Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Madonna was the music industry’s biggest moneymaker last year, pulling in $242.2 million on the success of her “Sticky & Sweet” tour, according to annual rankings by Billboard Magazine.

Rock band Bon Jovi ranked second with $157.2 million and Bruce Springsteen was third after making $156.3 million, according to Billboard, the music magazine owned by Nielsen Co. The rankings are based on sales from touring, albums, digital tracks and ring tones.

Touring is the cash driver in the music business as album sales decline, said Rob Levine, Billboard’s executive editor. The top five artists, a list rounded out by The Police’s $110 million and Celine Dion’s $99.2 million, were also the year’s top-selling tours, he said.

“People call the music business the record business, but it’s not,” Levine said in an interview. “Touring revenue drives the train here. For artists, recorded music sales have become almost extra income.”

In 2007, Madonna signed a 10-year deal with Live Nation Inc. in which the pop star was reportedly given a $120 million advance. In exchange, Beverly Hills, California-based Live Nation gets a percentage of the revenue generated from album sales, touring, videos, merchandise and other projects. Live Nation this week agreed to merge with Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc.

The top 10 was rounded out with country star Kenny Chesney’s $90.8 million, Neil Diamond’s $82.2 million, Rascal Flatts’s $63.5 million, the Jonas Brothers’ $62.6 million and Coldplay’s $62.2 million.

Top 20 Moneymakers in Music

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
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

Source: Billboard

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Satariano in San Francisco at asatariano1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 12, 2009 15:31 EST