Berks County native Taylor Swift had this year's biggest gain when it comes to yearly earnings by country music stars. But her estimated $45 million take still only puts her tied for third among the genre's biggest earners for the year, according to Forbes Magazine.
Kenny Chesney topped the list for the second straight year with an estimated $50 million, and Toby Keith finished second -- up from third last year -- with
$48 million, Forbes reported.
Swift was by far the most financially successful female artist, earning 31/2 times the $13 million of her closest competitor, Carrie Underwood, at No. 10. They were the only females in the Top 10.
Swift is top female earner for the second year in a row. She made $18 million last year, when she ranked fourth. She tied this year with Rascal Flatts, who is down from No. 2 and $60 million last year.
The Top 10 artists' earnings were up this year overall. The $18 million that ranked Swift fourth last year would have ranked her No. 9 this year.
Forbes' list is based on gross concert box office receipts, merchandise revenue, album sales, publishing royalties and endorsement or licensing deals from June 2009 to June 2010.
Swift was the most-played artist on the radio in 2009, but most of her winnings came from 100 live shows in the past 12 months, which netted her $30 million, Forbes says.
Her ''Fearless'' album also topped the 2009 sales charts, selling 3.2 million copies, and 12 million more of her tracks were downloaded.
She also had large endorsement deals with Sony and CoverGirl, Forbes said.
Chesney's take was largely from a tour that grossed a top average of $1.6 million a night. The next-highest nightly gross was Keith Urban, who got $700,000 a show. He will play Allentown Fair on Sept. 3.
Urban earned an estimated $28 million to finish at No. 6 this year.
Tim McGraw, at No. 5 with $30 million, and Brad Paisley, No. 8 with $22 million, both played Allentown Fair last year.
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