Taylor Swift was the world's highest earning music star on 2011, making $35.7 million.

The "Mine" hitmaker grossed $88 million in the US - which amounted to a personal fortune of $29.8 million - from her Speak Now Tour as well as touring across Asia and Europe, selling over 1.8 million albums and a further 7.8 single track downloads, and gaining income from song writing royalties.

Irish rockers U2 follow closely behind the 22-year-old beauty on the 2012 Billboard Money Makers List, with a fortune of $32.1 million, mainly drawn from their huge 360 Degrees shows, the highest-earning tour of 2011. The "Sweetest Thing" band grossed more than $293 million from 44 concerts throughout the three-year tour, which was watched by nearly three million people, and saw them beat a record set by The Rolling Stones for highest grossing tour ever, taking $763 million in total.

Kenny Chesney, Lady Gaga and hip-hop star Lil Wayne also made up the top five.

"Lollipop" hitmaker Wayne pulled in more than $23.1 million last year, while Sade, Bon Jovi and Adele - who has to curtail her touring commitments in October after suffering problems with her vocal cords - also made up the top 10.

2012 Billboard Money Makers list, Top 10:

1. Taylor Swift, $35,719,902
2. U2, $32,116,315
3. Kenny Chesney, $29,837,103
4. Lady Gaga, $25,353,039
5. Lil Wayne, $23,178,722
6. Sade, $16,382,809
7. Bon Jovi, $15,835,856
8. Celine Dion, $14,261,515
9. Jason Aldean, $13,409,011
10. Adele, $13,081,909