Taylor Swift named richest female musician

Taylor Swift has been named the richest female musician in the world. Credit: Reuters

Taylor Swift has been named the richest female musician in Forbes' Highest-Paid Women in Music list for 2016.

The 26-year-old US pop star earned $170 million (£137.8 million) between June 2015 and June 2016, more than double second place Adele.

The British singer shouldn't be too disappointed - the Londoner pocketed an estimated $80.5 million (£65.2 million) in the same twelve month period.

Ms Swift's massive payday is largely thanks to her 1989 world tour, which raked in a quarter of a billion dollars, $200 million (£162.5 million) of which was made in the US alone.

The Shake It Off singer also has several lucrative endorsement deals with Diet Coke, Apple and Keds.

Forbes' media and entertainment editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg said: "Taylor has completely overtaken everyone on our list due to the phenomenal success of her 1989 World Tour.

Adele came second in Forbes' Richest Women in Music list. Credit: Reuters

"She played nearly twice as many dates as competitors like Adele and Rihanna during our scoring period, and managed to fill stadiums - the largest type of building one can play - throughout lucrative North American markets and beyond."

He explained: "Touring is where music's top moneymakers generally score the bulk of their bucks, and Taylor is the prime example."

Adele is one of the few musicians whose earnings largely come from album sales.

The 28-year-old Grammy and Oscar winner's latest album 25 has been a huge global hit with her current world tour adding to her overall takings.

Last year's number one Katy Perry landed in sixth place. Credit: PA Wire

Madonna came in third place with annual earnings of $76.5 million (£62 million) while Rihanna was close behind having, making $75 million (£60.8 million) within the same time frame.

Last year's number one Katy Perry only made sixth place this year after her Prismatic World Tour came to an end in October 2015.

Forbes compiled the list by estimating the pre-tax income of personalities from June 1 2015 through to June 1 2016 from a several sources, including data from Pollstar, Nielsen and the Recording Industry Association of America, as well as interviews with managers, lawyers and some of the stars themselves.

The full list of top-earning female musicians for 2016