Who Earns What
We all know that rock and raps stars can earn tens of millions each year, but what about the others who toil in the business of music? From managers to roadies to bloggers to bus drivers, here's how much they take home.
By David Browne 03.26.08 12:23 PM
It's widely reported how much the wealthiest pop stars make. Pick up a fi nancial magazine and you'll read about the 2007 earnings of the Rolling Stones ($88 million), U2 ($30 million), and Britney Spears ($9 million). Even Elvis Presley took in $49 million last year -- and he's been dead for 30 years.
Hey! Ho! Let's Shop!
T-shirts, sure, but Ramones flip-flops? Though the band barely sold records in their heyday, the punk icons have become a mighty retail presence in their afterlife. What's behind their transformation from glue-sniffing rebels to tchotchke-hawking moguls?
By David Browne 02.08.08 12:14 AM
Another day, another delivery of Ramones wear to the East Village home of Arturo Vega, the band's former lighting director and art coordinator. (He designed their eagle insignia.) "More merchandise," Vega says with a resigned smile, ripping open a box containing new T-shirts featuring the faces of Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy.
