This Singer Just Beat Taylor Swift As The Top-Earning Female Musician

Despite the fact that her last album was released two years ago and she's spent far less time in the spotlight lately than artists like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, Katy Perry topped Forbes' list of the highest-earning women in music in 2015.

The 31-year-old "California girl" grossed $135 million this past year, which can be attributed to her $2 million-per-city Prismatic World Tour, beauty endorsement deals and her last album, Prism, which sold steadily since its release in 2013.

Perry's rival in both wealth and backup dancer acquisition, Swift, came in second place with an income of $80 million before taxes.

Her 2014 album, 1989, was the top release of the year and sold over 3.6 million copies, with its accompanying world tour bringing in enough cash for Swift to buy a second Tribeca apartment for just her two cats.

Third place went to Fleetwood Mac, believe it or not. The group reached the $59.5 million mark likely due to the popularity of female members Stevie Nicks and "prodigal daughter" Christine McVie.

Lady Gaga's $59 million and Beyoncé's $54.5 million landed them in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Gaga's high fashion endorsements and occasional performances garnered some solid financial support while King Bey's On The Run Tour raked in over $100 million, and the singer split that with husband and co-headliner Jay Z.

Of her success in the industry, first-placer Perry told Forbes,

I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company. I'm an entrepreneur... I don't want to shy away from it. I actually want to kind of grab it by its balls.

That's a great plan, Katy. You keep grabbing those balls, and I'll keep counting change to buy dollar tacos. We're just two high-powered women getting what's ours.

Citations: The World's Highest-Paid Women In Music 2015 (Forbes)