Taylor Swift proved she is a pop force to be reckoned with after topping a list of highest-earning musicians in 2015. The Shake it Off singer rose from number 15 to number one on the Billboard Money-Makers list, which takes into account sales, streaming, publishing and touring.
Although Adele sold more than double the amount of albums as Taylor, it was touring that was the key to the 26-year-old's earnings. Taylor is estimated to have earned a staggering £42.8million in revenue from her 1989 world tour, which saw her joined on stage by a number of celebrity friends including Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Selena Gomez.
© Photo: Getty ImagesMusic sales accounted for just shy of £500,000 worth of Taylor's £51million revenue in 2015, while Adele reportedly earned over £11million in the US for her long awaited album 25.
However the Hello singer didn't embark on her world tour until March, so she is yet to see the boost in revenue that Taylor experienced from her live shows and sits at number nine in Billboard's list.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJoining Taylor and Adele in the top ten are country musician Kenny Chesney (£27.6m revenue), The Rolling Stones (£27.5m) and Billy Joel (£22m). One Direction took fifth place after earning an estimated £13.6million on the US leg of their On the Road Again tour alone.
Taylor has enjoyed stratospheric success following the release of her album 1989 in 2014, and combined with her boyfriend Calvin Harris, she is one half of the biggest power couple in the music industry. Just months after they started dating Taylor and Calvin dethroned Beyoncé and Jay Z to be declared the highest earning duo in the world by Forbes.
