A large part of her earnings come from sales of that album - it alone sold 1.8 million copies - and her other recordings, from touring and from the royalties she receives from the many songs she's written. Last year she was 6th in earnings.
Lady Gaga lead in 2010 but this time around fell all the way to 4th place, with $25 million in earnings. That is, of course, a massive amount of money but her being that far down might be a surprise given that she released 'Born This Way' in 2011, and toured extensively.
Billboard: top 10 musical money makers
Coming in second overall on the
Billboard list for 2011 was Irish band U2 with $32 million while another country singer, Kenny Chesney, was third with $29 million in total earnings. After Lady Gaga in fourth was Lil Wayne in fifth with $23 million.
The rest of the top ten are, from 6th through 10th, Sade, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Jason Aldean and Adele (making it despite cancelling live dates due to vocal surgery).
Every year it seems there are names you might think would be ranked lower - Celine Dion still in the top ten? - and others you might think would be higher. An example of a name you might think would finish higher is mega popstar Justin Bieber; the newly turned 18-year-old had a monster 2010, earning $22 million and finishing fifth in the list, while this year he finished 35th after earning, by comparison, a paltry $5 million.
It's the sixth time Billboard has published the list.
