METALLICA, LINKIN PARK, VAN HALEN: How They Earned Their Money In 2004

Rolling Stone magazine has posted its chart of 2004's biggest money-earners in music on its web site. METALLICA came in at Number Three on the list, raking in $43 million on their "Madly In Anger With The World" tour, as well as through sales of 1.4 million copies of their catalog. Other hard rock bands that made the Top 50 list are LINKIN PARK, VAN HALEN, EVANESCENCE, AEROSMITH, KISS and RUSH.

The annual Rolling Stone list is based on ticket and record sales, as well as publishing royalties and other forms of revenue.

Hard rock's biggest moneymakers in 2004 (ranking represents position on the Top 50 list):

03. METALLICA - $43.1 Million

On The Road: The band's "Madly in Anger With the World" tour was the fourth-biggest in North America last year.

On CD: The members of METALLICA don't need to lift a finger, or bang a head, to earn million-dollar-plus salaries. Credit goes to a shrewd mid-1990s renegotiation with Elektra Records by the band's management company and consistent sales for catalog albums. METALLICA perennials the "Black Album" and "Master of Puppets" helped the band sell 1.4 million units from catalog alone in 2004. They earn close to three dollars for each CD — which might help explain their aversion to file-trading.

On The Side: METALLICA haven't yet eked out a profit from the theatrical and DVD release of their soul-baring documentary, "Some Kind of Monster", which they co-own with its directors. But it can't hurt their financial picture that they finally canned the $40,000-a-month therapist seen in the film.

Last year's rank: 5

09. LINKIN PARK - $33.1 Million

On The Road: The tireless sextet embarked on three separate tours in 2004 — the "Projekt Revolution" package with KORN and SNOOP DOGG, a U.S. solo outing and an overseas jaunt. The total haul: $35 million.

On CD: "Meteora" (2003) and last year's "Collision Course" — the CD/DVD document of their MTV mash-up collaboration with JAY-Z — each sold more than 1 million copies. Another CD, "Live in Texas", sold another 440,000.

Last year's rank: NA

11. VAN HALEN - $30.2 Million

On The Road: High hopes for the first VAN HAGAR tour in eight years led to guarantees of up to $1 million a night, but ticket sales fell short. So, even as it counts a $38 million 2004 gross, the band will have to settle for less upfront next time.

On CD: Catalog sales amounted to slightly fewer than 500,000 units in 2004; publishing royalties brought in nearly $2 million.

On The Side: The band added to tour revenue by selling T-shirts and hats at the impressive rate of ten dollars per person.

Last year's rank: NA

27. EVANESCENCE - $18.9 Million

On The Road: Amy Lee and her band were anything but evanescent in 2004, playing to 1 million fans at seventy shows in the U.S. and overseas. The tour hit larger venues abroad, helping them gross $30 million.

On CD: The band's debut, "Fallen", sold more than 11 million copies worldwide, making EVANESCENCE one of the only rock bands in 2004 to earn as much from record royalties as they did from touring. Lee still splits the band's publishing royalties with departed guitarist Ben Moody, with whom she shared songwriting credits for the first album.

On The Side: Lee earned several hundred thousand dollars for "Broken", a duet with her boyfriend, SEETHER's Shaun Morgan, which appeared on the soundtrack of "The Punisher", a Marvel Comics adaptation.

Last year's rank: NA

35. AEROSMITH - $16 Million

On The Road: The group earned $450,000 a night in '04 — about half of what it made on its last tour.

On CD: Last year's blues album "Honkin' on Bobo" moved about 550,00 copies.

On The Side: AEROSMITH's music is a hot commodity in advertising: Last year the group licensed "Dream On" to Buick for a reported $2 million.

Last year's rank: 25

38. KISS - $13.7 Million

On The Road: They earned $13.1 million on their farewell tour.

On The Side: The KISS licensing juggernaut — from T-shirts to band-theme coffins — brought in at least $5 million.

Last year's rank: 26

39. RUSH - $13.3 Million

On The Road: The Canadian power trio grossed $21 million on its latest U.S. tour — more than KISS or Ozzfest.

On The Side: Sales were strong for the 2003 "Rush in Rio" DVD.

Last year's rank: NA

View the whole chart at this location.