Musician And Record Producer Dr Dre
Dr Dre has been named top earner in music industry by Forbes REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (

Forbes has released its list of highest paid musicians for the year 2014, and topping the charts is Dr. Dre with estimated earnings of US$620 million.

Forbes has unveiled this list on Wednesday, which ranked 30 musicians for the year 2014. The American record producer and rapper has managed this stunt due to the $3 billion deal he struck with Apple in June.

The 49-year-old record producer is also the winner of six Grammy Awards, as well as recognised as one of Rolling Stone's 100 greatest artists of all times. The Compton native has seen phenomenal rise from the streets to the rap industry, then eventually becoming a music producer before founding his high-end, headphone and speaker producing company Beats.

After the successful deal with Apple, Dre is named as the only billionaire hailing from Compton. The earlier parts of his life had been shadowed by his image as a West Coast gangsta rapper. In the later years, this image somehow faded away, and he emerged as a successful business man and entrepreneur.

Not only did Dr. Dre top the chart, but his pay cheque for 2014 also ensured that the gap between himself and the second placer is the widest recorded to date. Los Angeles Times has called him the "first hip-hop billionaire," whose business sense ensured his success in the music industry.

Sitting on the second spot is Beyoncé, who has pocketed $115 million this year, followed by The Eagles with $100 million. They are closely followed by Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen with $82 million and $81 million, respectively.

Last year's topper Madonna could not be found anywhere on the top ten list. In addition, the big names in the pop music industry, such as Britney Spears, Avicii, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Birdman, are completely missing from the list as well. Also excluded from the top ten are Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Miley Cyrus, who are way down in the list at 30th, 24th and 26th positions, respectively, despite their popularity.