Taylor Swift tops Forbes’ highest-earning musicians list

Fulfilling her “Wildest Dreams,” Taylor Swift has climbed from fourth place to No. 1 on Forbes magazine’s annual list of highest-earning musicians, thanks largely to her $200 million-plus North American tour that broke a record held by The Rolling Stones.

The singer-songwriter, who turns 27 on Dec. 13, earned approximately $170 million in the year ending June 1, the magazine said, a figure that also makes her this year’s highest-paid celebrity of any type. In addition to music, Swift profited from endorsements for brands including Apple, Diet Coke and Keds.

Similarly to Swift, the boy band One Direction comes in at No. 2 on both the musicians’ list and this year’s overall celebrities’ list, with $110 million. While the four-member group is not touring, the last part of its more than $200 million “On the Road Again Tour” still earned enough to secure the runner-up spot for a second year in a row.

The next two acts each rejoin the list for the first time in three years: Adele, 28, hits No. 3 with $80.5 million from her new album and an arena tour; and Madonna, 58, ranks No. 4 with $76.5 million from her “Rebel Heart Tour” and clothing and perfume deals. Filling out the top five is Rihanna, 28, back after two years, with $75 million including from Dior, Puma, Samsung and Stance endorsements.

The 30-act list includes such enduring pop and rock performers as AC/DC at No. 7 ($67.5 million), The Rolling Stones at No. 8 ($66.5 million), Bruce Springsteen at No. 11 ($60.5 million), Paul McCartney at No. 12 ($56.5 million), U2 at No. 15 ($55 million) and Elton John at No. 24 ($42 million). The highest-earning hip-hop performer is Diddy at No. 10 ($62 million), and the top country act is Garth Brooks at No. 6 ($70 million)

To compile the list, Forbes looked at pretax income from concerts, record sales, publishing, endorsements and other business ventures, using data from Nielsen SoundScan, Pollstar and RIAA, and information from industry sources.