Lady Gaga tops Billboard's money makers

Lady Gaga continues to rack up the distinctions.

The entertainer will  top the charts in the upcoming "Money Makers Issue" from Billboard. The magazine looked at the acts who generated the most income in 2010.

According to the publication, Gaga made $30,556,342 followed by Bon Jovi, Roger Waters, Dave Matthews Band and Justin Bieber.

"The pop singer, only a few years removed from her original hair color and shows at small downtown New York venues, so thoroughly dominated the last year that it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that she would top the Money Makers list," Billboard said. "There was her tour, which grossed $70.4 million and netted her about $23.8 million. "
And that's not all.

"Then there were the eye-popping sales of her music, helped by buzz-generating videos for 'Telephone' and 'Alejandro,'" Billboard also said. "Gaga moved nearly 12 million digital tracks in 2010, along with 2.6 million units of 2008 album 'The Fame' and 2009 follow-up 'The Fame Monster,' of which 554,000 were digital downloads. All of those sales at retail netted her more than $5.7 million in royalties."
Billboard pointed out that in years past the Money Makers rankings were based on U.S. recorded-music sales, other U.S. revenue sources and worldwide touring data.

For consistency's sake, this year’s list is based solely on U.S. earnings which is which explains why some acts like U2, AC/DC and Metallica, which spent much of 2010 touring international markets, aren’t included in this year's ranking.