Beyoncé tops Forbes list of highest-paid women in music

Queen B ruled over competition thanks to chart-topping album and world tour

Nov 21, 2017

Adele may have taken home the Grammy for “Album of the Year” back in February but Beyoncé totally got the last laugh.

Queen B won the title of the highest-paid woman in music this year by raking in $105 million before taxes.

Her album Lemonade was a massive success with both fans and critics lauding its praises. It was Bey’s sixth solo No. 1. Not to mention, the singer’s “Formation World Tour” grossed a quarter of a billion dollars.

–The Beyhive goes into frenzy over first photos of Beyonce’s Twins–

Adele came in second earning $69 million thanks in part to her seven-figure nightly grosses.

“Adele’s music appeals to listeners of all ages all over the world with her undeniably powerful, emotional vocal interpretations paired with timeless songwriting and production,” stated singer-songwriter Skylar Grey. “No matter what genre someone generally subscribes to, it’s hard to find a music lover who doesn’t appreciate what she does.”

The list was put together by looking at pretax income from June 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017 and did not take into account fees charged by lawyers, agents and managers. The data was gathered from Nielsen SoundScan, the RIAA, interviews with industry insiders as well as Pollstar.

Beyoncé and Adele earned tens of millions of dollars more than the other women in music.

Taylor Swift earned $44 million and came in at No. 3 which is down from her 1989 tour. Her earnings are expected to rise significantly with her new Reputation album, which came out this month.

While it’s great to see women doing so well in music it should still be noted that there are over twice as many men earning top dollar compared to women.