Billboard's list of the highest-paid musicians arrived in March, and it's no shocker that seven-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift is sitting pretty. She comes in at No. 1 with $39,699,575.60 for 2013. According to Billboard, it forms the list by ranking the artist's U.S. earnings, which are calculated from touring, recorded-music sales, publishing royalties and revenue from digital music and video streaming. Here are the rest of the Top 10.
Country music is clearly doing well, as Kenny Chesney occupies the No. 2 spot with $32,956,240.70 in earnings.
Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience" helps him see clearly to the No. 3 position with $31,463,297.03 in 2013.
The group Bon Jovi released a new album in 2013 and made $29,436,801.04, placing them at No. 4.
The Rolling Stones clock in at No. 5 with 2013 earnings of $26,225,121.71.
At No. 6, Beyonce had a nearly "Flawless" year with her surprise album release and $24,429,176.86 in earnings.
Maroon 5 may have been helped by front man Adam Levine's gig as a judge on "The Voice." The band raked in $22,284,754.07 to place them in the No. 7 slot.
Nashville star Luke Bryan saw his 2013 earnings swell to $22,142,235.98, so he grabs the No. 8 position.
Fleetwood Mac's reunion means $19,123,101.98 in 2013 earnings and the final spot in the Top 10 list.
- Taylor Swift's next album will be "blatant pop"
- The singer said she set out in that direction intentionally
- Along with a change in genre comes a change in songwriting focus
(CNN) -- In October, Taylor Swift's transition to pop music will be complete.
The 24-year-old singer/songwriter has long had one foot in country and the other in pop, sometimes to the chagrin of country fans. But with her fifth studio album, the October 27 release "1989," Swift has eliminated her twang altogether.
"At a certain point," she told Rolling Stone in its new issue, "if you chase two rabbits, you lose them both."
Instead, she's taken inspiration from '80s pop acts like Madonna, Phil Collins and Annie Lennox, and turned to producers and musicians like Max Martin and Fun.'s Jack Antonoff to help her shape what she calls her "blatant pop" sound.
Along with her change in tune has come other shifts in Swift's life: She's moved to New York, has focused more on her friendships and has backed off dating (at least for now). Where past Swift albums could fuel gossip for weeks over which song may be about which ex-boyfriend, "1989" has a different vibe. It's not as "boy-centric" as past releases, Swift explained -- basically because there haven't been any boys.
"I feel like watching my dating life has become a bit of a national pastime, and I'm just not comfortable providing that kind of entertainment anymore," Swift told Rolling Stone. "I don't like seeing slide shows of guys I've apparently dated. I don't like giving comedians the opportunity to make jokes about me at awards shows. I don't like it when headlines read 'Careful, Bro, She'll Write a Song About You,' because it trivializes my work. And most of all, I don't like how all these factors add up to build the pressure so high in a new relationship that it gets snuffed out before it even has a chance to start. And so, I just don't date."
Don't feel sorry for her, as Swift presumed readers might; there's plenty that she "really like(s) about my life right now."
"I have friends around me all the time. I've started painting more," Swift said. "I've been working out a lot. I've started to really take pride in being strong."
That strength was evident in her push to have "1989" made in the way she envisioned. When Swift turned the album in to the head of her record label, she was told that it was "extraordinary" and the best she's ever done but also in need of a few country songs.
Swift held her ground.
"Love you," she recalled responding. "But this is how it's going to be."
