Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Beautiful pay
Pride for U2 rockers after they are ranked second richest stars
U2 are number two on the latest music rich list — worth more than twice Ed Sheeran in 10th place.
The veteran rockers are the top Irish entry on the list with a combined worth of £625million.
Former One Direction singer Niall Horan, 28, is Ireland’s wealthiest young musician worth £52million.
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran comes in tenth on the annual list of UK and Irish artists with an estimated total wealth of £260million.
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, 79, claims number one in the rankings with a fortune of £865million, which he shares with his American wife Nancy Shevell.
But the compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, Robert Watts, believes Sheeran may beat him to top spot if he continues his current trajectory.
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, 74, has seen his wealth drop by £30million to £495million amid the impact of Covid-19 on the theatre world, but is still at number three. As he releases his third solo album, former One Direction star Harry Styles, 28, adds £25million to his fortune, making him the wealthiest musician under the age of 30 with £110million.
After boosting her fortune by £24million to £60million, singer
Dua Lipa rises to second place on the young musician list, drawing equal with girl group Little Mix. Sting, former frontman of The Police, has boosted his personal fortune by £110million to some £320million after selling his music rights to Universal Music earlier this year.
He was the latest highprofile artist to sell the rights to their back catalogue.
In December 2020, Universal acquired Bob Dylan’s entire song collection for a reported £240million.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “Selling their music rights has proved extremely lucrative for many of the older acts on the Music Rich List – especially those who had quiet pandemics.
“We expect the post-Covid return to touring will see many of these singers and bands earn well this year and next.
“It seems old musicians never retire, they just get richer.”