Madonna Tops 2009 Music Money Makers List:

1. Madonna: $242,176,466
2. Bon Jovi: $157,177,766
3. Bruce Springsteen: $156,327,964
4. The Police: $109,976,894
5. Celine Dion: $99,171,237
6. Kenny Chesney: $90,823,990
7. Neil Diamond: $82,174,000
8. Rascall Flatts: $63,522,160
9. Jonas Brothers: $62,638,814
10. Coldplay: $62,175,555

Billboard points out that “Regardless of genre, retail sales or radio play, each of the 20 acts on Billboard’s Moneymakers list toured in 2008.” In fact, Madonna “only had the 50th-best-selling album in the country.” So…current sales really don’t matter. People are going to these big-production shows to hear the oldies. Seems obvious.

Of the Top 10, only the Jonas Brothers first charted within the last five years. The rest have been around since at least the dawn of the new millennium… There’s only a handful of post-millennial acts in the rest of the Top 20: Michael Buble, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West. Think any of them will be making this chart in 25 years? (Of course, people would’ve said the same thing about Madonna and Bon Jovi…)

See the rest of the Top 20 after the jump…

11. The Eagles: $61,132,213
12. Lil Wayne: $57,441,334
13. AC/DC: $56,505,296
14. Michael Buble: $50,257,364
15. Miley Cyrus: $48,920,806
16. Taylor Swift: $45,588,730
17. Journey: $44,787,328
18. Billy Joel: $44,581,010
19. Mary J. Blige: $43,472,850
20. Kanye West: $42,552,402