Who is the highest-earning female musician?

It shouldn't come as a surprise. She not only rules the charts and award shows, but also reigns supreme when it comes to bringing in the most dough.

We are talking about Lady Gaga, who is rated the top-earning female musician by Forbes magazine. For your information, between May 2010 and May 2011, Mother Monster raked in a staggering $90 million. That's two times what country music darling Taylor Swift, who holds the second place, earned in the past year.

Most of Gaga's paychecks come from her concert sales. Forbes estimated that she takes in $1.3 million nightly gross while on tour. On top of that, her second studio album Born This Way, released in May, as well as lucrative endorsement deals with the likes of Polaroid and Virgin Mobile, help fatten up her purse, too.


Lady Gaga is the top-earning female musician in the past year.

Meanwhile, Swift, who just turned 22 two days ago, towers over the rest of her contemporaries - except Gaga - with an income of $45 million, with most of it coming from her tour (which brings in an estimated $1 million a night) and the sales of her last album, 2010's Speak Now.

Pop royalties like Katy Perry and Beyonce did not fare too badly either. Perry, 27, comes in at the third place with an earning of $44 million, while Beyonce follows behind with $35 million - less than what she usually raked in, however, according to the magazine.

Other singers making to the top ten list are Rihanna ($29 million), Pink ($22 million), Carrie Underwood ($20 million), Celine Dion ($19 million, the bulk of it coming from her Vegas show, with her being paid $2.3 million every night), Adele ($18 million).

Sharing the tenth place are pop princess Britney Spears ($10 million) and R&B star Alicia Keys ($10 million).