Taylor Swift Is The Top Money Maker Of 2011 For ‘Billboard’

Billboard revealed their annual list of the top money-makers in music, and though country artists filled 11 of the 40 slots, there was one country singer to rule them all: Taylor Swift, who topped the list with earnings of $35.7 million 2011. (That’s 17% more than the take-home pay of last year’s top earner, Lady Gaga.) Not only did the “Safe & Sound” songbird earn nearly $30 million from her hugely successful world tour, her album of the same name sold 1.8 million units — and let’s not forget about all those songwriting royalties, as Swift wrote every single song on Speak Now. Jump below to check out the Top 10.

Artists’ rankings were based on US income sources from tours, albums sales and publishing royalties. Billboard noted that “sponsorships, merchandise sales or synchronization deals” did not factor into their rankings.

Since Taylor is planning to take the year off to write (and, hopefully, relax), who do you think will top next year’s list?

Billboard‘s Top Money-Makers Of 2011

1. Taylor Swift, $35.7 million 2. U2, $32.1 million 3. Kenny Chesney, $29.8 million 4. Lady Gaga, $25.3 million 5. Lil Wayne, $23.1 million 6. Bon Jovi, $19.8 million 7. Sade, $16.3 million 8. Celine Dion, $14.2 million 9. Jason Aldean, $13.4 million 10. Adele, $13 million

[Via Billboard]