Britney Spears Tops the 2012 List for Highet-Paid Female Singer

Forbes has reported that the X Factor judge Britney Spears has pulled in $58 million over the past year, more than any other woman in the music industry - beating out Rihanna and Taylor Swift. 

Britney's latest album, Femme Fatale, was certified platinum in the U.S. and she pulled in the most money while touring. Endorsements and a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden added millions more for Britney's wallet.

Check out the runner-ups below:

• #2 Taylor Swift earned $57 million. Taylor made over $1 million per night while touring on the road. She also earns big from endorsements from CoverGirl and Sony, and there’s more cash on the way: her latest album, Red, moved 1.2 million units its opening week this fall, the best debut by any artist since 2002.

• #3 Rihanna earned $53 million. In addition to a heavy touring schedule and an impressive string of hits including “Diamonds” and “We Found Love,” she cashes in on endorsements with Vita Coco and Nivea, as well as fragrance Reb’l Fleur.

• #4 Lady Gaga follows Rihanna closely, earning $52 million, she also boosted  money by touring, record sales and her new perfume, Fame.

• #5 Katy Perry earned $45 million. She's the only musician besides Michael Jackson to have five No. 1 singles from the same album and her California Dreams Tour grossed nearly $60 million!

Older stars such as Madonna made the list; earning $30 million despite the fact that none of the dates from her new tour fell into Forbes' scoring period.

New mom Beyonce also claimed a spot with $40 million; she’ll earn even more next year when her $50 million deal with Pepsi kicks in.

How Forbes formed their list:

They looked at income from record sales, touring, endorsements, merchandise sales and other ventures. The figures represent earnings from May 2011 to May 2012, before subtracting management fees, legal costs and taxes (which together can eat up the bulk of a big payday). The totals were compiled with the help of data from Pollstar, RIAA and others, in addition to interviews with managers, lawyers and concert promoters.

Read Forbes' entire article HERE.