It’s become an annual benchmark for different industries… From down on high comes the big fat list who makes the most money from the richest magazine on newsstands- Forbes.

Country music has grown up and now has it’s own list and you may be surprised what stars have all the buzz versus what singing sensations have all the bank.

The mag wisely points out that there are over 2,000 country radio stations that send writers money for more income for artists/writers noting that eight of the ten most played artists on radio last year were country artists.    For this tracking, Forbes looks at concert box office receipts, merch and cd/download money, publishing royalties and endorsement/licensing deals.   The tracking time is between June 2009 to June 2010. We would have thought Swift would have topped things during the time frame… but maybe next year.

1. Kenny Chesney tops the list with estimated earnings of $50 million, down a bit last year’s $65 million.
2. Toby Keith $48 million
3. Taylor Swift $45 million
3. Rascal Flatts $45 million
5. Tim McGraw $30
6. Keith Urban $28
7. George Strait $25
8. Brad Paisley $22
9. Alan Jackson $15
10. Carrie Underwood $13

See The Whole Forbes Story HERE