Music

Taylor Swift and Beyonce Top ‘Forbes’ List of the World’s Highest-Paid Women In Music

August 26, 2019

Taylor-Swift-Beyonce- Highest-Paid Female Singers forbes — Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock; Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

How did the “Me” singer land such a windfall? Much of her income comes from her Reputation stadium tour, which grossed a record $266 million in the United States, the magazine notes. Plus, she signed a nine-figure deal with Republic Records, announcing the move in November 2018.

Not included in the tally, however, are the sales figures from her new album, Lover, which should boost her standing on next year’s list. Coincidentally, Forbes predicts Lover will have Swift and Beyoncé tied for the most consecutive No. 1 albums, with six each.

Beyoncé, meanwhile, had a banner year, too. The “Spirit” singer earned hefty paychecks from her On the Run II stadium tour with husband Jay-Z and her Homecoming live album and Netflix special.

Even more coincidentally, the Forbes ranking comes close to the 10th anniversary of Kanye West crashing Swift’s 2009 VMAs acceptance speech to praise Beyoncé. At the time, Swift was just earning $18 million a year, and West was bringing in $25 million annually. Nowadays, the “I Love It” rapper is making $150 million per year, while Swift’s earnings have risen even more exponentially.

Also included in the Forbes’ top 10 are Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. “I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company,” Perry told the magazine in 2015. “I’m an entrepreneur. … I don’t want to shy away from it.”

Scroll down to see how these powerhouse performers and others rank in the mag’s top 10 — and how much they’ve earned from June 2018 to June 2019.

Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock; Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup/Shutterstock

Taylor Swift and Beyonce Top ‘Forbes’ List of the World’s Highest-Paid Women In Music

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé rule Forbes’ new list of the world’s highest-paid women in music, but the two pop stars are not exactly neck and neck: Swift raked in well more than twice what Beyoncé earned in pretax income from June 2018 to June 2019. How did the “Me” singer land such a windfall? Much of her income comes from her Reputation stadium tour, which grossed a record $266 million in the United States, the magazine notes. Plus, she signed a nine-figure deal with Republic Records, announcing the move in November 2018. Not included in the tally, however, are the sales figures from her new album, Lover, which should boost her standing on next year’s list. Coincidentally, Forbes predicts Lover will have Swift and Beyoncé tied for the most consecutive No. 1 albums, with six each. Beyoncé, meanwhile, had a banner year, too. The “Spirit” singer earned hefty paychecks from her On the Run II stadium tour with husband Jay-Z and her Homecoming live album and Netflix special. [jwplayer 84WWP6YO-l3ahXupL] Even more coincidentally, the Forbes ranking comes close to the 10th anniversary of Kanye West crashing Swift’s 2009 VMAs acceptance speech to praise Beyoncé. At the time, Swift was just earning $18 million a year, and West was bringing in $25 million annually. Nowadays, the “I Love It” rapper is making $150 million per year, while Swift’s earnings have risen even more exponentially. Also included in the Forbes’ top 10 are Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. "I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company," Perry told the magazine in 2015. “I’m an entrepreneur. … I don’t want to shy away from it.” Scroll down to see how these powerhouse performers and others rank in the mag’s top 10 — and how much they’ve earned from June 2018 to June 2019.