Beyoncé, Rihanna, And Jennifer Lopez Named In Forbes’ “Highest-Paid Women In Music”

It’s always nice to see people of color, especially black people, reach heights many feel we cannot achieve, so seeing Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez in the top 10 highest paid women in music in 2018 is a highlight for the music industry. 

Despite numbers, queens are always queens, and while Beyoncé topped the list in 2017 with $105 million, this year she came in third with $60 million. That number is coming mainly from her Coachella performance, and the joint album with husband Jay-Z. Their “OTR II” tour missed the eligible money-making period Forbes takes into consideration, but will be eligible for next year’s list.

Lopez comes in at number 6th with $47 million earned. some coming from music, but her being a judge on a top rated dance show, as well as acting, has helped add to Lopez’s already high established wealth.

The same can be said for Bajan beauty Rihanna, who came in right under Lopez in number 7 with $37.5 million earned. Not having released new music since 2016, Rihanna has made a lot of her music with her business ventures, like Fenty Beauty and her Savage Fenty lingerie line. She also starred in Ocean’s 8 earlier this year.

The list’s methodology is determined as followed. Figures are for pretax earnings from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018, before deducting fees for agents, managers, lawyers and estate executors. Sources include Nielsen SoundScan, NPD BookScan, insider interviews and Forbes estimates. Additional reporting by Natalie Robehmed and Rebecca Lerner.

Check out the full list below.

Full List

1. Katy Perry ($83 million)

2. Taylor Swift ($80 million)

3. Beyoncé ($60 million)

4. Pink ($52 million)

5. Lady Gaga ($50 million)

6. Jennifer Lopez ($47 million)

7. Rihanna ($37.5 million)

8. Helene Fischer ($32 million)

9. Celine Dion ($31 million)

10. Britney Spears ($30 million)