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Next round’s on Taylor Swift: She’s the world’s highest-paid musician

Taylor Swift is the world's highest-paid musician for 2016, according to Forbes' new list.
(Mike Nelson / EPA)
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Taylor Swift is doing something right. A lot of things, actually: She’s No. 1 on Forbes’ 2016 list of the highest-paid musicians in the world.

Her $170-million take, earned primarily through her recent world tour and various endorsements, also made her the top-earning celebrity back in June, the magazine said. Yes, out of all the world’s celebrities who make money in all the celebrity-type ways, she is the earning-est one in the bunch.

Mind you, Ms. Swift is a mere 26 years old.

Shave off a few years and we find One Direction firmly in the No. 2 spot on those two lists, earning $110 million for the year, largely off the strength of a world tour that ended in late 2015, a few months after the magazine started tracking its 2016 tally.

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Hmm. Is that money still split five ways, or is it only four these days? Zayn Malik quit the group in March 2015, a couple of months before Forbes’ 2016 tally began.That said, the band as a whole is looking at a couple more mouths to feed, as Louis Tomlinson welcomed a son in January and Liam Payne has a baby on the way with singer Cheryl Cole.

Hey, kids are expensive.

Female musicians round out the top five, with No. 3 Adele at $80.5 million, No. 4 Madonna at $76.5 million and No. 5 Rihanna at $75 million.

In the living-well-is-the-best-revenge category, DJ and Swift ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris clocks in at No. 9 with an estimated $63-million haul. Alas, while she’s up $90 million over her 2015 number, he’s a few million under his.

And we are pleased to report that this isn’t just a young person’s game. Madonna, Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and AC/DC all made the grade, all logging from $40.5 million (that’s from Mr. “Margaritaville”) to $67.5 million (the “Back in Black” boys).

Forbes’ list, which was released Wednesday, logs the world’s top 30 highest-earning musicians. The magazine tallies pretax income from June 1, 2015, to June 1, 2016, before deducting management fees.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ.

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