Taylor Swift crushed the competition this year to become the highest paid musician of the past year, according to Billboard‘s Top Money Makers List.
The 22-year old pop star made the majority of her earnings from her 6-month US “Red” tour, taking in an estimated $30M according to Billboard Boxscore. Swift’s album sales were eighth amidst all others’ on the Billboard‘s Money Makers. With nearly 10 million downloads sold, she reigned queen of country music.
Another country star, Kenny Chesney, was right behind Swift with just under $33M. He racked up most of his profit thanks to his seventh Billboard 200-chart topper and No Shoes Nation tour. Following close behind was Justin Timberlake who had a massive comeback in 2013 with “The 20/20 Experience” album and tour.
Artists in the Billboard Money Makers list are ranked by U.S.ratings, calculations from touring, music sales, royalties, and revenue from digital music and video streaming.
Top 10 Earners
- Taylor Swift, $39.7M
- Kenny Chesney, $33M
- Justin Timberlake, $31.4M
- Bon Jovi, $29.4M
- The Rolling Stones, $26.2M
- Beyonce, $24.4M
- Maroon 5, $22.3M
- Luke Bryan, $22.1M
- Pink, $20M
- Fleetwood Mac, $19.1M
