Katy Perry Beats Out Taylor Swift For World’s Highest-Paid Musician
Katy Perry may not have the mega-phenomenal success of Taylor Swift’s most recent album, 1989, but the pop singer did mange to top Swift in one very big category. On Forbes‘ Top 10 Highest-Paid Musicians of 2015 list, the “Roar” singer came in at the #1 spot, earning $135 million in 2015. This certainly isn’t a first for Katy Perry, as she made it to the top of the list of highest-paid musician in 2014 and is the highest-earning celebrity on planet Earth, thanks to her Prismatic World Tour.
31-year-old Katy Perry took a pretty significant leap in the rankings, starting out at the #23 position and skyrocketing to #1, when she began pulling in over $2 million per city during her Prismatic World Tour. The pop diva took to her Instagram to write a message for her fans regarding the Forbes list.
“Before accepting the offer to be on the cover of Forbes, I was told that a lot of women have previously shied away from doing it. I wondered if it was because they thought socially it would look like they were flaunting or bragging or it wasn’t a humble decision. Ladies, there is a difference between being humble and working hard to see the fruits of your labor blossom, and your dreams realized. Hopefully this cover can be an inspiration to women out there that it’s okay to be proud of hard earned success and that there is no shame in being a boss. Also… don’t think that I didn’t celebrate this moment by going straight to Taco Bell and getting my crunch wrap supreme.”
In an interview with Forbes that took place earlier this year, the “I Kissed A Girl” singer noted how much music and the industry itself has changed. “The record is that launching pad for all kinds of other creative branches,” she said. 25-year-old Taylor Swift came in at the #4 position earning $80 million for this year. However, while she did not come out on top this year, she most likely will top 2016 due to her 1989 Tour earning $4 million per city, twice what Katy Perry is earning per city. Swift and her boyfriend, DJ Calvin Harris, were the highest-earning musical couple this year — with Harris earning $66 million. Perry has had 13 Grammy nominations since 2009, but has never taken home an award, while Swift holds seven Grammys and recently received seven nods for her album 1989.
The two singers have had an alleged feud for a while now, having apparently started when a few of Swift’s backup dancers quit to go work for Katy Perry, reports TMZ. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Swift mentions some bad blood she has had with someone in the music industry, with many speculating that it was Perry, but Swift declined to say who it was.
“For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not. She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, ‘Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?’
“She did something so horrible. I was like, ‘Oh, we’re just straight-up enemies.’ And it wasn’t even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I’m surprisingly non-confrontational – you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It’s awkward, and I don’t like it.”
Read the top 10 highest-paid musicians list below, and click here for the Forbes list.
1. Katy Perry: $135 million
2. One Direction: $130 million
3. Garth Brooks: $90 million
4. Taylor Swift: $80 million
5. The Eagles: $73.5 million
6. Calvin Harris: $66 million
7. Justin Timberlake: $63.5 million
8. Diddy: $60 million
9. Fleetwood Mac: $59.5 million
10. Lady Gaga: $59 million
(Photo by Stefania D’Alessandro/Getty Images)
