FORBES Names Beyoncé as 2017's Highest-Paid Woman in Music

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The World's Highest-Paid Women in Music 2017
by Zack O'Malley Greenburg , FORBES STAFF
Nov. 20, 2017






Shortly after Adele took home the Grammy award for Album of the Year in February, she broke it in half — with the intention of physically sharing it with Beyoncé, the internet concluded — in recognition of the latter's 'Lemonade'.

But Queen Bey won an even more valuable distinction outright: she's this year's highest-paid woman in music, pulling in a whopping $105 million pretax.

'Lemonade' was a hit with both critics and fans, giving Beyoncé her sixth solo No. 1. The ensuing Formation World Tour, much of it falling into our list's scoring period, grossed a quarter of a billion dollars. Then she took time off as she and husband Jay-Z welcomed twins Rumi and Sir this summer.





The Other 9:


2. Adele ($69 Million)

The superstar singer won the Grammy for Album of the Year — and promptly broke it in half to share with Beyonce — but these earnings are all hers.

Despite turning down millions of endorsement deals over the years, the belting Brit still cashes in on the road, grossing seven figures per stop on her first major tour since 2011.




3. Taylor Swift ($44 Million)

Her earnings are down from the peak of her '1989' tour, yet Swift still lands in the top three.

With the release of her new album, 'Reputation', — already the bestselling album of 2017 — which came after the end of our scoring period, look for Swift's total earnings to rise significantly in next year's accounting.




4. Celine Dion ($42 Million)

The legendary songstress resumed a Las Vegas residency last February after going on hiatus in the wake of her husband's death. She has also taken an eight month break to take care of him in 2014.

Dion is now back to playing some 70 gigs per year at Caesar's Palace, where she banked in $27 Million pretax in 2016 alone.




5. Jennifer Lopez ($38 Million)

Jenny has her new show on the block this year, "World of Dance", where she serves as judge and executive producer.

She still makes time for her own performances, raking in a six-figure nightly fee for her Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood, while adding to her bottom line with lucrative endorsement deals with the likes of L'Oreal.




6. Dolly Parton ($37 Million)

The queen of country may be 71-years-old, but she still tours with the rigor of stars half her age, grossing mid-six figures per city across 63 dates during our scoring period.

Thanks to those gigs and the income from her Dollywood theme park, she's also outearning whippersnappers like Rihanna and Katy Perry.




7. Rihanna ($36 Million)

The Barbados native makes the bulk of her bucks on the road, filling up arenas from Atlanta to Zurich this year.

She has also shown off her acting skills by appearing on "Bates Motel", and makes millions more by serving with brands, serving as Puma's creative director and shilling for Samsung. She launched her own cosmetic line this year, Fenty Beauty.




8. Britney Spears ($34 Million)

A decade removed from her public meltdown, the Toxic singer is anything, but aging into a lucrative Las Vegas residency that brings her six-figure nightly fees.

After taking a break to tour Asia this summer, her Piece of Me show is scheduled to wrap up at the end of 2017.




9. Katy Perry ($33 Million)

Though Perry didn't tour during our scoring period, she did release her new album 'Witness' and earned millions from endorsement deals with Cover Girl, Claire's and H&M.

Her upcoming gig on the "American Idol" reboot should pay her double-digit millions annually, and she's also cashing in on a new tour launched this fall.




10. Barbra Streisand ($30 Million)

A huge draw even at age 75, Streisand grossed $46 Million on her 14-show stint last year, adding to a career tour tally in the hundreds of millions.

Streisand is the only act in history to have a #1 album in six consecutive decades.

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