Taylor Swift tops Billboard’s ’Money Makers’ list

Touring continues to be the main source of income for musicians, as Taylor Swift tops Billboard’s Money Makers list, which calculates US earnings for 2013.

Swift beat out big ticket names such as Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones, earning just short of $US40m throughout 2013, propelled by revenue from her Red tour, which saw her take in an estimated $US30 million.

Trailing Swift were country superstar Kenny Chesney, with earnings of $US33m; Justin Timberlake, whose two-million-selling 20/20 Experience record, and Legends of The Summer tour with Jay-Z saw him earn $US31.5m; and Bon Jovi, who netted $US29.4m - the group’s Because We Can tour was the highest grossing international jaunt of 2013.

The artists in the list may have actually earned substantially more than these figures; due to a lack of accurate data, earnings from sponsorship deals, merchandise sales and sync deals were not factored in.

The top ten earners are below, the full list of 40 is here.

1. Taylor Swift, $39,699,575.60
2. Kenny Chesney, $32,956,240.70
3. Justin Timberlake, $31,463,297.03
4. Bon Jovi, $29,436,801.04
5. The Rolling Stones, $26,225,121.71
6. Beyonce, $24,429,176.86
7. Maroon 5, $22,284,754.07
8. Luke Bryan, $22,142,235.98
9. Pink, $20,072,072.32
10. Fleetwood Mac, $19,123,101.98