Britney Spears Tops Taylor Swift, Rihanna as Highest Paid Female Musician of 2012

Britney Spears is still the reigning queen of pop.

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The 31-year-old raked in a whopping $58 million in 2012 according to Forbes, making her the highest paid female musician of the year. Spears reportedly out-earned Taylor Swift ($57 million), Rihanna ($53 million), Lady Gaga ($52 million) and Katy Perry ($45 million) for the honor, but still fell short of her own 2010 earnings ($64 million).

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Though her latest album was released in 2011, Spears continues to bring in money from the Platinum-certified Femme Fatale and its accompanying tour, which together accounted for the bulk of her revenue. Adding millions to her bottom line were endorsement deals and a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden, not to mention her lucrative $15 million contract to serve as one of four judges on season two of Simon Cowell’s The X Factor USA.

With the X Factor finale just one week away, and the Fox reality competition already renewed for a third season, Spears’ potential involvement in season three remains up in the air. Asked by reporters whether she’d be back for the next go-around, Spears replied, “Who knows. I don’t know. We’ll see.”

See the full ranking via Forbes.

Email: Sophie.Schillaci@THR.com; Twitter: @SophieSchillaci