Which Female Musicians Are Earning The Biggest Paychecks?

According to Forbes, the bulk of Spears’ profits came from her tour in support of her platinum-certified seventh studio album, 2011’s Femme Fatale. The 31-year-old pop star and “X Factor” judge also brought in dough with endorsements and a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden.

Before we get to the rest of the list, let’s go over how the business magazine came up with these figures and exactly what time frame we’re analyzing.

Forbes’ numbers are a combination of “income from record sales, touring, endorsements, merchandise sales and other venues.” The totals include data from a little concert trade publication called Pollstar, RIAA and others as well as interviews with managers, lawyers and concert promoters. The earnings took place between May 2011 to May 2012, before taking into account management fees, legal costs and taxes.

Taylor Swift was right behind Brit-Brit with a total of $57 million. She did quite well out on the road, grossing over $1 million per night on tour. Her endorsements from brands including CoverGirl and Sony helped out too. Forbes points out that the country singer has more profits coming in thanks to her latest album. Red’s 1.2 million units sold during its opening week marks the best debut by any act in 10 years.

With a busy tour schedule, plenty of hit songs and endorsements with Vita Coco and Nivea, as well as fragrance Reb’l Fleur, Rihanna came in at No. 3 with $53 million.

At No. 4, Lady Gaga pulled in just one million short of RiRi. Her millions came from touring, record sales and her new fragrance called Fame.

Katy Perry earned $45 million during the May 2011-May 2012 timeframe, thanks in large part to her California Dreams Tour, which grossed nearly $60 million. Also notable is the album the tour takes its name from, which gave her five No. 1 singles. She ties with Michael Jackson for the most No. 1 singles per album.

Beyoncé is No. 6 with $40 million, which she made through “old hits and non-musical ventures like her House of Dereon clothing line.”

Adele earned her keep by selling over 23 million copies of her sophomore album, 21. The British singer came in at No. 7 with $35 million.

Sade’s tour, which included nearly 100 gigs during the May 2011-May 2012 timeframe, helped her place at No. 8 with $33 million.

Madonna would have been higher up on the list but her latest tour took place outside of Forbes’ scoring period. At No. 9, Madge brought in $30 million thanks to “a new record deal, endorsements, a shoe line, a fragrance and royalties.”

Shakira closes out the Top 10 with $20 million. All of that cash came from the winning formula of live shows, records sales and a new fragrance.

Oh, and as to why only eight of the women were included in Forbes’ recent list of the world’s 25 highest-paid musicians? The article says one reason is taking time out of the spotlight to start a family. Music attorney Lori Landew, who helped Spears sign her first record deal, told Forbes that when it comes to getting older, female musicians are often judged more harshly than males.