Taylor Swift, who was the first woman to pack Australian stadiums since Madonna, flogged her rivals to be music's top earner in 2013 according to US website Billboard.com's annual rich list.
Swift, now 24, made more than $44 million in 2013 based on Nielsen data and Billboard's own data — it runs the charts in the United States. More than $33 million of Swift's earnings came from ticket sales for the Red tour, which she brought here in December, last year. The rest came from physical album sales, downloads and streaming.
Swift's touring revenues were higher than any other artist on the planet, she was fifth highest earner on streaming royalties and sixth on downloads. She was downloaded 10 million times last year.
Sales of Swift's merchandise and her various sponsorships, (including Diet Coke, Elizabeth Arden and Keds, which are flat canvas shoes) were not counted in Billboard's estimates although the website estimated she would have earned at least an extra $11 million.
American country star Kenny Chesney was the second highest earner (but was $7.5 million behind Swift) with over $36 million income. The world's leading male slashie Justin Timberlake was next, then Bon Jovi and septuagenarian juggernaut, The Rolling Stones, rounded out the top five.
The top 10 was completed by Beyonce, Maroon 5, emerging country star Luke Bryan, Aussie favourite Pink and Fleetwood Mac.
Billboard's top 20 richest musicians (earnings in Australian dollars):
1- Taylor Swift $44,004,199
2- Kenny Chesney $36,529,685
3- Justin Timberlake $34,872,659
4- Bon Jovi $32,627,750
5- The Rolling Stones $29,067,924
6- Beyonce $27,079,741
7- Maroon 5 $24,702649
8- Luke Bryan $24,544,667
9- Pink $22,249,891
10- Fleetwood Mac $21,197,957
11- Justin Bieber $20,924,461
12- Bruno Mars $20,886,987
13- One Direction $19,999,176
14- Jason Aldean $19,836,051
15- George Strait $17,738 584
16- Jay-Z $17,349,620
17- Michael Buble $16,044,612
18- Mumford & Sons 15707869
19- Dave Matthews Band $15,441,645
20- Rihanna $15,288,096
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