Madonna top-earning women in music world

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New York, Jan 30 (UNI) The Material Girl topped the Forbes' first ever 'Cash Queens of Music' list, banking 72 million dollars in a year.

The 49-year-old popstar earned the fortune between June 2006 and June 2007 with most of the money coming from her landmark Confessions tour-- the highest grossing tour by a female artist.

The tour earned the pop diva a cool 260 million dollars.

During that period, Madonna also got cash flowing from record sales, her deal with hipster retailer of choice H&M and payment from NBC for rights to broadcast her concert performance at London's Wembley Stadium.

The 20 women on the list earned a combined 420 million dollars during the same period.

Barbra Streisand, the list's oldest member at 65, stood second with a fortune of 60 million dollars. The veteran artiste earned a majority of the amount from ticket sales of 'Babs live' with average prices soaring to 300 dollars apiece.

Academy Award winning Celine Dion rounded out the top three with an estimated earnings of 45 million dollars, largely from her hugely successful 'A New Day' concert series at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

The show opened in 2003 at the Coliseum Theater built specially for the performance. Three million fans watched the spectacle before it was wrapped in December last year.

The Colombian-born sensation Shakira was at fourth position with 38 million dollars. The multiple Grammy-winning star made an astonishing 98 tour stops.

Country music stars also featured in the ranks with Faith Hill at No. 8 with 19 million dollars, Dixie Chicks at nine with 18 million dollars and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood at fifteenth position with seven million dollars.

Despite making headlines for all the wrong reasons, Britney Spears managed to eek out 8 million dollars also ranked on the list, with cash flowing mainly from her ''lip synching'' performances.

Only those artists who had released an album or toured during the period were considered for the list. The earnings were taken at gross income with no deductions accounted for.