These Singers Made the Most Money This Year

Pop music has faced an unprecedented pandemic year, but show business' summit has managed to remain a money-making machine.

Despite minimal revenue earned from touring due to the COVID-19, A-list singers continue to earn extraordinary sums thanks to streaming sales.

Billboard's 2020 rankings reportedly include income from live shows, music sales and other business ventures, while deductions associated with agents, managers and legal fees are also considered.

Read on to learn whether your favorite solo pop singer has earned record revenue in recent months.

20. Kanye West ($6.3 million)

With the promised release of his highly anticipated Donda album not materializing in 2020, Kanye West dropped only one song in this year.

However, this Nah Nah Nah track still resulted in 2.6 billion combined streams, while his 10th-anniversary vinyl release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy also drove significant sales.

19. Blake Shelton ($6.7 million)

Blake Shelton has enjoyed an enduring appeal on combined streaming services rare among other country music singer-songwriters.

Another factor that has propelled him into the top 20 earners is his lucrative role as a coach on The Voice.

18. George Strait ($6.9 million)

George Strait was well-placed to earn a reported several million dollars from touring and Las Vegas shows before the pandemic really began to bite.

And his approximate 1.6 billion combined streaming views helped cement his impressive position among the top 20 earning singers.

17. Rod Wave ($7.37 million)

Rapper and singer-songwriter Rod Wave has earned rave reviews for his R&B-infused hip-hop since he burst onto the scene in 2019.

His income is all the more impressive as the singer earned nothing from physical sales or touring, meaning Rod Wave has relied upon his robust video streams for his high Billboard ranking.

16. Roddy Ricch ($7.4 million)

Lauded among music critics as one of 2020's artists to watch, Roddy Ricch also proved a commercial success.

His debut album, Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial featured the hit single, "The Box", which spent 11 weeks straight at the Hot 100's apex.

15. Ariana Grande ($7.5 million)

With no revenue earned from touring in 2020, Ariana Grande fell several positions from her Number 2 position last year.

However, the pop singer still made millions from her critically-acclaimed fourth-quarter album Positions.

14. Future ($8.2 million)

The prolific gravel-voiced rapper and singer made another milestone in 2020, following the release of his seventh studio album High Off Life.

Despite making minimal royalties from sales and nothing at all from tours, this secured Future with approximately 4.4 billion combined streams.

13. Bad Bunny ($8.4 million)

Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny is known for creating commercially popular yet genre-blurring music.

The star released a trio of albums in 2020, the most successful of which, YHLQMDLG, became Spotify's most globally streamed album of the year.

12. DaBaby ($9.1 million)

Controversial rapper and singer DaBaby dropped his third studio album, Blame It on Baby, in April 2020, which immediately flew into the Billboard 200.

Its lead single Rockstar, featuring Roddy Ricch, sat at No. 1 in the Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks, helping the star celebrate a highly lucrative year.

11. Luke Combs ($9.2 million)

Taylor Swift aside, Luke Combs is the country singer-songwriter who has enjoyed the most lucrative 2020.

His most successful year to date is mainly due to the deluxe release of his 2019 album What You See Is What You Get, which smashed his own record for the largest streaming week for a country music LP.

10. Lil Uzi Vert ($9.5 million)

Rapper and singer-songwriter Lil Uzi Vert has witnessed a phenomenally successful 12 months, following the release of his Eternal Atake album.

This resulted in the star becoming only the third artist ever to simultaneously chart 20 songs on the Hot 100 and earn millions from streaming in the process.

9. Eminem ($9.7 million)

Hip-hop legend Eminem released two albums in 2020, Music To Be Murdered By accompanied by a deluxe version, Side B.

And in addition to directly driving stream sales, the accompanying long-format videos also saw the chart stalwart earn millions.

8. The Weeknd ($10.4 million)

Despite the controversy over his perceived snub at the Grammy's, The Weeknd enjoyed a particularly lucrative year in terms of money made.

In addition to performing well in terms of streaming, the Canadian singer also proved popular in both album and individual track download sales.

7. Lil Baby ($11.7 million)

American rapper Lil Baby has enjoyed continued dominance in terms of streaming sales.

The star's breakthrough year in terms of commercial success was achieved by his My Turn LP, which landed 12 songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2020.

6. YoungBoy Never Broke Again ($11.9 million)

Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, better known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again, has enjoyed a phenomenally successful year, primarily due to his prodigious number of streams.

The "White Teeth" rapper's figures were mainly driven ranked by being ranked Number 1 by Billboard in video streams.

5. Drake ($14.2 million)

Canadian superstar Drake's commercial golden touch shows no signs of disappearing, despite zero royalties made from touring.

Drizzy remains the top overall streaming artist for a second consecutive year with a reported eight billion streams, after combining on-demand video and web radio streams.

4. Billie Eilish ($14.7 million)

Teen singer-songwriter sensation Billie Eilish made millions in streaming and publishing royalties.

And the pop starlet has also performed well in many other metrics, particularly in music videos and physical sales.

3. Céline Dion ($17.5 million)

The Canadian queen of the power ballad grossed millions from scores of live shows before the global pandemic pressed pause on concerts.

This left the established pop songstress way ahead of most of her fellow top 20 combined in terms of touring revenue generated.

2. Post Malone ($23.2 million)

American rapper and singer Post Malone's impressive position near the summit of Billboard's ranking is perhaps due to his pre-lockdown tour.

The artist behind the Beerbongs & Bentleys album also reportedly performed well in terms of streaming royalties.

1. Taylor Swift ($23.8 million)

Despite being no stranger to chart topping success, U.S. singer-songwriter Taylor Swift takes this top spot for the first time in her career.

The song smith earned this achievement almost exclusively through dollars earned from on the back of the brace of crucially acclaimed acoustic albums released in 2020: Folklore and Evermore.