Police Break The Bank

The Police can thank me for making them the biggest money earners in the music world over the last year. After all, I bought four tickets to their show with Elvis Costello in Buffalo, N.Y. earlier this year.

But I guess a lot of other folks (about 3.7 million, to be a little more precise) are owed thanks, too, since The Police's lucrative worldwide reunion tour helped the trio earn $115 million U.S. from June 1, 2007 to June 1, 2008, according to financial magazine Forbes. The tour will soon make the British band even richer, with Universal's Nov. 11 release of the four-disc The Police: Certifiable.

The set includes two CDs of the group's concert at Buenos Aires, Argentina's Riverplate Stadium and two DVDs. One DVD features the 109-minute concert presented in wide-screen format with Dolby Surround and stereo sound. There's also a 50-minute, Jordan Copeland-directed documentary called Better Than Therapy that looks at the reunion and features interviews with Sting, Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers and members of their road crew. There are also two photo galleries from the tour, one shot by Summers and the other done by Danny Clinch.

There will also be a Blu-Ray version of the set and a three-LP vinyl version that comes with an insert for downloading MP3 files of the songs.

The Police: Certifiable was produced and directed by Ann Kim and Jim Gable, who've previously done film work for Sting, The Rolling Stones and Keith Urban.

OK, back to other wealthy singers and musicians.

Forbes compiled its list based on estimated tour earnings, record and merchandise sales, publishing royalties, endorsement deals and other sources. No one else hit triple-digits like The Police, but these people still shouldn't have to worry about long lineups at food banks:

Beyonce Knowles — $80 million
Toby Keith — $48 million
Justin Timberlake — $44 million
Madonna — $40 million
Celine Dion — $40 million
Rascal Flatts — $40 million
Van Halen — $35 million
Genesis — $31 million
Gwen Stefani — $27 million