AC/DC top rock earning chart with $67.5m

By Martin Kielty
( Classic Rock )
last updated

AC/DC top Forbes’ annual rock earning chart after making $67.5 in the past year – ahead of Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, U2 and Muse

AC/DC featuring Axl Rose
Axl Rose fronts AC\/DC with Angus Young (Image credit: Getty)

AC/DC have topped business magazine Forbes’ annual earning list for rock acts, after making an estimated $67.5 million between June 2015 and June 2016.

The Aussie giants racked up the equivalent of $185,000 every day in music, ticket and merchandise sales – despite enduring the losses of mainman Malcolm Young, drummer Phil Rudd and vocalist Brian Johnson, along with the impeding retirement of bassist Cliff Williams.

Their total is greater than the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, U2, Muse, Foo Fighters and the Dave Matthews Band’s individual incomes, although all of them brought in more than $30m over the 12-month period.

Forbes say: “The nearly half-century-old Scottish-Australian band hit a bump in the road when lead singer Brian Johnson had to drop out of their world tour due to a medical condition. But AC/DC found an incredible replacement – Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, and so far, fan demand is undeterred.

“It’s a long way to the top, but the group is right up there once again.”

However, their total only put them in 17th position in the Forbes Global Celebrity 100 list, which has pop singer Taylor Swift at the top with $170m. The 100 best earners made a combined total of $5.1bn.

Forbes’ calculations include information taken from a wide range of sources, but no private ones, and do not include deductions such as management and agent fees, production costs and other expenditure.

Forbes Magazine’s top earners, June 2015-June 2016 – rock acts

  1. AC/DC (17th overall) $67.5m
  2. Rolling Stones (18th) $66.5m
  3. Bruce Springsteen (24th) $60.5m
  4. Paul McCartney (25th) $56.5m
  5. U2 (30th) $55m
  6. Muse (44th) $49m
  7. Foo Fighters (46th) $48.5m
  8. Dave Matthews Band (86th) $33m

AC/DC Rock Or Bust US dates 2016

Aug 27: Greensboro Coliseum, NC
Aug 30: Ft Lauderdale BB&T Center, FL
Sep 01: Atlanta Phillips Arena, GA
Sep 04: Columbus Nationwide Arena, OH
Sep 06: Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, OH
Sep 09: Detroit The Palace, MI
Sep 11: Buffalo First Niagara Center, NY
Sep 14: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Sep 17: Washington Verizon Center, DC
Sep 20: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PA

The A-Z Of AC/DC

Martin Kielty
Freelance Online News Contributor

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.