Forbes Magazine released their list of the highest paid country stars, and unexpectedly, Toby Keith beat out Taylor Swift for the No. 1 spot. Forbes spoke with agents, managers, publishers, lawyers and others to come up with estimates in order to form their list.
According to the magazine, Keith earned the spot partly due to his sponsorship deal with Ford, now in its 10th year. He also owns the I Love This Bar & Grill restaurants and a Mezcal drink, Wild Shots.
Keith earned $50 million between May 2010 and May 2011, and Swift came in second with $45 million. Swift earned most of her money from tours, along with several endorsement deals.
Brad Paisley landed third place with $40 million. He endorses Chevy and Sea Ray, and he also has his own publishing company, Sea Gayle Music.
The rest of the list is as follows:
4. Tim McGraw, who appears in films such as “Country Strong” and has a line of best-selling colognes.
5. Rascal Flatts, who earned $34 million. The trio has few sponsorship deals, so they rely mainly on tours, merchandise sales and royalties.
6. Kenny Chesney, who earned $30 million. Chesney appears lower on the list this year because he did fewer shows than usual in the last year.
7. George Strait. His $24 million came from performing more than 30 shows over the year.
8. Alan Jackson: $22 million.
9. Carrie Underwood: $20 million.
10. Sugarland: $18 million.
Source: CountryStandardTime.com
