Billboard Reveals “Music’s Top 40 Money Makers”

Billboard has released their list of “Music’s Top 40 Money Makers” and you will never believe who made more than this year’s Grammy golden girl Adele and mother monster herself, Lady Gaga!

Taylor Swift tops the music magazine’s list ranking in an astonishing 35 million bucks for herself! That can buy a lot of oxford shoes and dresses at Anthropologie.

The list of 40 artists, along with Swift, Adele and Gaga; also includes U2, Kenney Chesney, Lil Wayne, Sade, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, and Jason Aldean to round out the top 10.

The list is based on touring revenue, album sales, digital album sales and royalties (air play). According to Billboard’s research touring was overall the biggest source of income for our favorite artists in 2011. Taylor’s Speak Now Tour earned the “Mean” singer 88.5 million in the US alone. Being the nice girl can get you to the top.

Guess the moral of the story is although there are ways to get an album without paying for it, fans will still flock to clubs, arenas and stadiums to see their favorite acts perform live. I know I do as much as possible.

Who are you surprised to see on the list?