Madonna is topping Forbes‘s list of the world’s 25 highest-paid musicians of the year, earning $125 million from June 2012 to June this year, through her MDNA world tour, merchandise sales, clothing line and perfume brand.

The top 25 is put together by using data from Pollstar, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan, managers, lawyers and artists. Concert ticket sales, royalties for recorded music and publishing, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other business ventures are also taken into account. Estimates reflect pre-tax income before fees for agents, managers and lawyers are deducted and ranges from 1 June 2012 to 1 June 2013.

Top 10 highest-paid musicians

1 – Madonna – $125m
2 – Lady Gaga – $80m
3 – Bon Jovi – $79m
4 – Toby Keith – $65m
5 – Coldplay – $64m
6 – Justin Bieber – $58m
7 – Taylor Swift – $55m
8 – Elton John – $54m
9 – Beyonce – $53m
10 – Kenny Chesney – $53m

Check out the original article from the BBC – which headlines that Madonna “has beaten Lady Gaga” to top the list, just in case you wonder who’s fueling controversy out there – at this link.