INSIGHTS
- Two of the richest musicians or music groups that don't have global fame are Herb Alpert and the rock band Grizzly Bear.
FINDINGS
Below are ten of the richest musicians who are not globally famous. This research indicates that there are quite a few artists who have been able to gain a significant following and build sizable fortunes by connecting with fans via the Internet, using sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more.
1) Herb Alpert is an American musician who is worth approximately $850 million. He is a recording industry executive, but he has also sold 72 million records worldwide.
2) Rock band Grizzly Bear is worth an estimated $135 million. The group has released four albums and has toured on and off since its founding in 2002. The members reunited in 2014 and produced their most recent album, titled Shields.
3) Daniel O'Donnell is an Irish singer and television personality with an estimated net worth of $20 million. While O'Donnell has reached some level of fame in the UK and in Ireland, he is not globally famous. He has sold more than 10 million records worldwide.
4) Enya is another Irish singer and songwriter. Her net worth is estimated at $140 million, and she has made her fortune through album sales, television appearances, and writing music for soundtracks for movies and TV. While she is no longer famous in today's popular culture, Enya experienced global fame in the late 1990's and early 2000's. She has four Grammys.
5) James Bay is an English singer and songwriter who is worth an estimated $8 million. Bay got his start after a fan uploaded a video of him to YouTube. He was nominated for 3 Grammy awards in 2016 and won Best British Male Solo Artist in 2016.
6) Tori Kelly is an American singer and songwriter worth around $3 million. She gained a following by posting videos on YouTube. She currently has more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube and her videos have more than 90 million views.
7) Shawn Mendes is another singer who gained a following through social media, this time through the now-defunct Vine. Mendes released an album in 2015 and has toured 3 times since then. He also makes money through sponsorships and merchandise sales via his website and is currently worth an estimated $3 million.
8) Pentatonix is an a cappella group from Arlington, Texas with an estimated net worth of $6 million. The group has sold 6 million albums in the United States and has nearly 13 million YouTube subscribers.
9) Tokio Hotel is a German rock band whose members collectively have a net worth of nearly $100 million. While they are not well known in the United States, the band has a large following in Latin America, Asia, and Europe.
10) Andrew Lloyd Webber made his fortune (nearly $1.2 billion) as a composer of musical theatre. He has composed 13 musicals and owns one of the largest theatre operators in London.
CONCLUSION
There are several musicians who have made a large (or relatively large) fortune without experiencing worldwide fame. Some of these musicians appear to be gaining fame in the United States, while others are famous in other countries but remain relatively unknown in the United States. Still others are famous in niche markets and unknown outside of their specific circles.