Forbes magazine has recently released its list of the ‘Top earning women in music’. While your profession may have nothing to do with the music industry, you can see where your favorite diva falls in this list.
Beyoncé and Taylor Swift
At the top of the list is Beyoncé Knowles. The superstar singer raked in a whopping $115 million in 2014. In order for the queen bee to achieve this, she performed at a whopping 95 shows plus received income resulting from endorsement deals.
Coming in at number two is no other than the lovely country rock singer, Taylor Swift. She reached the highest mark in her career thus far when she bagged a total of $64 million. Her recently released album is set to be the year’s biggest seller. Her cash earnings mainly came from her records, live shows and endorsement deals with huge companies such as Coca Cola.
Pink and Rihanna
At number three, we have Pink. She may not share the same name and brand recognition as Beyoncé and Swift, but she still manages to add huge chunks of money to her bank account. During our time frame, Pink performed in 85 shows and enjoyed a gross income of close to $1 million per city. Her recorded income stands firmly at $52 million.
At number four, we have our most adored modern pop diva, Rihanna. She has made several radio hits and done collaborations with the likes of Jay-z and Calvin Harris. She boasts a broad fan base as she has over 30 million followers on Twitter and is just a few figures shy of 100 million likes on Facebook. In 2014, Bad Girl Riri raked in a whopping $48 million.
Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez
From June 2013 to June 2014, our number five, Katy Perry, raked in a total of $40 million from just 20 public gigs. The pop star gains more from endorsing brands such as CoverGirl. She also makes money off her designer fragrance, Killer Queen. In addition, Miss Katy also gains quite a bit from performing at private events.
The American show ‘American Idol’ had been receiving poor ratings, so they decided to offer Jennifer Lopez another run as judge. She used it as a platform to launch her new album, and she also performed in Pitbull’s official World Cup song for 2014. She sits at number six among the top earning women in the music industry.
Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion and Lady Gaga
From a young, exciting and adorable Hannah Montana to twerking during her performance at the MTV Music Awards, at number seven we have Miley Cyrus. The media attention she has attracted has greatly helped her latest album, which has gone platinum. She also receives large bonuses from her endorsements and her tours. She raked in a total of $36 million tying with the experienced Céline Dion.
At number nine, there is a surprising decline in revenue income from Lady Gaga. In 2011, she brought home a whopping $90 million from her album sales. Her current album, Artpop, has failed to have the same impact that her ‘Monster’ album had on fans, though she is still voted as one of the most influential musicians. Given her age, 28, she still has enough time to leap back to the top post. Lady Gaga’s total earnings were $33 million by June 2014.
Britney Spears
To sum up the ‘Top Earning Women in Music’ list, we have Britney Spears at number ten. Her latest album was not credited with any certification in the United States, though she keeps the banknotes rolling through her Las Vegas residency that is rumored to be paying her half a million dollars per show. Britney’s gross income is $20 million. There is an additional number of female musicians who were able to rake in double digit millions who did not make the top ten, and some of them are Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Miranda Lambert.
