Prince reigns over music money makers

Prince reclaimed his pop thronelast year, banking US$56.5 million ($81.5 million) to place him firmly at the top of Rolling Stone magazine's annual list of top earning music acts. "With US$90.3 million in ticket sales, Prince returned to centre stage," the magazine said. Prince also sold 1.9 million copies of his comeback album Musicology.

The mercurial pop star beat out another icon of the 1980s, Madonna, who banked US$54.9 million on the back of her Re-Invention Tour and American Life album.

Rounding off a 1-2-3 finish by the comeback kids was heavy metal band Metallica, whose Madly in Anger with the World tour helped to push their earnings up to US$43.1 million.