toby Keith’s earning power came from his diverse portfolio of restaurant chains, Ford endorsements, Wild Shot mezcal and touring.

And last but not the least; Jason Aldean raked up most of his millions from his They Don’t Know Tour.

The Top 10

You might be wondering who made it to the top? That would be P. Diddy, who earned  $130 million last year.

Forbes’ list of the highest-paid celebrities is usually highly- antipicated. This year they pulled a total amount of $5.15 billion! Here are the 10 big guns  for 2017:

1. Diddy, $130 million (Musician)

2. Beyoncé, $105 million (Musician)

3. J.K. Rowling, $95 million (Author)

4. Drake, $94 million (Musician)

5. Cristiano Ronaldo, $93 million (Athlete)

6. The Weeknd, $92 million (Musician)

7. Howard Stern, $90 million (Personality)

8. Coldplay, $88 million (Musicians.)

9. James Patterson, $87 million (Author)

10. LeBron James, $86 million (Athlete)

Ever wondered how they determine the order? Well, Forbes ranked the celebrities by pretax income from June 1, 2016 through June 1, 2017. However, they do not deduct the fees for agents, managers and lawyers. Other sources include Nielsen, NPD Bookscan, Pollstar, Box Office Mojo, Songkick, D’Marie, and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders and sometimes the stars themselves.

The money usually comes from music sales but with streaming platforms like Spotify, gives musicians a chance to generate more. They also

Unlike in the past, simple music sales are just one factor in these stars generating immense wealth. Streaming platforms such as Spotify are also giving musicians a great deal of help. They also catch the attention of fans in their live shows. Other than that, they also make money off of brands they endorse. Some also have business ventures other than music.

I’m sure you probably still can’t process how much money they earn but of course, it’s interesting to see where our personal favorites are on.