Idolator
Just in case you didn't already feel like weeping softly after checking your ATM balance, Forbes' annual list of the "20 Top-Earning Stars Under 25" does its usual job of making you question the value of your "life skills" when a 14-year-old could buy and sell your ass. But with only a smattering of musicians on the list, it's also another indicator that the music industry is no longer the safe bet if you're planning on parlaying passable pipes and a Skechers endorsement into an appearance on Cribs before college.
20. Frankie Muniz - $3 million
19. Mandy Moore - $3.5 million
18. Lindsay Lohan - $3.5 million
17. Miley Cyrus - $3.5 million
16. Rupert Grint - $4 million
15. Emma Watson - $4 million
14. Dakota Fanning - $4 million
13. Mischa Barton - $4.5 million
12. Scarlett Johansson - $5 million
11. Carrie Underwood - $7 million
10. Keira Knightley - $9 million
9. Carmelo Anthony - $10 million
8. Avril Lavigne - $12 million
7. Hilary Duff - $12 million
6. Daniel Radcliffe - $15 million
5. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen - $17 million each
4. Michelle Wie - $19 million
3. Maria Sharapova - $23 million
2. Reggie Bush - $24 million
1. LeBron James - $27 million
Wow, Miley "Instant Sell-Out" Cyrus only at No. 17? (Perhaps because Forbes' list only measures from June '06 to June 07, before Hannah Montana concert mania kicked off in earnest.) But not counting Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan—and taking Mandy Moore as a grey area—that's three, count 'em three young folks best known for releasing records and doing concert tours and making videos: Lavigne, Carrie Underwood, and Cyrus. Plenty of explanations for this, i.e. bad contracts, evil managers, parents funnelling the money into offshore accounts. Still, does this mean that future teenpop stars and starlets are going to have to start getting into the game for the love of it?
20 Under 25 [Forbes via the Evil Beet]
Comments
I dunno, insane cross-platforming has been part of the teenpop game since Hilary Duff, I think. Watch for a MARIA SHARPOVA album in '08! ("My New Racket" f. Harry Potter and Lil' Wayne.)
Well music has always been the main media where the older generations are more revered then the younger ones. So it's no surprise when a hot, young actress is making boatloads more for one role then some old, character actress who's been in TV/movies for 3 decades. It's also no surprise when a younger, more athletic basketball player can command more money then a sure bet Hall of Famer, just because the body eventually breaks down. Yet, in music you somehow have to "earn it" through years of hardship. Because afterall, this is a business predicated on cred and irony.
Also, shouldn't the Olson Twins count as two different people on the list? And they can count as music. Anyone else remember "Brother for Sale"?
@dabug: ONLY since Hilary Duff?
@dabug: I'm more excited for Michelle Wie's new single, "Shawty Swingin'" feat. T-Pain.
With the exception of a few, all of these youngins work their asses off while I sit here at my desk all commenting on Idolator instead of actually working. So, I'm not bitter.
I especially enjoy doing nothing and being paid ~ 1/128 of their income for 8 hours of the day, thanks.
@Matos: Not only, just insanely, in its most recent incarnation. Basically I just mean since Disney decided to produce and distribute their own music product (most of the best selling teenpop stuff in the past few years is from Disney, Avril excluded), as opposed to earlier in the decade when Britney or Christina or whoever else might have been on this list.
Interesting, in 2001, Britney Spears was Forbes's highest earning woman. She had a "power ranking of four," whatever that means. In June 2002 she was at the top of the list (male or female).
Did they deliberately choose the worst photos of all of these people?
Wow. Avril is the top earner in the music biz (among those under age 30, I'm assuming is this list's benchmark) for 2007. I'm surprised, as we don't hear that much about her these days, nor do I hear her latest stuff on the radio. She (and her people) must be doing something right.
Edit: This list is for those under 25. (Doh -- didn't read closely.) So that might not count Britney, who turned 26 this year.
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