Taylor Swift tops Billboard's highest-paid musicians of 2020 list

21 July 2021

Taylor Swift has topped Billboard's highest-paid musicians of 2020 list.

Taylor Swift

Following a year with a lack of live shows due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 31-year-old superstar singer returned to the US Money Makers list with an estimated $23.8 million, but it is a decrease from the $99.6 million when she was last on the list in 2018.

Taylor's latest chart-topping comes despite the 'Fearless' hitmaker not making anything from concert revenue due to the global health crisis.

It's the first time in the history of Money Makers that touring incoming hasn't contributed to a top spot.

For her place at the summit, Billboard estimates Taylor made $10.6 million from streaming, $10 million from sales and $3.2 million from publishing.

She narrowly pipped Post Malone to first spot by $600,000, after he is said to have raked in $23.2 million.

That was largely down to his $12.4 million from touring, after he managed to sneak in some shows - including a sold-out gig in Denver on March 12th 2020 - before the world shut down as a result of coronavirus.

The 26-year-old rapper is also said to have made $8.1 million from streaming.

As fans were forced to stay at home for much of 2020, royalties for artist streaming increased by 82 per cent last year compared to the Money Makers 2019 list, from $106 million to $193 million.

Celine Dion's $17 million touring income played a huge part in her making it to third on the list with $17.5 million, and Eagles' $11.4 million touring revenue also had a big hand in their fourth place with $16.3 million.

Rounding off the top five, Billie Eilish was up there with $14.7 million after streaming and publishing earned her $5.9 million and $5.7 million respectively.

Other stars who made up the top 10 include Drake, who, like Taylor, received nothing from ticket sales but still banked a healthy $14.2 million, and Queen didn't rely on any concert venue for their $13.2 million.

Nor did The Beatles, unsurprisingly, but the Fab Four still managed to rake in $12.9 million, largely thanks to $5.2 million from sales and $5.1 million from streaming, proving Beatlemania is very much alive and well.

YoungBoy Never Broke Again ($11.9 million) and Lil Baby ($11.7 million) complete the top 10, while The Weeknd just missed out in 11th with $10.4 million.

AC/DC ($10.1 million), Eminem ($9.7 million), and Metallica (£9 million) were among those in the top 20.

Top 20 of Billboard's US Money Makers - The Top Paid Musicians of 2020:

1. Taylor Swift: $23.8 million

2. Post Malone: $23.2 million

3. Céline Dion: $17.5 million

4. Eagles: $16.3 million

5. Billie Eilish: $14.7 million

6. Drake: $14.2 million

7. Queen: $13.2 million

8. The Beatles: $12.9 million

9. YoungBoy Never Broke Again: $11.9 million

10. Lil Baby: $11.7 million